False African-violet

False African-violet Care

Streptocarpella saxorum

What is the plant

Streptocarpella saxorum is a relatively fast growing as it takes one year for a young seedling to grow to flowering size. This plant occurs in Kenya and Tanzania. It is found on rocks and cliff faces which are often exposed to the sun.

Streptocarpella saxorum is a small herbaceous plant that forms mounds of about 5-8 cm high. This semi-shrubby stemmed species falls under the subgenus Streptocarpella and the foliage is quite different to the more common Streptocarpus. Its slender, hairy stems spread along the ground crowded with small, matt-green, softly hairy, fleshy, elliptic to ovate leaves that occur in whorls of three. Its branches become slightly woody with age. The young growth is quite flexible and will naturally trail from a suspended container/pot. The name Streptocarpella means Streptocarpus like. Streptocarpus means "twisted fruit", a referring to the slender, twisted seed capsule that the plants produce. Streptocarpella produces a twisted seed pod.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

min -1°C

Hardiness zone

9 - 11

Difficulty

Easy

How to Care for the Plant

Water
This plant likes to dry out a bit between watering and likes to be occasionally soaked. Be careful of over-watering. The plant has juicy stems that tend to easily rot if the soil is soggy. If your plant is young and tiny you can be more generous with the watering, but a well established plant benefits from having its soil dry up between watering, especially in the winter months.
Fertilizer
Use a high potash fertilizer during the growing season.
Sunlight
Bright indirect light is perfect for this plant. It likes part shade to shade. A large unobstructed north facing window , or an east/west window will be ideal for this plant. Direct midday light will burn the leaves.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
This plant likes basic to slightly acidic soil, well-drained and light. You can use African violet soil with some perlite for a better drainage.
Temperature
Streptocarpella prefer to be grown in cool conditions. Growing temperatures should remain between 55 and 75°F. However, these plants are frost-tender.
Container
This plant can be grown in containers. Choose a pot with enough drainage holes.