Chirita ‘Aiko’

This Chirita is a hybrid of C. eburnea and C. subrhomboidea. The C. eburnea, the wild form, has small flowers, but crossing it with C. subrhomboidea, which has much larger flowers, produced this medium sized one. The plant itself can be propagated either by seed, cuttings or tissue-culture. With the last two methods, the plant will come back true to type; if you use seed, you will get a mixture of the hybrid and the two ‘parents’. It is a reasonably easy plant to grow, requiring a temperature of about 15°C. It flowers from August to about December. If put under growing lights, as used in commercial nurseries, the leaves tend to get burned.
All chiritas come from Asia and are related to the Saint Paulia and the Streptocarpus which are both found in Africa. Growing conditions are very similar for these three Gesneriad sorts.

Chirita 'Aiko'

 

Chirita tamiana ‘Maysie’

This plant comes from Vietnam and is a member of the Gesneriaceae. The most familiar species in the family are the African Violets (Saintpaulia) and the Streptocarpus. All chiritas come from Asia, but Saintpaulias and Streptocarpuses from Africa. The tamiana is a very easy plant to grow, requiring shade and warmth, and is therefore very suitable for the living room. This particular sort has a long flowering period, so will give you a lot of pleasure throughout the year.
You can water overhead, but do not use cold water, because it will leave marks which look unsightly. They can be fed with a general houseplant feed.
The ‘Maysie’ has recently been brought onto the market and is being produced in Holland and Denmark. If you can read Dutch, you can have a look in the Vakblad voor de Bloemisterij.

Chirita tamiana 'Maysie'