It would be interesting how they will do. Why don't you put some cuttings in your semi-shade flower bed and see how are they doing. They like lite soil - so just amend their area.

Jon_D will tell us more about the hazards - who knows - may be they are tasty to the slugs or mice eat them - otherwise they are pretty tough.

Irina

Gesneriads don't like our typical heavy California soil. Terrestrials like streps don't make very good bedding plants unless they are grown in beds heavily amended or in areas with sandy soil, that is then heavily amended with organic matter.

But epiphytes need an even looser mix. I have put nematanthus in the ground and they survived but didn't thrive. I think they could be grown in-ground in raised beds especially amended to the point where there is no clay left in the soil--basically beds of potting mix. Sinningias can handle a heavier mix but still would be best in well amended soil.

The best use of nematanthus in frost free areas is as outdoor container plants--either in hanging baskets or in pots sitting on walls or otherwise raised up. In cooler weather they tend to grow more upright and bushy, but most will still cascade over the sides of pots, so an elevated position is best.

I tend to under-water my outdoor nematanthus too. They are under a plastic sheet roof, so don't get rained on, and I forget to keep them well watered. In nature though, they would be on the dry side in winter, but not bone dry. When really dry they lose leaves, drop buds, and then die back.

When nematanthus are well cared for, they can flower heavily as outdoor plants. I've seen plants with multiple buds and flowers on every node of every stem. But, I never seem to get close to that. I found this picture the other day, showing how a nematanthus can look. I don't have this species (corticola--which means, "growing on bark"), and this site seems to be over priced but enjoy the picture.

Jon

However, the corticola mystery is not over. For some years a plant has circulated as "corticola" that was actually crassifolia (same as longipes), which I already have. So, now I need to bloom the plant I have, to see if it has those "8-12" pedicels, that Logee's suggests. The plant in their photo is definitely corticola. What plant Lyons grows remains to be seen--its foliage does look just like crassifolia. Hopefully I will soon flower it now that I found it. Crassifolia and corticola have a similar red flower but the former has a 2" pedicel and the latter has those fantastic long thread like pedicels. Nematanthus means "thread flower" by the way. many species, however, don't have long pedicels. The common hybrid types have very short ones or ones only an inch or so long.

Jon, in the jungle.