Ask JOHN NEGUS
Please can you ID my two houseplants?
Q Please can you ID my plants? The first has furry leaves and pink tubular flowers with white and red speckles. The second one grows bulbs on top of bulbs, they do not like being in the soil. The hanging ones I need to take off and start some new plants. The flowers are like small hyacinths.
Sue Smith (via email)
A The first plant you have asked about is a species of Kohleria – they used to be called gloxinia.
This is in the same family as African violet (Saintpaulia) and cape primrose (Streptocarpus). They make lovely houseplants, as you have already discovered, and are very easy to keep from year to year.
Once growth slows with the onset of autumn, reduce watering gradually and allow the leaves to die back naturally. Cut off the stems and put the pot somewhere safe for the winter. I would suggest that somewhere cool, dark and dry such as a cupboard is ideal.
In March, knock the contents out. Break off the old compost carefully and plant the rhizomes into fresh compost, in the same size pot or larger if they have multiplied. The rhizomes need to be just
