PERENNIALS > CALCEOLARIA
IN THIS GUIDE
Want to brighten up your garden with a peak that meld the cute with the exotic ?
Calceolaria , also known as the slipper flower , will do it in spade .
This tender bush produces incredibly charming lilliputian blooms that resemble a lady ’s handbag ( another popular name for them ) in warm hues .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun or Partial Shade
ExposureSheltered
Height0.2 – 1 M
Calceolaria integrifolia
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
Bloom TimeJune to September
PreferredMost soil types
MoistureWell - drained
pHAcidic
Some Calceolaria species and their cultivars give rise flowers that are not only cute but have an alien feel .
Appearing in productive , warm hues , these elliptic flowers front rather like handbags or Dutch clogs , so it ’s for skillful understanding that this plant also goes by names like lady ’s purse and slipperwort .
alas , there ’s a drawback with mature this plant , as it hails from South America , so is not exactly easy to uprise in the British Isles.1Calceolaria . ( n.d . ) . plant life of the World Online . call up August 3 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331444-2
Also , when implant in open ground as a bedding flora , it will effectively be an yearly in the UK and Europe because it is so tender .
Common Types
While the species plant , Calceolaria integrifolia , has received the RHS ’s Award of Garden Merit , the ‘ Sunset Mixed ’ cultivar features delicious colours and has a very long inflorescence season .
The species industrial plant , if grow as a perennial , will finally approach 1 MiB in tallness . For 2 - 3 month over saltation and summertime , it get flowers in a bright , sunny white-livered smell .
‘ Sunset Mixed ’ turn to only 20 cm tall , butit produces flowers in glorious yellows , oranges and reds , some with marking , streak and splashes across its petal .
With some luck , it will flower from sometime in April to July .
How To Grow Calceolaria
slider efflorescence ask light , friable , moderately fecund soil that drains very well and is somewhat acidic .
A sandy loam mixed with grit , perlite or both will make a very skillful base .
Minimise chicken feed and clay as factor .
The best grunge pHfor this plant is acidic .
Although this evergreen sub - shrub is often grow as bedding and for border , doing so in temperate regions such as the UK efficaciously turns it into an yearbook .
I evoke that you get this unusual sub - shrub in a container so that you could stress to enjoy its special charms year after year .
After the atmospheric condition has warmed up in late spring , take the bay window outdoors and emplacement itsomewhere it only pay back dappled or filtered sun .
A sheltered position with an east or west - look aspect is best .
This plant thrives in a evenhandedly narrow-minded temperature range of 15 - 19 ° one C and also prefers humid environs .
In mid - autumn , you may shift it indoors .
If you attempt to grow a dame ’s purse from seeded player , I recommend that you obtain semen packets from a believe glasshouse or seed company .
Seeds collected by hobbyist gardeners , even from a species industrial plant , may not be practicable and can be difficult to pullulate .
In either case , choose a position which gets ample dappled or sink in sunlight .
If you transpose Calceolarias into open solid ground , do so a couple of weeks after the last frost only if the atmospheric condition and the dirt have warmed up .
You should be able to plant out in most UK locations from late May .
pick out a sheltered spot that gets dappled or filtered sunlight , rather with an east or west - facing aspect .
Calceolaria Plant Care
Watering Calceolaria is a bit of a balancing routine .
Underwatering will be signalled by swag foliage , but overwatering will not be signalled in honorable time and it may have root or crown rot .
So , while the plants require ample body of water , you may not fly the coop the peril of overwatering , peculiarly in summer .
To run into the right counterweight , water generously , then allow all of the soil to fully dry out out before tearing again .
For out-of-door plant during a raging , dry summer , water daily , whilst during temperate , humid weather , let the foliage be your template !
From early May until the end of the flower season you may bung biweekly with a very diluted result of high - potash fertiliser .
For slipper flush , cut the plant food to only 25 % of the persuasiveness and also go for by half of the recommend loudness .
Deadheading will stimulate fresh blooms and prolong flowering , so you may lift off single spent blooms .
However , when most of the prime in a cluster are wither , snip off the cluster itself with a pair of desex secateurs .
If you want to collect seeds , you will need to countenance theflowers persist on the shrubso that they forge ejaculate pods .
After the seed pods are fully formed , you could take away them in late autumn .
They can be opened with thumbs and finger to scupper the seeds .
Be mindful that only the seeds from the species plant will give you a fortune to shoot new plant from seed .
Collecting seeds from industrial plant that are crosses or cultivars will in all probability be an exercise in futility .
disseminate slipper flowers is a rugged ask , especially in the UK .
To pass around by cuttings , the good time period is July to August , during which you should take deal cuttings .
edit just beneath a node .
stick in the newspaper clipping into a well - drain mixture of sand and potting compost in small pots and moisten daily .
Keep the pots indoors near a windowpane where they get the maximum amount of collateral light but no direct sunshine .
The most serious problems that may affect Calceolarias are root word putrefaction , peak rot and grey mould .
The first two problems are because of human error and are preventable by balancing the watering as described above .
The third is a fungal disease that typically strikes when a works is indoors or in a nursery in humid conditions .
Though it is easy to spot in its early stage , no chemical substance controls are available to hobbyist gardeners .
Grey mould can often be prevented by ensuring adequate ventilation and not overcrowding plant .
Other than that , these plants may be assault by aphids , slugs and snail .
