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Old picture, from work. We didn't get these in very often, and when we did, we tended not to get very many. I'm not sure why (it wasn't my decision: the flower shop were the ones bringing these in); they tended to sell more or less right away, so I never got to know the plant very well.
The foliage is nice (somewhat like Coffea: dark green and shiny). According to one of my houseplant books, they'll bloom more or less continuously in good conditions, so maybe it doesn't even matter if the foliage is nice or not. (Though the same book makes them sound like kind of a pain to keep flowering, too. Foliage is never entirely beside the point.) The color in the above photo is a little screwy: the flowers were more of a deep orange, rather than being a yellowish orange like they appear above. Apparently more of a pink/salmon/red color is more typical, from what I see around Google.
I assume there must be something really wrong with this plant, since I don't see it for sale very often. Since I don't have a lot of direct experience with it, though, I don't have any good theories about what its fatal flaw might be. Is it boring? Buggy? Impossible to please? Does it become weak when exposed to kryptonite? Anybody who has a theory is invited to share their experiences in comments.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Pretty picture: Crossandra infundibuliformis
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6 comments:
Nice flower. Looks dainty. Never saw it before. Interesting.
I have no idea why it's not more popular. It sure it sweet looking.
I've had a couple. I grew one from seed several years ago. (Parks and Stokes seeds both carry it for those who are interested, as I recall, it germinates easily, and grows fast.) I also purchased one last year (I found it among the annuals at Meijer, a supermarket/general merchandise type store.)
They are probably not popular because they do tend toward a straggly growth habit, which would look ugly when they aren't in bloom. My last one attracted aphids, and was quick to lose leaves if underwatered. I suspect, though I don't know, that they'd also be attractive to white fly--they just look like that sort of plant. Except for the blooms, they kind of remind me of Hypoestes--a plant that seems like a nice idea, but is not-so-great to grow as a houseplant.
We had a trial of these at the wholesale greenhouse I used to work at. The powers that be decided not to continue them but I don't know why. But then again we usually only sold showy indoor potted plants that you see at grocery stores. Mainly mums, azaleas, poinsettias, lilies, gerber daisies, and kalanchoe.
I've only had one, which came as a gift. I thought it was neat. Unfortunately it came with factory installed aphids and even before they were obvious, it was going downhill. Maybe I'd try the growing from seed and see . . .
they can get a little leggy, and i've only had NEAR success at getting them to overwinter here in Phoenix. They don't mind the heat at all though, they're great plants.
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