What's Bloomin'

 Lots of things are blooming today. Here's the miniature Sinningia speciosa  from the other day with most of its blooms open. A real cool plant.

 Here's a chimera African violet called 'Emerald City' The lavender pinwheel pattern is accented by the green tipped petals.

 'Jim's Daphne's Choice' Episcia is a really nice clear yellow color. There aren't too many really good yellows in Episcias yet, but this one is very pretty.

 Chirita tamiana is a great little plant that is about the size of a semi-miniature violet. It's easy to grow and get to bloom and the blooms last a nice amount of time. It might be my favorite Chirita.

New to me is this Primulina tabacum. Cool little flowers on this plant. I just got it but I hear that they get larger : )

 This is Dale Martens Streptocarpus 'Tanzanite'. Nice flowers on a smallish plant. Fun to grow.

Now this is an interesting one. xCodonanthus Aurora. It blooms on a small starter plant with a really nice looking peachy flower with a lighter cream color lip. 

 Can't forget the Sinningia 'Gabriel's Horn' tricolor sport. This one is a favorite too with it's calyx double flower.

 Not quite blooming, but Sinningia leopoldii has kept compact to about 6" tall and already it's making flowers! YAY! Not a three foot high monster this time.

Here's a Petrocosmea 'Shortin' Bread'. Nice shape with no fuss and cute little blue flowers.






The last one for today..... an unnamed Streptocarpus that looks for all the world like 'Purple Panda'. Whatever the name, it's really stunning with the pure white top petals and the hint of netting on them.

What do YOU have blooming? Send pix....

Terrarium Problems

 It's always a pleasure to work on a terrarium. What's more fun on a cloudy, gray day than working on a really great project?

I pulled down the big bubble-bowl terrarium and was thinking about what I was going to put into it. Somehow, the "garden" almost seemed to make itself.

 I've been having a few problems with this particular terrarium though, This one is harder than usual to water (it doesn't like it when you pour the water on it) but feeding it is no problem; it seems to eat on a very defined schedule.

It turned so well that it's a prize winning entry!

It's a bit problematic to find just the right location for this piece too. Every time I try moving the terrarium to the shelf it protests. When I slide it sideways to make room on the work-table it makes funny noises. I guess it just knows that it's best placed square in the center of the work space where it can be viewed with awe and appreciation  from all angles.*Sigh

39,700 LED Lights On One Glorious Tree!

That's right! Thirty nine thousand, seven hundred LED lights on an immense oak tree.

If you can see the house in the back ground you will get an idea of just how huge this tree is.... it's a monster.

Located right by Cedar Avenue and Old Shakopee Road, it's been a holiday tradition for years now. The owner just upgraded to LED lights instead of the traditional style this year. It took a boom truck and three and a half weeks of labor (8 hours a day) to get the tree ready for the season.

The photo is cool but in person standing next to it (the owner sometimes comes out and greets people and allows photos up closer to the tree) it's just amazing. It's visible from both Old Shakopee road when crossing from east to west over the Cedar Ave Bridge and while driving on Cedar north bound across the river.

WOW!

Club Project - Streptocarpus 'Noreen'.... Let the Fun Begin!

Meet 'Noreen'. She's a pretty little Streptocarpus who is going to make us famous!!!!

Uh, well.... at least we're going to try to learn something about the differences in amateur-grower's methods of cultivation and care.

Here is a whole box of little 'Noreens' that are going to be adopted by club members.

Our club has members who grow only in natural light, members who have a greenhouse environment to keep their plants in and members who use fluorescent lights in various combinations and locations. We also have a commercial member who is serious about growing them! The goal is to get a starter plant of the same size and variety out to all the members who want one and then periodically check in on the plants to see what's going on with them.

Most people have tried growing a Strep or two at one time or another but it's not possible to compare and contrast what's happening with the plants unless everyone starts out with the same plant at the same time. This project isn't about who can get the largest, most handsome plant just dripping with flowers (although we will all be anxious to hear about how to do that) but about seeing if we can identify any aspects of cultivation and care that seem to really be beneficial to a hybrid Strep.

We'll also be looking for things that aren't necessarily beneficial. What killed it, stunted it or made it into a potential winner at next Halloween's "Night of the Nearly Dead" competition. *Sales pitch here* It's worth the cost of admission just to see the entries for 'Most nearly dead without "crossing over"'

These last two photos are examples of what this plant looks like when it's an "adolescent". I'm really anxious to see what members will share over the next few months. We'll have photos to post from time to time and in 6 months and one year we'll all attempt to bring what's still alive to a club meeting and take a couple of group shots! Wish everyone luck!

