Diastema 'Red Falls' sp., Saintpaulia shumensis, S. Raspberry Drizzle, Columnea scheideana, Kohleria 'Rattle Snake, Kohleria 'Plum Pudding'

 This is something new and different. It's one of the very recently discovered gesneriads. I don't have a lot of info. on this plant but I believe it's like all the rest of the new and exciting gesneriads... it's found growing on limestone rocks near a stream in a southern local, perhaps Ecuador.

It needs high humidity and growing it in an enclosure in necessary.

The plant is small growing and the flowers only about 1/2" long. They are electric red though and quite showy.

It is not widely in circulation, although in 2009 it was shown at the Gesneriad Society flower show.

Always nice to see that new things are being discovered, even now.... which makes the point about needing to be very conscious about conserving habitat not only for animals but for plants as well.

 From another continent entirely, this is a species violet. Saintpaulia shumensis is a very sweet plant that has the two tone flowers that seem to be borne in pairs on the stem.

This one is new to me also and I'll try not to kill it.

 The bloom is quite light unlike some of the other species violets. I wonder if it was used in any of the modern hybrid crosses? Most of the modern hybrids have ionantha in them but this one is nicely rosette shaped and the flowers are very attractive.

 For all you miniature Sinningia fanciers... this is Sinningia 'Raspberry Drizzle'. The flowers are lovely and the foliage compact.

This one would make a nice addition for even those with a limited amount of space.

 I'm still hooked on this Columnea herthae (formerly lehmannii). The blooms are fuzzy and yellow and really... you need this one too. Rob's usually has it available.

 An old friend and a species too. This big dude is Columnea scheideana. The blooms are someone muted and tend to hang under the foliage but the flower itself is about 3" long and nicely patterned. Worth the trouble to find it a spot. I find that it does better under a dome than out in the open though, but that might just be my house.

 This is the flower of Kohleria 'Rattle Snake'. I was really charmed by the color combination of the flowers and the fact that the plant blooms at a reasonable size. It seems to stay pretty compact and doesn't get too floppy like some Kohlerias do.

And last but not least in the "what's blooming today" list... this is Kohleria 'Texas Plum Pudding'. I didn't give this one enough light and it flops all over but the bloom count and size of the flower make up for all of that. I think with a good amount of light it would make a great plant.

This one has the slightly re-curved petals and it's a great magenta color.


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Pearcea v. Eduador, cobananthus calochlamys, Sinningia 'Prudence Risley' and more.

This is the flower from Pearcea v. Ecuador. It's got great contrast between the yellow and the bright red tones in the flower.

The plant has dark leaves covered with redish hairs and it grows well with lots of humidity.

I have it in a domed tray and it's really quite happy and blooming at a pretty young age.

To keep it reasonably compact, higher light is required.

This is a great little Columnea that is called Sundancer. Bright yellow blooms and it's still a very small plant. Probably in the same pot it came in from Rob's in the spring.

Nice polite leaves and form and the flowers are such a great shade of yellow. You probably need this one too.

This thing is quite the plant. It's a Cobananthus calochlamys. I've tried four of them and I finally have some success. The description in the catalog says it can be a windowsill plant and that might be my problem. I might have kept them too moist.

Currently this one is in a terrarium however because I don't want it to accidentally go totally dry.

The calyx is a bright orange and comes out a long time before the bloom.

The bloom is nicely fuzzy and the opening is reasonably tiny making me think that something with a long tongue must be it's pollinator. Maybe butterflies like this plant.

The fish are done and gone. The 55 gallon tank is now a terrarium again. It was a viquarium, an aquarium and now.... ta da.... it's a terrarium. It and four other tanks are now up and humidity filled. Hopefully many of the weirder species will enjoy this sort of environment.

And finally for part 1 of "What's blooming today", a Sinningia 'Prudence Risley is having a good time being red.

You really do want to order one of these from Kartuz. They are pretty nice plants. A medium size and only a little floppy (which might be my fault).

Questions, comments????

We've Got a Community Education Class!

Hot off the presses! We have a community ed. class in October!

I was pretty excited to see the class offerings book come in the mail yesterday. Now if anyone signs up for the class we're going to have us some old tyme Gesneriad fun! (I wonder if that has any old-tyme music associated with that?)

Let's hope people DO like African violets and blooming house plants in the south metro area.


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Comments???