The lovely and colorful Achimenes, profiting by the current wave of popularity of the Saintpaulias, sister genus of the valuable and interesting Gesneraceae, is fast taking a warm and roomy place in the hearts of the American flower lover and plant hobbyist. In this it is already outstripping the efforts of the trade to keep up with it, and for some years past, the demand has been far greater than the supply.
Technically, the Achimenes are hairy herbs, growing about a foot to 15 inches tall, sometimes slightly more in a few varieties. There is infinite variety in the coloring and shape of the flowers, but most of the.varieties have blooms more or less reminiscent of medium-size petunias, or pansies, with long tubes, and borne in profusion during Spring, Summer and early Fall.
Achimenes is the Summer plant par excellence for porch boxes, pots, urns, and hanging baskets in fairly shady locations. They can stand some degree of sun, direct on the leaves, in the early morning and late afternoon, but must have shade or well-diffused sunlight during the awhile part of the day.
In the lower South where Achimenes arc probably best known of any part of the country, they are often grown under large oak trees, where they are protected from strong sunlight, beating rains and high winds.
The Achimenes are, of course, related to those other desirable and worth-while members of the Gesneria family, such as the Gloxinias, Naegelias, Isolomas, Gesnerias, Tydaeas, and a few more. The family is one of the most intriguing and rewarding for the pot plant fan. The name Achimenes is from two Greek words meaning to suffer from cold, and warmth they must have. In early Spring, the writer has noted plants “scorched” slightly by sudden cold snaps in Florida when the thermometer went below 40 degrees. They do not need freezing weather or frost. Any temperature below 45 degrees is dangerous to the foliage.
So it is a safe rule to grow them inside until warm and sunny weather is assured. wherever their culture is attempted. In colder climates it may even be necessary to grow them under glass entirely, or in an enclosed porch where adequate shade is provided. In Florida, they do reasonably well under 50 per cent shade of a lath house, but in the younger stages may be seriously injured by beating rains.
Achimenes are propagated vegetatively by various means, mainly by the tubercles, or catkin-like tubers on the roots, which form in late Summer and Fall. When the plant dies down in late Autumn, these tubercles should be dried off and stored over Winter in a cool, dry place, where the temperature does not go below 50 degrees, preferably. They may be stored in the dirt in which they grew, undisturbed, or may be sifted out and placed in cigar boxes with an inch of fine, dry sand above and below them.
In the late Winter, or Spring, the tubers are started again in fresh soil, about five or six to a five- or six-inch pot with the smaller growing varieties, although two or three plants are about all a six-inch pot can stand of the more vigorous types. The tubercles should be planted about an inch or slightly less deep in the soil, which should be a good natural leaf-mold type loam, with enough sand for good drainage and a little well-rotted manure added. An inch of coarse fiber or broken crocks in the bottom of the pot will help the drainage.
Watering should he sparing until the plants are growing well, and their progress will depend on warmth and care in watering more than anything else. They can stand considerable neglect in the matter of watering, but will not make as handsome specimen plants if allowed to dry out time and again from careless treatment.
Plants can also be raised from both stem and leaf cuttings, as is well known in the Gesneriads. Grown in this manner early in the season, the new plants will make tubercles of their own in the Fall and so increase stock. The tubercles themselves may even be cut up with a safety razor blade into slices like liverwurst, say three or four slices to the tubercle if it is of normal size. These will all grow into good plants under favorable conditions. The larger the pieces the stronger the plants. It is conceivable that a single strong tubercle of an Achimenes variety could be made to produce 25 or even 50 plants by Fall.
The tubercles vary from half an inch or so long and a quarter inch thick, in the case of some varieties, to long, worm-like affairs in such varieties as grandiflora.
Only a few American firms have listed Achimenes in the recent past. Back in the 19th century there were many more varieties available than today and they were much more popular. They are highly deserving a decided boom in America, being natives of the American tropics and more colorful and varied than the Saintpaulia by far, and of easier culture. Like the Saintpaulia they must not he watered when the sun is shining on them, or the foliage will be damaged. The writer has always found that watering late in the afternoon is best.
Nurseries in India and Holland offer a large variety of Achimenes at the present time, and a few growers in this country are working up good stocks. Among the popular and worth while at this time are Mexicana; Little Beauty; Purity; Pulchella; grandiflora; Vivid; Nessida; Vebusta, a lovely semi-double; Purple King, also known as Royal Purple; Pink Beauty; Inngiflora major (Magnificum); Dainty Queen; Mauve Queen; and many others.
Royal Purple (Purple King) and a medium-sized blue named Galatea among other things are probably the best known and easiest varieties in the United States. They are found in old-time southern gardens, naturalized in the ground in corners under shrubs, azaleas and oak trees, although this culture is not recommended and uncertain of survival. Pots of these two kinds, which come into full bloom in June and July, are showy, spectacular things, and will frequently attract passers-by to inquire what kind of plant they are.
Purity is a lovely pure white, also known as Marguerite. Pulchella is a small scarlet; Dainty Queen is a lovely white with slight lavender eye; longijlora major (Magnificum) the biggest blue, at its largest may he three inches in diameter, but not as free-flowering as some. One plant grown from a single tubercle will sometimes grow to he more than enough for a six-inch pot and produce 50 to 100 flowers over a period of several weeks. There is scarcely a choice pot plant subject for the shady porch or sheltered nook of a protected garden which will repay the grower with more sheer beauty and abundance of bloom. They are easier to grow than Gloxinias and tuberous-rooted begonias and have the added advantage of increasing readily from year to year.
The writer has found them happiest when grown in home-made hanging baskets of various shapes and sizes, fashioned of hardware cloth, one-quarter inch mesh. lined with a layer of sphagnum moss and then filled to the brim with the leaf mold potting mixture. The drainage in these is perfect, and the plants spread out on all sides with an effective display and appeal that is most captivating.
