Henckelia ‘Moon Walker’ is a beautiful cross between hencklelia moonii and henckelia walkerae, made by M. Yamagata. Formerly part of the chirita genus (which was dismantled), henckelias belong to the gesneriad family.
This plant has a wonderfully exotic-looking growth habit. It forms thick, light-gray, woody stems, that branch and twist, like an odd looking bonsai. I’m exited to prune and grow this plant into a large, beautifully shaped specimen.
The leaves are light green and covered in white silky, velvety fuzz. The flowers are large, and appear only a few at a time. When they first open, the color is a very dark shade of blue, but as they age, they fade into a light lilac shade of blue.
Though the plant has only a few flowers at a time, they do appear consecutively along the stem all year round. This plant is always producing flowers!
Requirements:
Watering needs:
Dry out between watering. I’ve noticed that this plant tolerates a range of watering, from occasionally sitting in water, to being neglected and dried out from time to time. It does best when you let the soil dry out a bit, and then you soak it in water and thoroughly drain it.
Light:
Bright indirect light. East/west or even north facing windows will work. I’ve had no trouble growing and flowering this plant on a north facing window. I would say, it does best on an east facing window with a couple of hours of direct light. I have yet to grow in under grow lights and see how it does.
Humidity:
The moment the humidity drops, this plant’s leaves get very droopy and sad looking. Depside the woody stem and furry leaves, this plant needs a high humidity environment. The higher the better.
Soil Type and Fertilizer:
I grow mine in a standard gesneriad mix. Light, puffy soil with lots of perlite. You can use african violet soil and just add extra perlite, or make your own potting medium using general potting mix with extra peat moss and perlite. I use african violet fertilizer, but any well balanced fertilized should do.
Propagation:
You can propagate this plant by rooting cuttings. You can root them in water or in a terrarium environment.
Other Care Tips and Personal Observations:
This plant doesn’t seem susceptible to any infestations. I’ve had aphids and mealy bugs on nearby plants, but this one seems pretty resistant. What seem to be the biggest problem is humidity. This plant looks its best when you grow it at high humidity. Any drop in the humidity will lead to droopy leaves.
Though it seems to flower with only a few flowers at a time, they are huge and showy, and as the flowers age, you can see new flower buds growing and getting ready to bloom.
