We have another Gesneriad Society member to celebrate with! Member Rita M. is also part of the Hosta Society and was recently at the Midwest Regional Hosta Society show and convention near Chicago.
She entered some of her plants in various divisions and won!This artistic arrangement named 'Skyline' is stunning. Rita also won the grand champion of the 'cut leaf' portion of the show plus the educational display portion which we don't have a photo of right now.
Congrats to Rita!
Many of the Gesneriad Society members are also members of other plant organizations like the Hosta Society, Orchid Society, Rose Society, Carnivorous Plant Society, Mushroom Society, African Violet Society and more! There's a lot to love about getting into a plant group!
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Here are a few Gesneriads that summer outdoors in Minnesota. They seem to do very well and require almost no care.
In fact compared to the indoor ones, they need much less fussing and tending to than the ones growing in the rather warm plant room. This is one of my all time favorite gesneriads and if you have a little room to grow one out, you can't find an easier or better one that gives a ton of color.
This is Aeschynanthus splendidus.
The orange is fabulous! It will bloom in the window in the winter too. I don't remember which "lipstick" this one is but it blooms at the tips like the A. splendidus and it's bright red. A nice contrast with the green leaves. If you think we're being Aeschynanthus snobs, then how about a Nematanthus 'Tropicana'? If you're careful about how much direct sun it gets, it will tolerate quite a lot but not burn the leaves.The "hanging Gesneriads" don't seem to like hot sunlight in any case though. The gesneriads hang with the other more "ornamental outdoor hanging baskets" like Impatiens, so they mix and match with ease. They get much fuller than they would indoors too. So, if you have a few that are a bit lacking after winter, remember to put them out to rejuvenate themselves in the summer.
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Gesneriad society member Bill M. sent us a couple of rather impressive shots of this Petrocosmea rosettifolia. Grown by Julie H., it's a wonderfully large and perfectly grown specimen.
You can see by the ruler that it's over 6 1/2 inches across the top surface too!There is a mathematical relationship to how the plant's leaves are positioned. You might note that it reminds you of how pine cones look also.
These are very interesting plants to grow. They require cooler temps. than some gesenriads and very good drainage. They can be propagated by leaves like an African violet too. That makes it easy to get more to share with friends!
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