I'm always intrigued when I go into the plant room. Almost every visit provides something interesting to look at or find that I wasn't necessarily expecting. This time was no different!
I mat water in my trays and I haven't changed the mat as often as I usually do because I was seeing some seedlings growing on the moist surface. (You might have noticed that...) I was curious to see if I could get the seedlings parted from the mat without tearing off all the roots. When the plants were very small I didn't have much success so I waited a little longer thinking that with a little more top growth, I might just be able to separate them.
I came to find a sweet little surprise!The baby plantlets in this tray all have tubers. You can see the small, tan, rounded little lumps where the roots start? Those are in fact the small tubers forming already.
I've put a few of what I extracted into Solo cups and they seemed to take the transition with grace. I'll grow them out and see what it is that I actually got. Surprise!
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Can you believe it's the Great Minnesota State Fair time again???Here are some gesneriads on display at the Fair in the Horticulture Building on Thurs. and Friday Aug. 22-23, 2013! This is pretty cool, and HOW DO YOU GET THE PLANT IN THE BOTTLE?? A Streptocarpus or two for your approval!
Nice plants! It's a sign that says:
Join us at our first spring show on April 26-27, 2014!
Our first in at least 20 years that is... we're going to dazzle and amaze and you wouldn't want to miss that, would you? Here's a little slice of a "hot" dish!
Well, it's hot enough to win best design!More fun with Gesneriads
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Comments????PS: Thanks to Sharon J. for the pix for this and the NSAVCTC blog! Thank you!
This is one of my favorite flowers this summer. It's Achimenes mexicana. This rhizomatous plant produces flowers an inch and a half wide and the color contrast between the flower and the foliage is really striking.This one should be grown by everyone! I got a Streptocarpella 'white'. It's not the whole name but it is what was on the label. This thing is always covered with flowers and it's a show-off. The plant down to the lower right is a Str. saxorum. The next two pix are of a nice Kohleria that I really like the color of. It's Kohleria 'Beltane'.
The pink tubes and the spotted lime green face make it a pretty cool flower to grow. I also like the buds. They are as good as the flower, fading from dark green to yellow to orange.
The plant seems to be one of those that should be pinched to keep it a little less leggy. Oh, it's so easy to forget to pinch some of these things... lol. Meet xSmithicodonia 'Heartland's Joy'. This is a baby that is already blooming. The day that Dale Martens got to do the Happy Hybridizer's Dance for this one was truly a really great day! Achimenes 'Ambroise Verschaffelt' must have danced about his flower too. It doesn't show up anywhere near as cool in the photograph as it does in person.It took some patience, but after a couple of years waiting, the Sinningia defoliata is getting it's large leaves. They look like Streptocarpus leaves and I was fooled when I was thinking I put a Strep in the wrong tray. I haven't had the plant bloom yet, but I'm waiting.I know it's not a Streptocarpus though, it is a Sinningia because of the tubers it's making. This was started from seed from the Seed Fund. I've also had the revelation that I like Eucodonias a whole lot! They bloom and almost never have any troubles. They do their thing, die down, make plenty of rhizomes and then start all over again after you've shared some of the rhizomes.
This one is Eucodonia 'Makie'. I really like the contrast in the flower color with the dark purple edge and the very white center. And, the veining on the leaves is nice too. I only have a baby, but this one will definitely be one that I continue to grow and enjoy.
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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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Congratulations to one of our own!
Gilvanete S. has an art exhibit at the Oakdale Nature Center from now through the end of June. The address is Oakdale Discovery Center and Nature Preserve 4444 Hadley Ave. N. Oakdale, MN 55128.
Stop on by and ENJOY! A great way to spend an afternoon!
Thanks to Gil for sharing!!!!!
