So.... last year this cutting went outside. Think Minnesota in the summer. It had a good run from the end of May to the middle of September outdoors.
In that time it broke through the container and if you look closely.... it is starting to grow from that area too! The tweezers points out the newly forming shoot out of the bulging tuber that is coming through the side of the pot.
I was impressed by the growth and vigor of the "Apricot Bouquet". The funny thing about this plant is the extreme urge to break off at the least encouragement. The stems snap if you move them, if you look at them funny.... so unless you want your show plant to be much, much smaller when you get to the destination, pack this one carefully.This is sort of cool??? We have our first in 34 years (or so... no one can remember precisely) show that our club is sponsoring on April 26-27, 2014 in Minneapolis at the Bachman's store on Lyndale Avenue.
We'll be having a plant Expo rather than any sort of judged show as a way to ease ourselves back into displaying for the public.
I'm hopeful to have a dish garden or two... maybe a terrarium... to show that Gesneriads can be attractive as well as interesting. This little S. reitzii will make a cute little tree (if I make it orient to the front... they like to chase the sun apparently). I purposely washed off the tuber for more interest for the public as well. The Gesneriad family has so many interesting features and so much that the public would like to see and learn about.
Our show is still two months away, but now is a good time to find which plants you might have that would look good in a design and then get the "bones" of the design ready. You can always add the blooming one right before the show.
If we, who are interested in these plants, do not show the public their charms, NO ONE WILL. Many are being lost to environmental damage even as I'm typing this. Please consider getting out and letting others know about the Gesneriads, have your club (and the AV clubs) know about how cool these plants are.... get some friends together, form a club. It's so important. If the plants are appreciated and conserved, think about how many other things will also benefit from the conservation. The birds that depend on the flowers for food, the insects, the soil that is not erroded because they grow there.... the list is positively endless.... think conservation!
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HELLO!These are two of many Moussonia elegans seedlings. I noticed something different about them when they were younger and it's held at least up until now. Some of the babies are red-veined and some are not. These are species and they are showing quite a lot of variations... INTERESTING! Although I think we have all heard that you can get babies from an African violet bloom stem, I really didn't have much (think any) luck with getting this to happen. The other day I went by the cuttings tray and thought that an African violet young'ling looked different to me. The reason they looked different is that the babies are held up a little higher and there is no "mother" leaf in the pot with them.
I took the two blossom stems out and this is what they looked like. You can still see the blossom STEM if you look carefully. This stem got very, very fat as it grew out. Cool. I do this hobby because of times like this when I see something I haven't seen before. It's all about the interesting.... It's almost time for spring displays, shows and EXPO's. I am reminding everyone to start the "bones" of a dish garden or three and put some of the big plants in now so they grow out and look like they've always been there... Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but you can always just make a new one right before the show. This one will have it's blooming plants put in at the end right before the show so the "bloomers" are fresh! This is another shot of my little Sinningia defoliata seedlings (now tubers). This is the first one I have yet to get to bloom although I have many larger tubers and one that is producing prodigiously large leaves!!!! Another chore before the spring shows and EXPO's... we are having our first plant Expo in 30 years... had shows in the 70's and quit due to lack of membership and interest. NOW WE ARE BACK, BABY and trying out our fledgling skills at a non-judged spring show in Minneapolis, MN! GO US!
Anyway, this needed a super hair cut.... now is a good time before all the spring shows. Take a cutting or two also, if you are trimming... it's all to help a show out!This is an un-named African violet from Bachman's ... who gets these violets from a producer in Canada. I contacted the Canadian firm only to not see it on their list of possible varieties sold. I, for whatever reason, LOVE THIS PLANT!!!! Anyone got a name??? You want a PRODUCING xSinvana??? This one is short and makes flowers by the bucket full. xSinvana 'Mt. Magazine' is the one for you!
Try one!
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