Show Us Your Houseplants in Bloom now 2020.

Achimenes "Yellow Beauty"

Achimenes "Weinrot Elfe"

Achimenes misera

Achimenes "Ambroise Verschaffelt"

 

Not in fashion these days @NigelJ , still good plants.

 

@Alisa does the Murraya have a citrus scent?

 

Streptocarpus took over.

 

I missed that, tried it once, and failed

 

I got the Achimenes from Dibleys who breed Streptocarpus. I believe they are more popular in Germany than the UK.
I've had them for years and find them easier than African violets and Streptocarpus. My father grew the common purple variety and I got my first one from him.

 

Yes, approx similar... I've never grown citrus plants, but from the ones I smelled in botanical gardens and shops, seems familiar. I have a long story with murraya. There are "holland type" murrayas, those grow big and would flower maybe on the 5th-7th year of life. I had seeds bought on ebay. Large plants did grow, but didn't flower. Then I was wrong with the compost, I tried to grow in the compost I used for my african violets. And it was too light, and would dry quickly. I always had deformed leaves. I eventually got rid of those plants. My friend sent me berry of another type (or line?) of murraya. It starts flowering at seedling's age. And with compost issue resolved I'm so happy since. I had berries on my plant already.
It's told, that fragrance of flowers helps people with heart condition. And berries are edible. I did eat those I'm alive But mine were of a bit of bitter taste.

 

Achimenes are nice, I used to have purple variety either. I dislike the season of spring empty pots and autumn drying plants Plus they need loads of light to form bushy growth, but again not a scorching sun burning flowers. One season I tried them growing outside - too tender. If I have a large greenhouse or conservatory later (have just little greenhouse - for tomatoes) I might get those back again - especially double yellow achimenantha.

 

@Alisa When I had a lot of the purple ones I used them in hanging baskets and as summer bedding with some success.
I have had problems recently getting them started in spring time, the tubercles were stored indoors dry over winter in paper envelopes and would start to shoot early March so I would plant them up and then they would just sit; if I put the pots in the greenhouse they got too hot in the day and cold in the evening and dried out quickly. The young shoots are very tender and after a struggle at the start of the season they produced weak plants that dwindled over a couple of years. Last autumn I threw the lot and started again with fresh stock, this spring I planted them up late March and then left the pots in the house in a shady spot until they had leaves on them and then moved them to a brighter spot. This autumn I might try keeping some of the tubercles in the fridge to see if that helps.

 

I did grow them a while ago, at the end of the season I just used to dry them off and stack the pots in the frost free green house.
I'd root around for the tubers the following spring and pot them up.

 

@NigelJ I kept them in plastic zip bags mixed with vermiculite. One year in fridge, another year in a cupboard (t around 17-18 degrees). Both successful. But last autumn I packed maybe too early or because of not good compost I got mould in packages, and threw everything away...

 

Billbergia windii.

 

That is absolutely stunning! Do you think they are as sturdy as the B nutens?

 

Really beautiful Epiphyllum flower, NigelJ. Wonderful impulse buy. The plant must have been waiting for you

 

@Victoria, it isn'tat all hardy and I wouldn't risk it outside here nor nutans.
I only have the variegated form of nutans and that is even less hardy.