 Calceolaria integrifolia 'Kentish Hero'
- common names: slipperwort
- flowering season: early summer on to fall
- height: 18 to 24 inches
- Light requirements: sun, afternoon shade where summers are very hot
- Soil requirements: average
- Water requirments: average, well drained
- Growth habit: upright and branching
- How to propagate: tip cuttings in early summer or in fall
- Leaf type: oval green leaves
- Ways to use it such as in a pot or otherwise: is a focal point in garden either planted in the ground or in a container garden
- Special characteristics: very long blooming with bright and unusual flowers
This is an old variety from England with flowers that are orange and that age darker, until they become a blazing orange-red. It is developed from a plant that is native to Guatemala, and is not reliably winter hardy very far north. We list it as hardy to 20°F. It can be fickle how it survives a winter. If you plant several side by side, you may be surprised when one dies over winter while its neighbor survives. Its flowering season is very long, from late spring until fall. A plant could be dug, potted up and carried over winter indoors. The mature size will be eighteen to twenty-four inches. It produces a huge quantity of flowers in a season. If you are asking who or what is the hero in its name, it commemorates a chieftan by the name of Caratacus, who fought and beat the Romans in battle. |
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