Achimenes Need Warm Location

Not only are Achimenes natives of the tropics, but their name means to suffer from cold. Hence, it is important to keep the bulbs in a warm location. The usual planting time is from January to April. It is wise to plant the bulbs as soon as they are received, since they are slow in making top growth. Even when all the bulbs are of the same variety, there may be weeks’ difference in sprouting. You may wait as long as three months for the growth of the last bulb to show.

House plants are my hobby, and my window sills are always full in the Autumn. By the time these bulbs should be planted, there never seemed to be just the right place to put them, until I conceived the idea of using clear plastic milk containers. They are narrow enough to fit on the window ledge. In the bottom a layer of stones was placed; over them a bit of sphagnum moss to retain and regulate moisture. Peat and sand in equal quantities make a good medium for starting the bulbs; put 4 to 6 into the container, covering them with one-half inch of the planting medium. Place glass on top – I use another clear plastic bottle, and the “planter” is ready for the window ledge. Examine these miniature hot houses from time to time to check moisture. The glass can be tied in place; if it fits perfectly it should not be necessary to open until the top growth is sufficient for transplanting.

The potting mixture should be rich in humus and of a porous nature composed of loam, leaf-mold and sand or a good bagged poting soil mix from the local garden center. In fact, an African Violet mix is perfect! Provide adequate drainage; these bulbs are shallow rooted, and bulb pans are best. If too much of the sand and peat is taken out as the first bulbs are being transplanted, fill in with more of that mixture; replace the glass and return the bottle to its sunny ledge until those remaining are ready for transplanting. When transferred they should be placed five or six to a seven-inch pot or more if the pot or basket is larger. The top soil should never be allowed to dry out.

The advantage of starting the bulbs in a container and transplanting to a pot is that those of similar growth will be transplanted at the same time and blossom together. Those planted in pots in which they are to blossom will be uneven in growth and time of flowering. East or west windows are considered best, but here I start them in the south windows, and later put them on an east porch where they get an ample amount of the morning sun.

When plants are well established, a weekly feeding of liquid fertilizer should be given and continued until flowering ceases. Then gradually reduce water supply until plants have died down. Shake out of soil and store in dry sand or peat until time to repot.

Propagation is by bulbs, scaly buds or short rhizomes which sometimes form in the axis of the leaves; these can be planted the same as bulbs or by cuttings which root in water quite easily.

The catalogs list a number of varieties, all of easy culture, with a wide range of colors. Of a dozen bulbs that were planted March 8, four were transferred to a pot April 27, and first bloom opened July 10. On that date, the last two were transplanted, they were just one inch high. All blossomed until late Autumn.

Pentas lanceolata Try it on a porch!

by F Kellenberg

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