The genus Aeschynanthus is a member of the Gesneriaceae family. In nature, plants grow in warm, humid regions of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. The genus name comes from the Greek words aischyneia (“distorted, disfigured”) and anthos (“flower”). Aeschinanthus is a perennial evergreen plant with oval fleshy leathery leaves pointed at the end. Aeschinanthus flowers are bright, from red to orange in color. Blooms from June to October.
Types of eschinanthus in the photo
Aeschynanthus beautiful (Aeschynanthus speciosus) has hanging shoots up to 50 cm long. Oval pointed leathery leaves are located on short petioles. The flowers of this type of Aeschinanthus are orange-red, yellow at the base, collected at the ends of shoots of 5-10 pieces. They are quite large, up to 8 cm in length, look like a narrow expanding tube.
Aeschynanthus marble (Aeschynanthus mamoratus) – a rare species with wax marble dark green leaves with yellow-green veins. The underside of the leaves is dark red. Tubular flowers are greenish with brown spots. Blooms rarely.
Aeschynanthus Lobbianus (Aeschynanthus lobbianus) is an epiphyte with flexible stems and small, elliptical, fleshy dark green leaves. Two-lipped pubescent flowers with a red corolla are creamy yellow in a tube. Popular shade-tolerant variety “Japhrolepis”, which has very long shoots and light green leaves.
Aeschynanthus humilis (Aeschynanthus humilis) is a small plant with vertically rising shoots. The leaves are green, velvety. At the ends of the shoots, bunches of scarlet tubular flowers are formed. Variety “Topaz” is distinguished by unusual yellow flowers.
Aeschynanthus tricolor is a plant with medium-sized green leaves and a characteristic flower shape. The wide calyx can be pink or red in color. The red corolla has almost black and yellow-orange stripes.
There are many hybrid varieties of eschinanthus, photos of which you can see below:
All of them are united under the general name Aeschynanthus hybrid (Aeschynanthus hibrida) .
The variety “Twister” has leaves twisted in length and width and red flowers.
‘Bella Donna’ has glossy, rounded leaves and red flowers.
The ‘Tamara’ variety has leaves with silvery hairs giving them a gray tint.
Eschinanthus houseplant care at home
Aeschinanthus indoor flowers are kept in a bright place without direct sunlight at a temperature of 20-25 ° C (in winter – 15-18 ° C). In December – January, during the dormant period (at low temperatures and rare watering), flower buds are formed. In cold rooms (temperature below 14 ° C) and with excessive humidity, the plant may shed its leaves.
Water moderately, after the topsoil has dried. Plants are sensitive to excess calcium in the soil, so soft water is used. During the period of intensive growth, spray with warm water. When caring for the Aeschinanthus at home from spring to autumn, regular top dressing with complex mineral fertilizers is required. In the spring, before flowering, the plants are transferred to pots of a larger diameter – by 1-2 cm. You can use a universal ready-made soil mixture with the addition of chopped sphagnum or charcoal. Good drainage is required with a layer of 1.5-2 cm.
Propagation of a houseplant eschinanthus
Propagated by apical stem cuttings with five to six nodes (about 10 cm long) in spring or early summer. The cuttings are rooted in a mixture of sand and peat, taken in equal amounts, at a substrate temperature of 22-25°C. The pot with cuttings is closed with a transparent cap. The rooting of the houseplant eschinanthus occurs in one to two weeks.
The main pests are scale insects, thrips, and aphids. Low temperature, stagnation of moisture in the soil, frequent overdrying of the earthy coma, content in too shaded places lead to leaf fall.