Melanie,
LOL....Believe me we know how terrible we are ^_^.We love to draw others into our sticky web!
Lynn
New Gesneriad Fan
I will when it comes closer to spring. I will be too cold also. It probably needs to be posted in April and started in May...or something on that order. Some might get too busy and you never know what may come up if it is posted too soon. Example: I had a short notice to leave the state to help my daughter after her surgery. Ya never know what might come up between now and spring.
Connie
If we're doing it in the spring, I'll put down some leaves. I have some cool streps, like Geronimo and Nightmare that are already sprouting leaves. AV Laser Celebration blooms practically nonstop for me, I'll start that as well. I also have some of the variegated Buckeye AV's, I'll throw those leaves in some perlite as well. I have begonias as well, if anyone wants me to start those.
Sounds great, Celene!!!
Connie
Let's all get propagating then! :)
I'll have some micro mini, mini and regular size Sinningias, Kohlerias, Begonias, Hoyas, Silver Squill (Ledebouria socialis), Cissus quadrangularis, Sansevieria trifasciata 'Black Gold', Aloe aristata, Haworthia coarctata, Ceropegia woodii, C. woodii "Green" and C. linealis and whatever else I can find...
I'll def have some Sinningia tubiflora unless something happens to the "mother" plant. I may have strep and episcia seedlings as well.
I should have a ton of blooming size micro mini Sinningias by then. Particularly pusilla, muscicola and 'Mighty Mouse' propagate like bunnies... LOL
I did have a feeling I had to start some cuttings but only now I realized why lol. You guys are super terrible, I'm drooling already! Love the idea about hoyas, begonias, maybe some succulents and even supplies and crafts would be nice too. Definitely something fun to work on all winter long.
You guys are ramping up my acquisition virus! Are there any Gesneriads that will tolerate blazing hot sun and a lot of water? I have a Giant Tai EE, Colocasia gigantea that's in a large pot and wants a ground cover. It's still a baby though.
In my growing area the temperatures go up into the triple digits for several weeks a year and drop into the nineties during the night.
Sinningias and Kohlerias do best for me. Achimenes are worth giving a try. You should keep them out of direct midday sun or they will scorch up in no time. They can take a bit of direct morning or afternoon sun but you need to test each one for sun tolerance and you also need to slowly get them used to the sun when you move them outdoors.
Kohlerias and Achimenes can probably take the most water but I seriously doubt that they can tolerate the almost bog conditions that Colocasias like...
However, you can use the EE-leaves as a natural shade cloth and grow all kinds of Gesneriads in pots under their protective canopy. :)
Olaf
For the swampy tropicals, I use Viola banksii, gotu kola, pennyroyal, or water celery. I have a lot of shady kinda plants, so the episcias do well as carpeting plants. I use tropical sedums for the sun-lovers.
Other good ones for shady conditions are waffle plants (Hemigraphis) or Pellionia (or whatever their current name may be..., aka. "Water Melon Begonia"). Both make nice ground covers. Tradescantias can work but you will have to have a weed whacker at hand at all times because they can get a tad invasive. Also, they are classified as noxious weeds in some areas...
All kinds of Begonias work for shady areas and with larger growing rhizomatous
ones like 'Red Fred' or 'Lotusland', you can make quite a statement!
Vigorous, fast growers like B. soli-mutata or U002 are also very cool. B. soli-mutata turns brown in the sun and green in the shade...
Then you have terrestrial Orchids like Spathiglottis which should be pretty much trouble free.
Enough O/T... LOL Back to Gesneriads: The tougher Sinningias like S. tubiflora and S. macrostachya should work even in a relatively sunny spot. The close Sinningia relatives Paliavana and Vanhouttea could work and so could the intergeneric xSinvana.
Primulina tabacum could work in a cool, shady spot and so could some of the former Chirita.
If you can get your hands on one, you could try Conandron ramondioides.
Some of the vigorous, larger Nautilocalyx like N. melittifolius are worth a try as well. Basically all the close Episcia relatives have something worth giving a shot: Alsobia, Nautilocalyx, Alloplectus, etc.
Maybe a Gesneria like G. cuneifolia but they might just be a little too tender...
Columnea, Aeschynanthus, Codonanthe, Nematanthus, xCodonatanthus - The epiphytic genera have quite a few VERY tough ones to offer as well.
