Agapetes

Origin. Agapetes comes from the humid forest foothills of the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, China).

Description. The genus consists of evergreen, highly decorative, deciduous, climbing epiphytic shrubs up to 1.2 meters high with long tubular flowers and contains about 30 species.

The name Agapetes comes from the Greek word "agapetos", which means "beloved".

In its natural habitat, it grows in humid mountain forests, on tree branches without soil - not high above the ground; at home, it is grown for its beautiful leaves and flowers.

The leaves are small (about 2 cm), lanceolate, shiny, short-petiolate or sessile, entire or slightly serrated. Young stems and leaves are reddish. When grown in direct sunlight, they retain a reddish color; when grown in light shade, they become green.

The tubular elongated flowers of agapetes are very spectacular, as if suspended on a branch, their color varies from pink, red, orange to pale green. Flowers with a long tubular corolla are either collected in small clusters in the leaf axils or are solitary, the petals are fused, there are 10 stamens, with short stamen filaments. Very rarely in indoor culture it sets fruit - a spherical drupe. 

Height. A shrub with a height of 50 cm to 1.2 m, when grown in a winter garden it can reach 3 meters. 

Flowering time

At the end of winter - early spring for 1 - 2 months.

Agapetes at home

Temperature conditions

For lush flowering, coolness is required in winter with a temperature of 5 to 15 °  C. In spring and summer, during the growing season, the plant is kept at a temperature of about 20  °  C; too hot a climate is not suitable for agapetes. 

Lighting

Agapetes is a sun-loving plant, prefers bright sunlight, but can also withstand light shading.

Care

From spring to autumn - when it is warm outside, agapetes can be taken outside. Long stems can be pruned to enhance branching; it is better to provide the plant with support. 

Substrate

Grows in humus-rich, well-drained, but not dry, neutral or acidic soils (pH 5.5). The substrate must be loose, moisture- and breathable, consisting of peat, leaf soil, clay and coarse sand, fibrous heather soil with good drainage. 

Feeding

During the growing season, 2 times a month with liquid fertilizer. 

Air humidity

Abundant and regular spraying during the growing season is quite capable of replacing watering; during warm wintering, spraying is also necessary.

Soil moisture

Agapetes should be watered very sparingly, especially in winter; overwatering is dangerous for this plant. This shrub prefers a slight drought to a flood.

Purpose

Small species are suitable for growing in cool winter gardens in hanging baskets, or in pots on stands as hanging plants.

Transplant

Preferably in the spring, every other year. The plant has a small root system, so it does not need a large pot and would rather prefer a shallow growing bowl. 

Reproduction

Half-ripened cuttings or air layering under glass in a warm greenhouse in spring and summer. Cuttings are rooted using growth hormones for 1.5 months. Young plants bloom within 2 - 3 years. Sometimes agapetes is propagated by seeds, which are sown in spring in nutritious, moist soil. Seedlings are kept under a cover of glass or transparent plastic to maintain the required level of humidity, at a temperature of about 20 - 22 °  C.

Pests and diseases

The plant will not bloom without a dormant period.

Pests are rare - sometimes scale insects, spider mites, and weevils.

Note

It lives from 2 to 4 years, but is grown as an annual if it is not possible to provide it with coolness in winter.

Varieties: 

Agapetes serpens

    A spectacular epiphytic shrub from 1 to 3 meters in height, forms a large tuber at the base with flexible long, as if drooping, branches emerging from it. The leaves are hard, small - from 1 to 1.5 cm in length, lanceolate, tapering towards the tip, glossy, on a short petiole. The flowers are small, about 2.cm long, arranged singly or 2-3 in axillary racemes with a long tubular corolla consisting of 5 ribs. The color of the flowers is orange and scarlet. It produces fleshy blue-violet berries about 1 cm in size, but rarely bears fruit at home.