Achimene Blue - Magic Flower

The Blue Achimenes, often cultivated indoors, is a highly decorative tropical plant, appreciated for its endless and beautifully coloured flowering. Each flower, in a lovely violet-blue trumpet shape, only lives for a few days, but they continuously renew themselves for several months on flexible and gracefully trailing stems. To create a beautiful pot or fill a hanging basket, we recommend planting several rootstocks together. You can place it outdoors on the terrace or in the garden, in a gently sunny and sheltered spot. The plant rests during winter, protected from the cold, almost dry, and in semi-shade.

Achimenes x hybridum, or Achimenes, belongs to the Gesneriad family. It is a rhizomatous plant native to tropical America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Guatemala, which fears temperatures below 10°C. In nature, it is found in somewhat humid and semi-shaded places, anchored to stone walls or rocks, sometimes at high altitudes. Introduced to Europe in the 19th century, different species have been hybridized, giving rise to lovely varieties intended for verandas and interiors. The reserve organ is a tuberous root. Eventually, the plant forms a rounded and trailing clump that measures about 30-40cm (12-16in) in height and 40-50cm (16-20in) in width. Vegetation starts in spring, consisting of flexible and slightly brittle stems carrying ovate and pointed leaves, measuring between 3 and 5cm (1 and 2in) wide, slightly hairy, with toothed edges, and dark green in colour. Flowering usually begins in May and continues until September-October. The flowers, 3 to 5cm (1 to 2in) in diameter, consist of a long tube that opens into a 5-petal corolla. The foliage naturally dries up in autumn, after flowering. It is then time to dig up the rootstocks and store them, for example, in dry sand, in a cool, light-protected room.

Achimenes are often cultivated as annuals, although they can be kept for several years if they are carefully overwintered in a dry and shady place. They are generous, colourful, and graceful plants, perfectly suited for hanging baskets and potted flowers. You can, for example, associate them with Plectranthus, impatiens, African violets... For the duration of one summer, this fast-growing plant is capable of forming lovely trailing clumps, to be placed, for example, between begonias.