Calceolaria INTEGRIFOLIA

Calceolaria INTEGRIFOLIA - Entireleaf slipper flower, Calceolaria integrifolia, Wrinkled slipper flower, Lady's purse, Calceolaria RUGOSA, Lady's Purse, Slipper Flower.

Calceolaria is an extensive genus of flowering plants in the family Calceolariaceae, comprising about 250 species. Nearly all of them originate from Central and South America, primarily from the Andes, where they grow from high-altitude meadows to humid forests and dry shrublands.

The genus is very diverse in life forms: among Calceolaria species there are annuals, biennials, and perennials, herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, and even vines, with erect or creeping stems. Leaves range from oblong-oval to lanceolate, often rugose due to impressed veins.

All share one common feature: the corolla is divided into two very different lips, of which the lower one is inflated into a pouch, making the flower resemble a tiny slipper or shoe. The color is most often yellow or orange, often with red or purple spots, and bicolored forms also occur. The fruit is a capsule with very small seeds.

Entireleaf slipper flower is a species from the southern part of central Chile. An evergreen shrub or subshrub, usually 50-80 cm (20-31 in) tall, and under favorable conditions stretching up to 1.2-1.8 m (4-6 ft). The leaves have pronounced impressed veins, making the blade look wrinkled, and are sticky to the touch.

The flowers are yellow, slipper-shaped, gathered in bright corymbose inflorescences. Each flower consists of two unequal lips: the large lower one is inflated into a pouch, and the small upper one covers it from above. Flowering continues from spring to autumn. The plant is heat-loving and intolerant of frost.

Calceolaria seeds are very fine, almost dust-like, ripening in dry capsules. Soaking such seeds is impractical, so the substrate itself is disinfected: before sowing, it is drenched with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried slightly. Scarification and stratification are not required.

Seeds are sown on the surface without covering - they require light for germination. The sowing is moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant solution: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminosol, Epin, or Zircon, covered with plastic film or placed in a propagator, and germinated in light at a temperature of 18-20 °C (64-68 °F).

Under favorable conditions, the first sprouts appear within 2 weeks; main germination is completed in 15-20 days, while individual seeds may take longer. Sowings require regular airing; waterlogging and drying out are unacceptable. Seedlings are pricked out twice: at two weeks of age and at about one and a half months, the second time into individual small pots.

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The plant needs a well-sunlit location: the more light it receives, the more abundant and prolonged the flowering.

Calceolaria is thermophilic and does not tolerate frost. In open ground after flowering ceases, the bush is pruned to a height of 40-50 cm (16-20 in) and covered with film, while container specimens are pruned with the onset of cold weather and brought into a heated room.

Watering is frequent but in small portions: the substrate must remain evenly moist. Stagnant water is unacceptable - it causes root rot - but the plant does not tolerate drying out either.

The substrate is selected loose, nutrient-rich, and well-drained, with the addition of coarse sand or perlite. Drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot, and a roomy container is used.

Fertilizer is applied weekly during active growth and flowering, mixed with irrigation water, using a complete fertilizer for flowering plants.

Repotting of container plants is carried out in spring as the pot is outgrown. In addition to seeds, Calceolaria is propagated by cuttings taken during spring pruning, which root easily.