The 'OH $@%#' Moment....

Sometimes..... you just wonder why. Why do boxes of seedlings leap off of the table and on to the floor? Are they trying to be free? Do they think that they can fly?

For no apparent reason - and unbelievably, with no help from any cats whatsoever - a sweet little box took the leap.

 After months of waiting for some seeds to finally germinate (much later than their friends in the first photo) these little, microscopic dudes found themselves on the floor -upside down.

Thankfully, my ever-present plant room helper was on duty. He points out that it's a mess.

Thank you, Walter. I had not noticed this till you pointed it out.





A recovery plan was made.

Under close supervision I was directed to look through the sad mess and rescue as many of the small seedlings as I could. Interestingly, the seedlings look a whole lot like the perlite that turns green with algae and is about the same size as the seedlings.

Without knowing which was which, Walter kindly pointed out what to look for.

He suggested using a skewer so that the seedlings could be ever so gently lifted out of the soil and set into a new home.




You can see that these little dudes are pretty small.... bifocals are required.

This IS a chance to try out Dale Martens' method of wiggling the roots to speed up growth though....

The seedlings are in a new cup. They went under a dome and they'll hopefully recover.

PS: Two days later they are still looking good and none appear to have wilted and died from their trauma.

What's Bloomin'

 Here's a little small growing Sinningia specosia that I found at a "big box" store about a year ago. It's going to rebloom this week!

 It's entire diameter is about 8" across which makes it about the size of a standard violet but with bigger and more delightful flowers.

 This is a miniature Sinningia called 'Freida'. This is its first bloom here. Looks like it will be a nice medium size and the color is bright and charming.

 How about Ozark 'Pink Sunrise'?

 Finally, I got some flowers on the Streptocarpus saxorum. It's one of the family that has a branching habit. It's caulescent - having a well-developed stem above ground.

 I'm wondering about trying to cross it with something..... hmmm

 This is S. 'Peachy Propeller'. It's like S. 'Gabriel's Horn' in that it has a second row of "petals" (which is actually an altered calyx) but in this case... I was expecting a bit more show out of the flower.

 It's sort of cool, but.... I'll wait and see what it does when it blooms more.

 Sinningia 'Laura'. A classic. Nice color, nice shape and a nice medium growing size that stays good looking.

Here's the sprawling, winding and overall floppy but interesting old-tyme S. 'Apricot Bouquet'. It's always putting out a few flowers here and there and it makes sort of a cheerful addition to the collection.

Capillary Watering Mats: How DO They Make Them Anyway?

First of all, you probably will need some help with this project.

Truthfully, you don't need help because it's a quick and easy project, but sometimes you get help anyway and have to work with it whether you like it or not.







Capillary, or MAT WATERING is one method of providing water to your plants. The plants sit on the fabric (which you make wet by pouring water into your tray) and the plants absorb the water. This is a quick method for watering a larger number of plants. Top watering each plant in a collection of 100 takes quite a long time, simply adding water to a mat-watering tray of perhaps 10-15 plants takes only seconds.

You will note that most of the typical trays sold at garden centers are roughly 22 inches by 11 inches. The interior floor-surface that you would be putting the mat down on is just a bit smaller. A piece of fabric (your mat) can be roughly 20 inches by 10 inches and fit perfectly in the tray.


Polar fleece, also known as simply fleece fabric is a nice choice for this. You can get just the amount of fabric you want and it's non-rotting because it's synthetic and easily washable.

You will need good table space so you can spread out the fabric and measure it. And, you will need a decent scissors. There is NO substitution for a decent scissors!!!!!

 Explaining size and layout to others can be a bit confusing, so hopefully this diagram will be of some use. TWO continuous yards of fabric is the easiest length to use.  It's the most practical, and cost effective length to choose. Do NOT bother with a single yard, you do not get many mats and you waste a lot of fleece.


Fleece is sold on a bolt and it's folded. It is typically 58-60 inches wide (or 30" folded) This is PERFECT FOR OUR USE!
Two yards is 72" long. Our mats are 20 inches long each. You can see that you can get three 20" lengths (or 60 inches of length) used with about 12 inches left over. If you unfold the very last 12" -see diagram - you can still get three more mats cut and you will have literally almost NO waste.

