Diastema vexans, Amalophyllon clarkii and other rhizomatous

Pearcea hypocyrtiflora (Thanks so much, MsC!):

Gloxinia perennis. Seedlings growing rapidly.

They all look so good.Love the Pearcea.

Lynn

Thanks Lynn!

I just got an order from the seed fund. Amalophyllon divaricatum, Diastema latiflorum and Phinaea albolineata. Can't wait to sow them. :)

Can't wait to see them.

Lynn

I'll keep you all posted. :)

Phinea albolineata from the seed fund germinated and grew in spades for me. I used moist vermiculite only.

My seedling mix of choice actually is 1/1/1 Perlite/Vermiculite/peat made wet and nuked in the microwave for a few minutes. Let cool. Squeeze out excess moisture and use. I always had good success rates with it. I hear from a lot of people that they use Vermiculite only. I have to say that I have never tried it. It seems to hold a bit too much moisture for me.

Blooms for Seemania nematanthodes 'Evita'. How on earth does one pollinate through this tiny opening? It reminds me of the flowers on Nematanthus 'Vista'

Picture

This is a picture of what 'Evita' ought to look like(from the web)
Mine doesn't look like that. Why???

Here's another perplexor. I neglected to check on Phinea pulchella until now. Is this a blasted flower, or what???

Hey Jamie!

That's a fruit on your Phinaea pulchella. Cool!

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion when it comes to Seemannia/Gloxinia/Gloximannia hybrids. The plant that I got as xGloximannia 'Medea' kind of fits the description but lacks the characteristics of Gloxinia perennis that should be somewhere in its genes.

As for the tight openings on the Seemannia flowers. Hybridizers tend to cut off all the showy parts of the flowers and then pollinate them.

YEAH!!!! I didn't think my attempts at pollination were really working. Thanks for the info. Guess I can't see the forest for the trees. Do I scrape the fruit off onto paper and let dry in order to collect seeds?

There was a picture of a Diastema species fruit with the seeds germinating inside the fruit while still on the plant. So yes, if you want to store some of the seed.

Gloxinia perennis:

Update on Diastema vexans:

Thanks so much Olaf for the Gloxinnia perennis and Diastema vexans. It's great to have your pictures to see how they will develop. I'm trying the G. perennis outside like you suggested. I did scrape out and save Phinea pulchella seeds for my first donation to the gessie seed fund. Have your Amalophyllon clarkii grown much more? Mine stayed small and flowered white. I suppose they'd make good under-plantings in a terrarium.

You are very welcome! :)

It's great to hear that you were able to donate some seed back to the seed fund! I just talked with Karyn Cichocki on Gphiles about that. I'm getting ready to send them some more seed as well. :)

As for A. clarkii: Mine are less than 2" tall, unbranched and are getting ready to flower. Nice, dense growth and deep green color. I guess, they like it in their overheated terrarium... :)

Amalophyllon clarkii with buds:

They are beautiful grown together like a blanket, rather than a focal point.

Thanks Jamie! Well, I took the picture from its best side... Unfortunately it's not as even as it seems.

Diastema vexans. Finally starting to set buds.

Diastema vexans. First flower:

Amalophyllon clarkii (Phinaea sp. nov. USBRG 96-336). Getting ready...

Niphaea oblonga. Love the foliage. :)

Diastema vexans. It's full of buds.

Olaf, your blooms are beautiful. What type fertilizer do you use and how frequently do you use it. Also, how thick or thin is your wiking material? I promptly killed streps by wicking them. I wonder if the string was too thick. I can't get over how many beauties you have. Share all your secrets with us. It looks like everything you are doing is working wonderfully. My "country tiger x self" seedling has buds. Thanks. I'm so excited. Lou

Thanks Lou!

I'm excited for you that your 'Country Tiger' x self has buds! :)

As for the secrets... Actually, there aren't any...

I only use what is available at the local hardware store. My fertilizer regimen is MiracleGro Tomato fertilizer 1/4 strength on constant feed.

Wicking is nice but it turned out that I prefer regular, old fashioned top-watering. This just gives me more control over the amount of water.

If I wick, I usually use mason's twine or acrylic yarn or whatever I can find.

Other than that, my mix is 3 parts each of AV mix and peat moss, 2 parts of Vermiculite and 3-4 parts of Perlite. No exact science. I just stick my hands into the mix to feel the consistency and texture and tweak it until it feels right. I add to this about 1 TSP Dolomite lime and a good pinch of "SoilMoist" crystals per quart.

I use this mix for everything I grow and make it a bit fatter or leaner if need be.

Again: It's all from the local hardware store except for the Dolomite lime.

I also use "dirty spaghnum" for certain plants like terrarium Begonias but I don't use it often.

Most of my plants reside under two T5 tubes.

I think, that's about all the "secrets" that I can think of...

Oh, what works best for me with Streps (so far) is to slightly overpot them and keep them on the moist side. In the Summer heat around here they'll wilt immediately if I forget to water.

Olaf

Thanks for all the info. I have mine under a light stand with 2 tubes also. I don't use vermiculite because all I can buy here in sm town America is fine and it is so fine that it really keeps everything compact instead of loose. I will try to find the coarse vermiculite when I'm in the city next time.

In a kidding mode, how did you arrive at your user name, and why didn't you use you old one? Lou

Again: I only use hardware-store-stuff and all I can find, even in Chicago, is fine Vermiculite and Perlite. Works like a charm for me. You just have to find out for yourself the Perlite/Vermiculite ratio that works best for you. :)

I have been using variations of bsimpson for many years. Just because I love The Simpsons and I'm also an airhead and need a name that I can remember... LOL