My first episcia bloomed so nice for me but now she is covered with a bunch of dry flowers. What is the best way to remove them -- with or without their stems? Still learning! lol
Spent episcia blooms
Remove the whole spent stem,unless there are more buds,on any Gessie.
Thanks Lynn, will it be OK to remove the flower stem whern it's still green and fresh (no buds though)?
Yes.Episcias just bloom once per stem.The stems are usually easy to remove with your fingers.If they are resistant it won't hurt if they stay on for a few days,but if the plant is large it's best to remove all spent stems to make room for other blooms.Good job getting multiple blooms the first time around!!
Lynn
I'm gonna take advantage of your patience Lynn and ask one more question: does she like a bigger pot? Mine is in 4in. pot and I feel like potting her up because the leaves are getting big and more stems are coming. I'd really like to make her happy, she's been a good girl for me!
Nice picture!! Which one is she?
I would not put her in a wider pot unless it is a shallow saucer type and you want to pin down extra stolons.Or you could put her in a 4 inch hanging basket.Either way I would put down a layer of perlite under the soil mix.Also,you could place a pot of rooting mix or soiless mix next to it and pin down extra stolons to start more plants.
One the size of yours does not need more than a 4 inch pot,unless it is very shallow.They bloom best in tight pots.
This one is just in one of those containers a roast chicken comes in and the soil is very shallow.
I like those chiken containers too but use them mostly as trays. They could be great for the trailing AVs I guess. Love the colors of your pink episcia! Mine came from the recent Round Robin as Silver Sheen. I just bought a nice glass ice-cream/sundae stemmed bowl to let her cascade. Have to take a pic for you to approve lol.
You don't want my approval LOL......I am a terrible photographer!!
Sounds like a pretty container,but put a good layer of perlite in the bottom if it doesn't have drainage holes.The high humidity lovers like Cleopatra above can live in damp covered containers.The others like to dry slightly between watering (for me at least).
So here she is in her new bowl and with old blooms removed. Do you think she can stay in her starter pot? or a little bit wider container could be better? Some leaves are already longer than her pot, I wonder is it her mature size or she's gonna get even bigger...
You could probably repot her into the same size pot.If you dump it out of the pot and it is rootbound,you can go slightly larger.If there is loose dirt,don't go larger.You could remove a stolon and root it (average 07-10 days) and then put it back in the same pot if you want a larger plant faster.It will look nice cascading from your bowl.
Here is an example of where I rooted 4 or 5 stems and put them in a wide shallow pot.She is Fannie Hague,one of the easiest to grow.
very pretty, think i will go do some of mine. lol
bonnie
Your Fannie is adorable, like a bunch of cute little teddy bears! Thanks for the pics and prompt help, this forum seems to be one of the best on DG, doesn't it?
Yes,it's my favorite ^_^.Too bad some of the members who grow such beautiful hanging baskets of Episcia aren't posting anymore!! I tend to keep mine smaller,because I have no place for large baskets in the winter.