That's everything I can think of right now... LOL
Olaf
My head is spinning right now. Whew!
Hey...I like the weedy spiderworty kinda plants. And I use them for pot cover, too :) And in bouquets.
Alsobias are fantastic, they cascade prettily over the edge of the pot, and they're good for carpeting terrariums, too. I have a Nautilocalyx adenosiphon that is growing nicely, I may take some cuttings and see how it does in the soil of a ginger. I just started some Episcia "My Precious" accidental cuttings (cat did some unapproved pruning) and I'm trying them as soil cover for a Ctenanthe lubbersiana. I am not sure how a trailing AV would work for that, most of the ones I've tried seem a little fussy for the rough and tumble lifestyle of a soil cover plant.
Am I the only person who has an odd aversion to seeing the soil in pots or terrariums? lol I can't decide whether I like the aesthetic, or it's just an excuse for another plant.
What I love as a pot cover for larger pots is Saxifraga stolonifera ("Strawberry Begonia"). They are tough, trouble free and take all kinds of abuse and are hardy down to Zone 4...
Those freaking things die the moment I buy them. Always. I gave up. I can get a vanilla orchid to bloom in my kitchen in Columbus, Ohio but those things just immediately croak, no matter what I do.
They don't like to be fussed with. Just leave them alone and only water when they droop. The second, you put them on a regular water regimen, they croak. Once established, they are tough as nails but they can take a while to get there.
All this talk of a spring round robin is making me drool. I am game for any type of plants. I'm new to all gessies. I have african violet babies that will be ready, and also have a lot of micro-mini sinningia seeds that have sprouted. I think the name is 'Bright Eyes'. I have to go check the tag. Also by spring I should have lots of epicia to put in box. Maybe also some hoya cuttings. I just started with cane begonia so if they grow good, I'll have cuttings of those also. Hurry spring. I can't wait.
Olaf, you were supossed to send me some sinningia seeds, so when you do, I should have some of those babies as well.
Mea culpa, Eileen!
So far, I am still waiting for two more pods to ripen, then it's cleaning, packaging and sending them off. I have a ton of S. muscicola and pusilla seeds.
BTW: Technically, your 'Bright Eyes', which is (pusilla x concinna) x pusilla, was selfed to obtain seeds and hence is 'Bright Eyes' x self or 'Bright Eyes' F2. It's important to make this distinction because your seedlings will likely not be uniform and not come true to 'Bright Eyes'. What is to be expected is that most of the offspring will be more like pusilla than concinna but there is potential room for some significant differences.
I have been very busy lately and working long hours. So, as soon as the pods are ripe and dry and I have some time to clean and bag the seeds, I'll be sending them to you! :)
Olaf
I just went and checked the name and it's Bright Eyes x self. There are a couple in the container that look like they have a couple of sets of leaves, so tomorrow I'm going to pot a couple up and see how they do. And WOOHOO, Olaf, my sinningia gutata has buds. You were right. You said it would bloom by December. I can't wait. They are tall and almost touch the iights. I may have to take it off the grid and put it on a mat. Otherwise I won't be able to see the flowers. I see a few buds.
Don't stress yourself too much about sending seeds. I don't want to rush you. I appreciate that you are doing this for me. Try not to work so hard. Try to enjoy the holidays. I worked in retail until the store I worked in closed. I have worked every Black Friday, every Saturday and Sunday for years. I never had time to enjoy the Christmas holidays. I am now retired and enjoying doing nothing but playing with my plants.
Celene did you say Vanilla Orchid? I have one that's been sitting under my potting bench going on 3 years now .. it's over 6 feet long and mugging everything in site - I'm always having to remove it's little feet that grab onto everything from objects - thankfully it doesn't attach to other plants like the passiflora .. that's a daily job, cutting off tendrils .. could you post a picture of it, the pot you use and what you have it climbing on please?
Right now it's in a back bedroom, because I moved stuff around to decorate my ghost pepper kitchen "tree". Mine isn't as large as yours from the sound of it, it just wanders around the other pots and a metal stand.
I have some chirita nimbus plantlets doing well and probably various rhizomes to send too and well other goodies. I planted some Achimnes Glory so those should be ready to ship unless they are too big.