I am relatively new at the propagation and growth of these wonderful houseplants. I would love to see others, both newbies and those with experience share their pictures and comments with those of us on this thread who are looking for answers and information.
When I had my first baby strep I think I was as excited as I was when I had my first child. They are so addictive and beautiful I just can not get enough of them. But, there is so much to learn and hopefully this thread will help with that.
I seldom call these Cape Primrose, yet many people do, so forgive me if I just refer to them as Streps.
My love affair began in May, 2013 when I first saw pictures of some Streps and decided since my research said " they have the ability to reproduce themselves through single cell division due to the hormones (cytokinins) present in their leaves", it sounded easy so what the heck. I had no idea what that meant but I was sure going to give it a try. I began doing some shopping and found a few pretty plants at the Violet Barn. I was in business.
One of the plants I bought was S. Salmon Sunset. When it arrived it was really small but it grew and bloomed in no time. Finally I decided it was time to take a leaf and see if I could follow the directions of how to propagate. All this time I have been studying and reading and talking to people who have already been working with these plants. I took one leaf, cut it and planted it and was I ever excited when weeks later I looked at the leaves and they all had babies coming up. What a thrill. I did it! Now to keep them alive.
Here is the mother plant just 4 months after I got her.
Here she is after I separated her and took the leaf to propagate. She is now a year old.
Here are her babies:
Here is some of the babies, all ready to be shipped to their new homes. July 2014
This is the story of my first attempt at propagating streptocarpus. Now I can't stop.
I am definitely hooked.
