12 Streptocarpus Varieties: ‘Once You Have One, You Want Another, And Then Another’
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
Apart from Cape Primrose’s many merits related above, this happy little wildflower possesses a remarkable talent for collecting RHS Awards of Garden Merit – it has garnered 35 of them.1Ornamental AGM Plants. (2021c, July). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf
All but three of my top twelve choices are AGM winners.
“The great thing about Streptocarpus is their collectability,” says Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly.
“Once you have one, you want another, and then another! A bit like auriculas, you keep finding one after another that you admire and think ‘just one more’.”
The exceptions are ’Watermelon Wine’ selected for being one of the only true reds and a self at that, ‘Anne’ for its double form but even more for the intense violet, and ‘Zoe’ for its unusually lovely colouration and patterning.
1) ‘Harlequin Blue’
Has to lead our rundown because it was the Chelsea Plant of the Year for 2010.2Buy RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2010 Streptocarpus “Harlequin Blue (PBR).” (n.d.). RHS Plants. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/plants/_/streptocarpus-harlequin-blue-pbr/classid.2000035807/
One might say that its flowers are precisely bi-coloured to perfection.
The entirety of the upper two petals is a soft purplish-blue while the entirety of the lower three is a pale creamy yellow.
A dark violet streak running from the throat out to the edge divides the two sets of petals and the two colours!
This variety blooms from spring through autumn.
2) ‘White Butterfly’
Possesses two rare attributes.
Though its flowers in size are at the lower limit at 2.5cm this variety is possibly the only one to produce pure white ‘self’ flowers.
And, second, it is floriferous, and it is one of those wonders that blooms all 12 months of the year!
3) ‘Tina’
Is not particularly distinguished in the unremarkable pink tone of its flowers with darker splotches on the lower petals but it is distinguished in the size of its flowers which, at up to 6cm, are massive for Cape Primrose.
The leaves are of quite a dark shade and are oblong.
It flowers from spring through autumn.
4) ‘Charlotte’
Has bright green foliage from which arise exquisitely hued blooms.
They are a pale pastel lilac with the lower petals displaying blotches of an equally pale, pastel complementary yellow with a similarly coloured throat.
It blooms from spring through autumn.
5) ‘Crystal Ice’
Has snowy white flowers with delicate, veined accents of purple to violet on the lower petals.
The leaves are a rich, dark shade, and it is remarkable for being one of those relatively few year-round flowering wonders.
6) ‘Sioned’
Has medium-green strap-like leaves and bears particularly delightful flowers.
They are off-white with the lower petals accented with a variegated and veined blotch of magenta-pink that starts in the throat and bleeds away near the outer edges.
It blooms from spring through autumn.
7) ‘Burgundy Ice’
Produces flowers that are as unusual as they are eye-pulling.
Their ground colour is a rich maroon of a burgundy-blackcurrant tone with subtly darker veining and gradation.
These saturated tones are accented with a white throat, central white speckles, and fine white edging.
It blooms from spring through autumn.
8) ‘Stella’
Has strap-shaped leaves of a very rich shade.
The flowers are of an even richer tone of purple with subtle streaking, veining and gradation in a slightly darker violet so as to produce a shifting colour effect.
The rich, deep hues and the gradation produce the effect of the petals appearing to be glossy.
This variety blooms from spring through autumn.
9) ‘Watermelon Wine’
Has foliage of a very pleasing bright mid-green shade.
The spectacular flowers are of a single colour, a solid lipstick red with slightly darker shadings on the lower petals which only enhances the intensity of the hue.
It blooms from spring through autumn.
10) ‘Anne’
Has spanking bright green leaves that are particularly wrinkled and textured.
It is one of the few varieties to produce double flowers with the inner petals being ruffled or half-closed.
The flowers are ‘selfs’ in a tone of intense violet all through.
It does not bloom as long as most other varieties, producing flowers from mid-spring to early autumn.
11) ‘Zoe’
Has attractive foliage of nearly an emerald green tone.
It produces flowers with extraordinary colourations.
Each flower is in a gradated shade of purple from pale lilac to deep, rich purple with veining in darker shades over lighter shades all over.
Streaks of deep purple run out from the throat on the three lower petals which are further embellished with creamy yellow in the throat and the medial sides, just as the upper petals are similarly accented with white.
It blooms from spring through autumn.
12) ‘Polka-Dot Purple’
Has leaves of a particularly light, bright green.
It produces trumpet-shaped flowers that are quite startling.
They are of a deep, rich purple hue with white streaks radiating from the centre, broad white edging, and very many white speckles or ‘polka dots’.
The overall effect is one of purple and white marbling of a kind.
This fantastic variety blooms year-round.
