Achimenes hybrids
Family: Gesneriaceae
Common Name(s):
Grown by: Kristen Yanker-Hansen, Danville
Sometimes called flame violets because of their relationship to African violets, these plants have one to two inch flowers in a variety of brilliant colors from scarlet to indigo. They are usually grow as bedding plants or in hanging baskets.
They have fleshy underground stems that act like rhizomes and which can be harvested in the fall and broken into pieces which are stored over the winter to be started the next spring. They can be quite prolific. They require lots of water and never want to dry out as that is the trigger that makes them go dormant. They need bright dappled shade to bloom best. They hail from Mexico through Central America.
