I wonder if anyone out there has any experience growing this beautiful, endangered species from China.
Is anyone growing Primulina tabacum?
Not I....but it sure is pretty.
Thanks! So far it seems easy and fast growing. Just hungry and thirsty. It's been growing enclosed in a bright North window but it will be moving into the fresh air soon.
I'll try and post a picture of mine. It is outgrowing its large glass bowl. I love this plant! And the leaves really are scented!
tish
Where did you find it? What will the flowers look like?
I got it from a plant show/sale and the flowers will look like this:
http://gesneriads.ca/primulin.htm
Leaves and flowers are very pretty! Is yours scented? How large is the plant?
I just got it about 3 weeks ago. It's about 4 inches in diameter. I haven't had any flowers yet. It has 7 flower stalks coming up, though. I'll know in a few days/weeks if it is scented. So far it is a pretty fast grower. It's in a bright North window together with some Chirita babies and some Sinningia seedlings that are there temporarily.
BTW: My plant is the one on the picture that I used as a title for this thread. The other one is on Ron Myhr's "The Gesneriad Reference Web". Sorry for not mentioning this earlier.
please keep us updated!
Maybe I should post a picture of my plant once a week and make this a little "blog"...
Update on my plant:
Should see flowers soon ^_^.
Love it!
Update. Still growing rapidly. Still a lot of calyces and no buds. Some of the buds are starting to turn purple. I hope, there will be flowers soon.
This message was edited Apr 23, 2011 2:27 PM
My plant needed repotting only six weeks after I purchased and repotted it the first time. This time it moved into a vintage McCoy planter.
Two buds are finally showing some color.
Both leaves that snapped off when I brought the plant home and that I put down for propagation immediately are showing plantlets now. I purchased the plant and put down the leaves on 03/19/2011. I'm surprised to see plantlets after only six weeks.
Thanks for the update.I have two pots exactly like those.
Lynn
I thought that the yellow glaze would make a nice contrast to the blue flowers.
Olaf
Update:
Plenty of buds - still no flowers.
Update on the plantlets:
Everything looks great!
Thanks Lynn!
Bud update:
That last picture is cool, because you can not only see the bud formation, but you can also see that the hairs on the fuzzy leaf are colored pinkish or lavender. If you look at the other pictures, you can see a faint colored sheen.
S.
Well, thank you! :)
Another bud update. The suspense is killing me. When, oh when? :)
Update. The Chiritas in the picture are 'Deco' (2x top row) and 'Stardust' and 'Lola' in the bottom row.
Plantlets a few days after separation from the leaf:
Very cool.I especially like the Chirita with the light colors.I think it's 'Deco'.
Lynn
Thanks Lynn!
Yes, it is 'Deco'. They are my first trials in growing Chiritas and so far, everything looks promising.
I have a spare of 'Deco'. If you want, you can have it. :)
Thanks Olaf! Let me know what you might like.
Lynn
Congrats on the plant and it looks like she really loves the care you're giving to her, same with the propagation plantlets. I'd say whatever you're doing keep doing it because it's working very well :)
Well, thank you!
The funniest thing about it is that it doesn't require any special care. Keep it moist and well fed and repot on a regular basis. That's it. Oh, mine is in a bright North window.
Thanks for the babies Olaf, should they be in a cloche or terrarium, or is it o.k.open to the air?
Open. They are already hardened off. Where you grow your Chiritas, you can grow your Primulina. The main difference is that Primulina likes it a bit more moist than Chiritas. :)
Thanks, will do. BTW, do you alkalinize your water for Chiritas? I'm wondering if it is worth the trouble and I can't seem to find what I did with that 5 lb. bag of lime!
Although not needed around here since our water is mineral laden, I add the occasional sprinkle of Dolomite lime to my mix. Both Chirita and Primulina (well, soon to be only Primulina...), from what I read, seem happy with a bit of added lime and don't seem to mind lime scale buildup on the soil surface.
It's always a bit of a double edged sword to mess with the chemistry of your mix too much. Primulina tabacum seems happy in a wide range of conditions as long as it's not baking in midday sun.
I bought this plant because I was madly in love with it when I spotted it on the sales table. There is this one article in Gesneriads on growing it and what the author mentioned is: Feed well, repot often and keep moist. That's what I did.
My plant is happy in a bright North window in the company of some Chiritas.
So far, I have no experience what its heat tolerance might be. I'll soon find out since it's finally gotten warm around here. :)
if you ever start some plantlets of this id love to buy or trade you for one,id love to grow it again,its been years and i didnt know what i was doing
JIM