You lay out your fabric on the table. I only actually measure ONE of the mats, making it a measured 20"x10" mat. I put that mat onto my uncut fabric as a pattern, or template and cut my fleece from there. The photo shows that you can get three 10" wide and 20" long pieces from the uncut fleece.

This is NOT a project for the obsessive compulsive. Fleece is stretchy and not all the edges on the piece are perfect. Some of your mats will be a bit larger or a bit smaller or imperfectly rectangular. This is not a problem. The water will still be absorbed by your plant whether your mat is perfectly shaped or not.

When you get your mats cut, you place one in the bottom of the tray and pour whatever water or fertilizer solution you use on the mat. The plants then take up what they need. It also helps increase humidity around your plant. You'll have to experiment with just how much water to pour on, it varies with how large and thirsty the plants YOU grow are, how dry your room is etc. The mats are washable. Shake off any soil bits and toss them in the washer. They can be bleached, or they can simply be rinsed off with a hose, or in a sink. (Don't put dirt down the sink drain.)

Having a double set let's you wash some and still have mats in the trays. Also, although white is usually out of fashion after September 1st, (and there are 100's of colors of fleece) I chose white, not because it is hard to keep looking nice, but because it might reflect more light to the plant compared to black fleece or a darker color. You can experiment with what color you might want to try.

You will get 21 mats from two yards of fleece. Here's my helper doing a quality check. If you aren't quite sure about the layout, write a comment and we'll see if we can help!

What's Doin' the Bloomin': Sinningia 'Zillanova'

Meet Sinningia 'Zillanova' This is a really nicely indestructible hybrid of Sinningia bullata crossed with something I can't track down today.

The Kartuz catalog describes the plant as, "Showy deep salmon pink flowers above attractive bubbly textured leaves. Large, easy grower. New Sinningia hybrid by Jim Steuerlein." 

I was curious about the white line patterns in the flowers. I thought I was doing something to the buds. But, the only other photo I could find on the internet of this plant also shows the interesting line pattern.

This plant went through very hot conditions and still kept nice looking leaves. It seems to be a winner!

Scary Meeting - One Dark and Stromy Night

 The Halloween meeting started off "innocently" enough with some talk of "creating new creatures to roam the .... ", uh, I mean hybridizing a nice Aeschynanthus humilis with a super secret bunch of pollen. The goal will be to get a cross that will be, as the mad scientist termed, "special"!!!

 The pollen, which is visible on the white paper in the top photo is put on selected stamen (which are sticky and ready to be pollinated). The preferred method of transferring the pollen to the 'mother' plant is very simple. Get enough pollen on your index finger so that you can see it and carefully transfer it to a potentially ready flower. Many such crosses were made to hopefully ensure that some were successful and seeds would be produced.

 Following the laboratory demonstration, *evil laughter sounding in the background, the "Night of the Living Dead" program proceeded. This is the night when the contestants bring their plants that are closest to DEAD (but still showing some 'spark' of life) and they compete with them for the Best Horticultural Specimen prize!

 The competition was fierce! A panel of expertly trained judges (five of them) examined all the entries for any visible sign of green. Much careful deliberation was made. Valuable and awesome prizes, plus the "honor" of recognition was on the line!

 Frighteningly twisted, this entry made it to the top of the heap.

The owner and proud grower of such a horror (shall I mention names???) is really the all time record holder of the title with this being the THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF WINNING IT ALL!

Congratulations Sue! : )

PS: This plant was slated for dissection and burial but will be stuck in a bag and resuscitated... and brought back to life!!!!!!!!! Mwhahahahhahahhahahahaha

 Another prize for either most artistic or just plain weirdest went to this thing.... a Paliavana of some genus that has grown to "frightening" proportions! Crawling and climbing it's way past any of the other specimens in its way it has become.....

 

 Six or seven feet of horrifyingly vigorous Kudzu-cousinie fun! It's "bat" pollinated too!

Lastly, in the chamber of horrors (or propagation box as it's usually known) we were treated to a demonstration of how to properly set up a prop-box with multiple genus' and how to keep them all straight and labeled properly. The photo doesn't show well the fact that everything is labeled from left to right (like a book) so that it's easy to always have the proper name on the specific plant!

Come to the next meeting to hear if there was any success with our lab creations!