whats your favorite window?

Hi All,
I am still new to this catagory and would like to know what window is best for streps. I live in New England, so I may have to move the plants as the summer comes along. When I bought the plants I was told that they don't like strong sunlight, but a customer in the store who is a streps collector said that he puts his in a southern window...I'm confused. Also, do they like a consistantly moist soil?

Thanks,
Deerchaser

We no longer have our 'experts' on the Av forum but I grow a lot of streps and I no longer wick them where they stay constantly moist like I used to. They are looking fantastic by watering a tray of them from the bottom and then letting them get completely dry before watering again. I grow literally close to a 100 of them at one time.

I can't find any amount of light that they seem to object to. Mine are under gro lights but many times I open the window shade next to the gro lights and they don't seem to care. Unless someone disagrees with me, I would say that any window is fine in the winter months and when summer comes any window would be fine except a west window (I just noticed that you are in RI which means our summers are probably much hotter than yours)

Here is an excellent site for you to have:
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/

I am new to Strep's and haven't had much luck yet with the few I've tried. I do grow a lot of other plants, some in the Gesneriad family like Streps and I find that any and all of my plants Love the East windows! I have one south window that does well too because of a huge shade tree that keeps the hot sun out but my west windows are way too hot with afternoon sun in the summer. Most of my indoor plants are in east windows where they just get early morning sun and bright light all day.

Thank you ladies! I think I need to buy a new house with more east windows. LOL

Has anybody had luck with streps using less light than that? I'm always on the lookout for something that'll grow and bloom well for my MIL, whose windows are shaded by large oak trees (especially, of course, in summer -- these are regular oaks, not evergreen "live" oaks).

I'm no expert, by any means, but I tend to have really good luck with Streps. The only way I've found to really kill them is to just plain not water them. I think they'll do well in pretty much any amount of light. They bloom well for me in all of my windows (being east, south, and west - I don't have good north windows and don't really feel that any plant gets enough light in a north window anyway), they bloom well on my plant stands, even on the shelves that are very close to the lights for the orchids. In choosing a window, I prefer to have them in my south kitchen windows. Those windows have screens and are the low-e windows. I've read that screens can cut down the intensity of sunlight by 50% (but don't know if that's really true or not) and I don't know if the low-e factor has any effect on the intensity of the light. For the most part, just give them some light and they'll bloom their hearts out.

Streps can get crown rot, so it's best not to keep the soil moist all the time. I grow mine in a tray. When they're basically completely dry (but the leaves have not wilted yet) I pour in enough water to come about half an inch up the sides of the pots. That gives them enough to soak up what they want, with only a little bit left standing in the tray, and that usually evaporates within a day or two. If I follow that routine properly, they grow like weeds.

critter, I'd give it a try. 'Kitten Face' is a Strep that is almost always in bloom for me, so it might be a good candidate to try. The blooms are smaller and aren't very vividly colored, but there are so many that I just can't resist loving it! :o) The crazy thing put up a bloom stalk and bloomed, then grew a plant at the end of the bloom stalk and now it's blooming like mad! I had to prop it up with a skewer!

I have never seen foliage just on the top, Amy?? The blooms are magnificent!

Isn't that funny? It's sort of like an Episcia the way it's growing. The baby plant is on the end of the bloom stalk. Lots of blooms from it though. I guess I need to cut it off there and root it up.

I feel encouraged!

OK, 'Kitten Face' is on my "must find" list -- both for my MIL and because I can't resist a plant with such lovely blooms *and* an over the top cute name!

Hi There;
I just got the plant kitten face from a friend & had to divide it as there were 4 plants in the pot. I have 2 extra if anyone want to pay postage for them.Let me know.
mrsbonnie

Ooh! That would be wonderful! Would you be willing to hold one (or both, don't want to be greedy but would love one for me & one for Mom) until milder weather? We might be getting a break next week, not sure what it'll be like at your end or between, though... I'll Dmail you...