Grow and Care for Chirita

Grow chirita in bright indirect light, keep the mix evenly moist, and water around the crown so the hairy leaves stay dry. Chirita is Deinostigma tamiana. Shops also say Asian violet. An African violet is Saintpaulia, a fuzzier rosette with a different flower.

Give it bright indirect light, keep the mix evenly moist, and water around the crown

chirita is Deinostigma tamiana, a miniature gesneriad from Vietnam. It makes a small rosette of hairy, ovate leaves, then holds white trumpet flowers with dark purple marks in the throat. [1] Set it in bright, indirect light. Shade to filtered sun is fine; harsh light scorches the leaves. Keep the mix evenly moist, not bone-dry and not waterlogged. [2] Water at the rim of the pot, or from below, so the hairy crown stays dry. Empty the saucer. The plant copes with ordinary room air, though a humid windowsill or a closed jar helps the leaves stay plump.

It flowers almost year-round in good light. If bloom stalls, move it a little warmer or brighter, still off hot glass.

1. Place it in bright, indirect light. A north or east window is enough.
2. Water when the top of the mix feels just dry. Water at the rim until it runs out, then empty the saucer.
3. Keep water off the hairy crown. Wet leaves that sit in the center of the rosette rot.
4. Feed at half strength every few weeks while it is growing. Skip fertilizer if growth slows in winter.

Pinch spent flower stems, and bring the pot in before a freeze

This plant does not need pruning like a shrub. When a flower stem browns, pinch or cut it at the base so new stems can rise. Pull off yellow or tatty leaves the same way. A second plant from a leaf is a separate job on How to Propagate Chirita.

It will not take a freeze. Grow it as a houseplant, or bring a patio pot in before a freeze. Water a little less if growth slows in winter, and skip fertilizer until new leaves show.

Use a small pot that drains, and wait to repot

Chirita has a small root system. A three-inch pot with a drainage hole is enough for one rosette. [3] Use a loose mix that drains, such as an African-violet mix, so the roots stay moist without sitting wet. Wait to repot until the mix has broken down or the plant is pushing over the rim, usually in spring. Step up only one size. Leaf cuttings and a long neck belong on How to Propagate Chirita.

1. Choose a small pot with a drainage hole, about three inches across for one plant.
2. Fill it with a loose mix that still holds moisture. Set the rosette so the crown sits at the mix surface, not buried.
3. Water at the rim until it runs out, then empty the saucer. Set it in bright, indirect light.
4. Wait to repot until spring, when the mix is tired or the clump is crowded. Go up one size.

Not an African violet, not a Cape primrose, and not florist gloxinia

A shop tag that says Asian violet or chirita is sometimes confused with African violet (Saintpaulia): a fuzzier, usually larger rosette with rounder flowers. This plant stays miniature, with white trumpets and purple marks in the throat. [4] A Cape primrose is Streptocarpus: long strap leaves and larger flowers. See How to Grow Cape Primrose if that is the plant you bought. Florist gloxinia is Sinningia, grown from a tuber, not this tiny evergreen rosette. Primulina and Metapetrocosmea on a tag are older or newer names for this same plant, not a second kind we hold.

Keep it in bright indirect light, with evenly moist mix and a dry crown. Take a leaf cutting if you want a second plant.