Achimenes White - Magic Flower

The 'White' Achimenes is a small bulbous plant appreciated for its endless flowering and gracefully trailing habit. Each pure white trumpet-shaped flower only lives for a few days, but they continuously renew themselves for several months on beautiful shiny and fuzzy foliage. To create a beautiful pot or fill a hanging basket, we recommend planting several rhizomes together. You can place it on the terrace or in the garden during summer, in a gently sunny and wind-protected location. The plant rests in winter, sheltered from the cold, in a dry and shady spot.

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 cannot tolerate temperatures below 10°C. In nature, it is found in slightly humid and semi-shady 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 beautiful varieties for the decoration of verandas and interiors. The storage organ is a tuberous root. Eventually, the plant forms a rounded and trailing clump measuring approximately 30-40cm (12-16in) in height and 40-50cm (16-20in) in width. Vegetation starts early in spring, consisting of flexible and somewhat brittle stems carrying oval and pointed leaves, measuring between 3 and 5cm (1 and 2in) in width, slightly fuzzy, with toothed edges, dark green in colour, and glossy. Flowering usually begins in May and continues until September-October. The flowers, 3 to 5cm (1 to 2in) in diameter, are formed by a long tube that opens into a 5-petalled corolla. The foliage naturally dries up in autumn, after flowering. It is then time to dig up the rhizomes and store them, for example, in dry sand, in a cool room, protected from light.

Achimenes are often grown 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. For example, you can combine them with Plectranthus, impatiens, lobelias, African violets, etc. During the summer, this fast-growing plant can form beautiful trailing clumps, for example, placed between begonias.