Auriculas make good garden plants, provided you have a good loam or a clay-based soil. They will not tolerate dry sandy or thin chalky soils in which they will dwindle and die out. Although partial to a soil with some substance to it, Auriculas do not like to be too wet in winter; heavy clay soils need to be well worked and the drainage improved. In heavier soils Auriculas should always be planted with a collar of grit or gravel underneath the rosette. When Auriculas come into flower, if the weather is inclement, flowers can be protected from rain and frost with an open-ended cloche. Auriculas can, of course, make delightful potplants. Auriculas should be grown in a low fertility, loam based compost. We mix 50% Medium Peat with 25% Grit and 25% Loam. Lime and 12 month slow release Osmacote should both be added at 150grams per 100 litres of compost. Never overpot Auriculas; their natural habitat is clefts of rocks in the Dolomites. Young plants should be grown in 7cm, mature plants in 9cm pots Auriculas in pots are best kept under glass. No heat is needed in winter and the vents in the greenhouse must be opened on a daily basis. After plants have flowered, plants should be shaded through the hot summer months.

If a glass house is not available a cold frame is adequate, provided it is ventilated daily and the pots are placed on a bed of gravel. From October to late February plants should be kept almost dry. Watering and feeding in a warm, sunny spring should commence in mid-February. Use a high potash low nitrogen fertiliser every two weeks till flowering finishes. If light levels are poor, delay watering till the end of February. Avoid overhead watering as this will spoil the blooms and wash off any decorative farina from the foliage. Watering from March to June should be liberal. During the summer do not overwater and always water in the evening when it is cool. Auriculas hate having their roots sitting in hot soggy compost; the roots will literally drop off Auriculas should be repotted annually in late August. Remove all the old compost from the roots, split the clumps if necessary and repot. After repotting all plants should be treated with the chemical Provada as a preventative against the dreaded vine weevil.

Plants benefit from the removal of dead leaves at all seasons, but particularly in winter, as decaying foliage is then most likely to become infected with botrytis. Plants should be deadheaded after flowering as open pollinated seed is of little value and seed production consumes valuable energy. When deadheading, remove merely the flower. Cutting the flowering stem at base can result in fungal infections. When the stem has withered, it can be gently plucked without any risk of infection. All Auriculas flower March-May, are sweetly fragrant and grow 15cm tall and 15cm in spread.