| Life form | Herbaceous plant with creeping stems |
| Family | Gesneriaceae |
| Origin | Mexico |
| Ease of cultivation | Requires special conditions |
| The size | Usually from 2 to 30 cm in height |
| Growth rate | High |
| Lifespan | Several years with proper care and observance of wintering conditions. |
| Temperature | In summer: + 68-77 ° F, in winter not higher than + 53,6 ° F .. |
| Humidity | High, not less than 60%. Do not spray, put the pot in a tray with wet pebbles. |
| Lighting | Scattered light, easy to make shade. Suitable for east and west windows or can be grown at a distance of 1-2 m from the southern window. |
| The soil | Suitable lightweight breathable primer. For own soil, you can take 1 part of the garden land, 1 part of coarse sand or perlite, 1 part of wet peat or humus (leafy earth) and a little bit of lime. It is mandatory to use drainage. |
| Watering | During flowering, regular watering about 2 times a week, the soil should dry slightly to a depth of about 1 cm, overflowing is dangerous. In summer, watering can be done by immersing the pot in a container of water. Use only soft water. Before and after flowering watering is more temperate, the soil should dry out a bit between waterings. At the end of summer, watering is reduced; When the plant passes into a state of rest, watering is stopped and the rhizomes are kept dry. |
| Fertilizer | From spring to autumn, every two weeks, a liquid fertilizer with an increased content of potassium. |
| Reproduction | The apical cuttings in spring in a greenhouse (or covered with polyethylene) with a lower heating in a mixture of peat and perlite using heteroauxin. It is practiced reproduction by seeds, which germinate at a temperature not lower than + 77 ° F (for example, by putting on a battery), sprouts dive.Also multiply by dividing rhizomes during transplantation. |
| Bloom | Blossom in the spring red-orange, pink, yellow tubular flowers. |
| Transfer | Annually in the spring, in March, 2-3 rhizomes are planted in a small pot with a diameter of 15 cm and slightly sprinkled with soil (about 1 cm). |
| Features of care | In summer it is desirable to take out on the street or balcony. The plant has a period of rest, when shoots die. The nodules are stored in sand or in dry peat in a dark cool place. |
| Difficulties | Infestation of aphids, spider mites, mealybugs and whiteflies. Possible decay of the neck of the plant from parasitic fungi when kept in conditions of high humidity. When water gets on the leaves, yellow or brown spots form on them. Stains on the leaves can occur when watering with cold water. Yellow heels can also arise from excessive lighting or lack of nutrients in the soil. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | – |
