Calceolaria 'John Innes'
Calceolaria 'John Innes' (c. plantaginea x C. polyrrhiza ?)• Click here to visit our Main Plant List page for current availability of this plant
• common names: slipperflower
• flowering season: late spring to early summer
• height: foliage 3 to 6 inches; flowers from 4 to 9 inches
• Light requirements: morning light, partial shade
• Soil requirements: rich and well drained
• Water requirments: needs regular watering through summer or it may go dormant before fall
• Growth habit: low and spreading
• How to propagate: dividing in early summer or in early fall
• Leaf type: light green, oval leaves
• Ways to use it: especially suited to growing in a rock garden; although this plant is most often grown by collectors of rock garden plants it does well beyond a rock garden when the conditions are right - partial sunlight and soil that is moist but not too soggy
• Special characteristics: a child is delighed when first discovering this flower
This calceolaria or slipperflower is distinct by being ground-hugging and having no woody stems. This is a hybrid of two species that are native to colder, very southern parts of South America, and it can take quite severe cold, to USDA Zone 5. Its name comes from the John Innes Horticultural Institute, of Surrey, England, where it originated. The plant is very low at six inches and spreads slowly wider in a compact mass. The flowers are large in size, the size of a U.S. nickel, although not round but longer, top to bottom. Each flower has its own four to nine-inch stem. Color of the flower is mainly a bright yellow, with a few brown spots on the pouch. It likes both good drainage, at the same time as not liking to fully dry out, in other words, ground that is moisture-retentive and quickly draining. If allowed to dry out too much in summer it will go dormant early. However just because it disappears above ground, don't think that it has died. A tip: choose a location such as a slope in full sun that is well drained, and mix in an ample amount of peat moss to keep the roots moist.