Episode 54: Streptocarpus and other Gesneriads with Dale Martens
Streptocarpus make a brilliant flowering houseplant. Photograph: Jane Perrone.
Regular listeners to On The Ledge podcast will have heard me waffle on many times about how much I love Streptocarpus. The name may be easily confused with a throat infection (it actually refers to the plant's twisted seedpod) but this genus is an under-appreciated gem of the houseplant world.
It's a member of a wider family called the Gesneriads, which also includes the African violets, the Achimenes (aka hot water plants), Sinningia, Primulina (aka Chirita), Columnea, Episcia (aka flame violet), Petrocosmea and Kohleria.
I speak to Dale Martens of the Gesneriad Society to find out everything from what to pot them in to why breeding your own Streptocarpus may just involve a trip to the dentist (really).
Dale Martens' hybrid Streptocarpus ‘Texas Hot Chili’ exhibited by Dibleys at the 2007 Chelsea flower show.
Below is a list of information sources about Gesneriads followed by a list of the plants we mention in the interview - do scroll down to see more images of the diverse Gesneriad family and Dale's own plants. If you are a Patreon subscriber of $5 or more a month you can hear another chunk of chat with Dale going into more detail about Streptocarpus hybridisation and also raising Gesneriads under grow lights: that episode of On The Ledge: An Extra Leaf is here. Confused about Patreon? Scroll down this post for more information about how it works and useful links.
Streptocarpus 'Dale's Ring Of Fire'.
If you're interested in Gesneriads, consider joining the Gesneriad Society and/or checking out their series of webinars which can be downloaded from the Society's shop.
If Streptocarpus are your thing the British Streptocarpus Society could be for you ... their show is on July 14 in Brownhills, Staffordshire in the UK and non-members are welcome.
In the UK Dibleys Nurseries is the best place to buy all kinds of Gesneriads.
Gesneriad.info, the Gesneriad Reference Web, is also an excellent online resource.
Matt Candeias recently interviewed Jay Sespico about Gesneriads in his In Defense of Plants podcast
Listen to me chat to Rex Dibley of Dibley's Nurseries about Streptocarpus at the Chelsea flower show in May 2017.
In this episode, Dale and I mention:
Dale with one of her prizewinning hybrids, S. 'Dale's Polar Canary'.
Primulinas not only have beautiful flowers, many also boast beautiful variegated foliage. Photograph: Dale Martens.
If you're curious to learn more about Gesneriads, check out this free webinar from the Gesneriad Society. There are also several other webinars available to buy from the Gesneriad Society shop.
Some of Dale Martens' Streptocarpus collection, grown under lights using the wick watering system.
Episcias look great in hanging containers. Photograph: Dale Martens
This Columnea microphylla won Canadian Beverley Williams the Best Other Gesneriad category at the 2018 African violet convention in New York recently. Photograph: the Gesneriad Society
Sinningia 'Dale's Coral Fiesta'.
Question of the week
The parrot flower in all its glory Photograph: Andy Roberts on Flickr
Question of the week
Listener 'Knee Kapps' wants to know how to save their leggy, miserable Impatiens niamniamensis aka the parrot plant. I suspect the problem is not enough light, which is causing the flowers to drop and the plant to get all lanky. Like other impatiens, this plant needs bright light but not direct sunlight and a constantly moist soil. Check out this piece by Bob Flowerdew for more info on this fascinating plant.
Want to ask me a question? Email ontheledgepodcast@gmail.com.
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Credits
This week's show featured Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops, An Instrument the Boy Called Happy Day Gokarna and A Man Plays Trekking Song on Fewa Lake by Samuel Corwin, and Overthrown by Josh Woodward, all licensed under Creative Commons.