Sinningia 'Diva', Scampering Kittens, African violets outdoors, and Columnea 'Red Skelton'

 This is Sinningia 'Diva' that was given to me by Patrick Worley.  I don't know where he got it or it's background, but it's very lovely and has a good double effect.

The plant is medium in height and not too sprawly!

 Winston is trying his best to look innocent while hiding his sister who is frolicking behind him... note the tail and ears....

This is Ivy. She's wondering why some weirdo human is screaming and shouting and jumping around like the chipmunks do outside. She's confused.

 This is Walter the Gardening Cat. He knows that it takes a more subtle approach to be a gardening cat. First you have to lull the unsuspecting "humans"into a false sense of calm before proceeding to "garden". He knows that if he's very cute and in his box... he'll be all but ignored while he's actually trying to "help" with the gardening.

 This is the dish garden from the spring show. It sits outside in the rain and wind and dappled shade and the African violet grows just fine, thank-you-very-much! So much for the superstition about ever getting any water on the leaves or changes in temperatures... they do just fine as an outside plant as long as they don't have too much direct sun.

The blooms also seem to be a brighter intensity of color. The one drawback is the little chipmunk bites out of the front two leaves however.... oh well....

 I was so excited to see some orange in one of the trays yesterday. It is Columnea 'Red Skelton' which seems to have HUGE blooms on a small plant.

Not bad, eh???


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Comments????

Sinningia 'Gabriel's Horn', S. 'Polka Punch', Nemomortonia mummularia, Columnea lehmannii, Streptocarpus 'Alissa', Chirita linearis, and Columnea schiediana are BLOOMING!!!

This has to be one of my very favorite Sinningias. It's Gabriel's Horn. This is an easy to grow plant that has been in bloom for months.

This is a little gem called Nemomortonia mummularia. It's pouch-like flowers are a pleasant surprise on a humidity loving small-growing plant. (At least it's small growing for now...)

This isn't quite IN bloom, but it's close. I'm quite anxious to see what Columnea lehmannii is going to look like. I'm a fan of fuzzy flowers, and this one looks like it could be a winner!

This is Sinningia 'Polka Punch'. It grows a bit like a Smithiantha with the nice spike of flowers at the top. This one also seems to be happy to be multiplied... it has four or five "offspring" already.

Ok, now this is a little different, for those that like "weird". This is one of the relatively few (so far) yellow Streptocarpus named 'Alissa'. The yellow is spread throughout and there is only a bit of purple on the upper lobes.

Now this is also lovely, small and pretty cool. This is a Chirita linearis. Pretty pinkish flowers are held above the narrow foliage. A nice plant that doesn't take up too much space either.

And this isn't blooming, but the result of blooming. This is a little Columnea schiediana berry. Even the berry is fuzzy. Now there isn't anything to not love about that! This plant had another berry but sometimes the caretaker doesn't know just when berries are ripe. This one will be ripened a little more and the seeds hopefully sent to the Seed Fund. Please consider saving and sending in seeds to the fund. That's one way everyone has an opportunity to try out new and unusual varieties for a very reasonable price. Comments??? Questions??? It is very easy to leave either if you just click on the word below this and type your message.

Chautemsia calcicola, Sinningia 'Gabriel's Horn' and other cool stuff.

This is Siningia 'Gabriel's Horn'. Now this is a cool Sinningia. The calyx is modified so that it appears to have a double set of petals. As you can see the color is quite spectacular.

This is the Chautemsia calcicola. It was mentioned in the last post but here is another look at this extremely cute gesneriad that seems to do very will in a high humidity environment (think under a dome) but blooms quickly from a small seedling. Rumor has it that it also produces rhizomes??

This is a shot of the flower with a dime for comparison. You'll notice that the flowers are very small but showy!

The 'tiny twins....' Here is Sinningia 'White Sprite' and it's pal, Sinningia 'Moon Ray'. Both are very tiny plants with very tiny blooms. Look how small the flowers are in comparison to the plant label in the photo. This is the adult, full size plant..... even if you live in a closet, you probably have room for a few of these Sinningias.

How about this Nematanthus corticola? The blooms hang down off of long red structures that will make the flowers look like they were hung off a holiday tree. They are almost ready to show the flower which you can see in the photo still tightly compressed in the center of the calyxes.

This is Sinningia 'Piglet'. It is just about to open, probably within the day. It's a sweet light pink color, which is probably why it is named as it is. The interesting thing about this plant, at least for me, is that it went from sprouted (microscopic) tuber to blooming plant in two months. Who knew that Sinningias were so quick and easy to grow???

I just like this flower. It's a Columnea linearis. The long narrow leaves give it a distinctive look from many of the other Columneas and the pink color of the flower is a bit different also.


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State Fair Fun

 The winning entry at the Great Minnesota State Fair 2010 was this wonderfully grown Columnea sanguinea.

Note the darker patches that would be very visible if the leaves were viewed from the underside. These patches attract hummingbirds to the flowers which appear UNDER the leaves.

 This is a really, really cool example of Petrocosmea rosettifolia. Note the spiral pattern of the leaves and the many rows of leaves. This is an exceptional plant.

 Another Petrocosmea... 'Shortin' Bread'. One of the few hybrids developed so far in the Petrocosmeas.

 You want a mini-Sinningia now, don't you? This is Ozark 'Rosey Cheeks'.

 This is quite a bold color and great small plant that grows alongside your African violets. Ozark 'Blazing Embers'.

Apologies for not getting a good shot of the flower's face. Another nice plant, Ozark 'Pink Popcorn'.

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Please start a discussion, or ask questions.... gesneriads@gmail.com will get you in touch with someone to answer your questions about gesneriads!