GESNERIADS (TEMPERATE AFRICAN VIOLET RELATIVES)

A pendulous evergreen perennial related to African Violets. The small, firm leaves are lanceolate in shape and a deep glossy green, hanging in pairs on the long and pendant branches. The deep orange-red flowers are curved in shape and produced in abundance in the autumn. Best in a hanging basket or on an old stump (in milder gardens). Can also be grown as a houseplant. This has been the most cold hardy species in the genus for us so far.

This is a pendulous evergreen perennial related to African Violets. The firm and narrow glossy leaves hang in pairs on the pendant branches. Bright red shiny calyces open to reveal a long tubular orange-red flower with spots in the throat, very striking. Best in a hanging basket or on an old stump (in milder regions). It can also be used as a houseplant. This collection from the eastern Himalaya.

This is a pendulous evergreen perennial related to African Violets. The firm and narrow glossy leaves hang in pairs on the pendant branches. This species with large and bright orange flowers on very long pendulous pedicels held well out from the glossy foliage. Best in a hanging basket or on an old stump (in mild gardens). Can also be used as a houseplant. Almost certainly new to cultivation. A collection from the Sino-Himalaya.

A member of the Gesneriaceae (African Violet family) that is endemic to the temperate rain forests of coastal Chile and adjacent Argentina. This is a very rarely offered creeping/climbing epiphytic, very delicate and slow-growing “vine” (I really hesitate to use that word). Best in a hanging basket or in a cool greenhouse. Requires shade and a well-drained but organic soil, preferably with good humidity – not a plant for a hot or sunny location. The small rounded leaves are hairy with coarse teeth and the large and showy tubular flowers flare out strongly at the mouth. These are rich raspberry-pink in color and appear in mid-summer. A hummingbird favorite. 

A member of the Gesneriaceae (African Violet family) native to south-central China where it grows on mossy cliffs and rock faces. This is an evergreen herbaceous perennial with a basal rosette of thickly textured, smooth and glossy leaves from which arises a very short stem with several very large, inflated "snapdragon-like" flowers with pale purple tubes fading to white on the lobes with a yellow throat. The flowers are quite large for the size of the plant, a real stunner! A striking plant for a container, terrarium or shaded rockery. Should be relatively hardy.

This species forms a basal rosette of soft and hairy bright green leaves with the large (two inches long) white flowers on short stalks from the center of the plant. The flowers are enclosed for half their length in a fuzzy green calyx and feature a bright yellow flush in the throat - quite stunning. This species is in continuous bloom for several months each year. Native to southern China and Vietnam.

A member of the Gesneriaceae (African Violet family) native to the China/Vietnam frontier where it grows on mossy cliffs and as an epiphyte in trees. This is an evergreen herbaceous perennial with slowly creeping and pendulous stems lined with pairs of small, softly fuzzy leaves that are broadly elliptic-ovate in shape and with various amounts of cream variegation along the mid-rib. This collection features large “snapdragon-like” flowers of soft yellow in late summer – absolutely stunning. Very new to cultivation. We grow the various different species in moss-lined orchid baskets so the creeping stems can emerge from the sides and bottom. This collection has survived outdoors frozen solid for a week in a hanging basket – amazing. NOTE: This was previously sold as L. petelotii which was the closest known taxon this collection would key to in the Flora of China. It has recently been given specific status as a newly described species from this previously relatively unexplored region.

A member of the Gesneriaceae (a relative of the African Violet). This is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a basal rosette of deeply rugose, toothed and felted leaves from which arises a very short stem with one or two very large, inflated “snapdragon-like” flowers of cream flushed pink with masses of darker spots within. A striking plant for a container, terrarium or shaded rockery (in a mild climate). I am pretty sure this is the first introduction of this species into cultivation. It was found growing with beech, rhododendrons, magnolias, etc. so should have some hardiness.