Grow streptocarpus for showing
Get your plants ready for the local event
Streptocarpus are ideally suited for showing in competitions because of their long flowering season. They can be entered into flowering classes or as part of a mixed display. Some of the bigger shows around the country have a section dedicated to streptocarpus.
For exhibition, the rosulate types of streptocarpus flower for so long that it’s worth restricting their blooms so when they’re allowed to flower, they do so with abandon. The basis for a good plant is it forms a full rosette of foliage, with all the leaves radiating from the centre out. Any leaves crossing the centre of the plant need to be gently encouraged to turn so they grow directly outwards. Use short canes to hold leaves in place until they stay of their own accord. Remove all the flower buds as they form at the base of the leaves until eight weeks prior to your competition date. During the next five weeks allow the inflorescences to grow, but pinch off the flowers as they start to open. In the last three weeks before the competition, let the flowers open fully and only remove them if they start to fade. If you find the flowers are fading in colour too quickly, it could be they need less light so place them in a shadier spot during the last week.
Maintain your normal growing regime for streptocarpus. Give them plenty of light, but not strong, midday sunshine, water moderately and feed with a good high potassium plant food. I find a regular spray with a seaweed-based foliar feed will help the intensity of the flower colour. A strong growing plant that’s not stressed by its growing conditions is also less likely to succumb to pest and diseases. Streptocarpus flowers are easily damaged and bruised when transported, therefore they need to be held firmly to minimise any damage. The last job before plants are judged is to remove any flowers showing signs of bruising. The white-flowering streptocarpus are rarely used in exhibitions as they show the bruises on their flower edges very easily. One trick I use when exhibiting white streptocarpus, such as ‘Albatross’ Albatross’, is to position them furthestest away from where the judges will stand. The leaves of streptocarpus die back at their tips. If your plant has any discolouration either remove the leaf or trim it back with scissors, cissors, leaving the end shaped aped in a natural curve.