You fount a bloom Basket WOW ! What to do with it ?

Here's a better picture of the basket baby.

See those long, narrow leaves to the left of the baby on the stalk? Do I leave those on there or take them off?

Is that a bloom stalk basket or a sucker ? It's mighty big for bloomstalk !
Pick the proper size pot fill it with soil . Leave a enough stem so when you push the basket into the soil the leaves touch soil but stem is around the middle of the pot. My basket was real tiny. She has been in an over flowing thumb print pot. I need to move her to a larger pot .

No, it's a bloom stalk basket. It had buds on it, but between the horrible soil it's in and the fact that I haven't been able to repot it (and I did let it get a bit too dry) they had dried up so I took them off this morning. Storebought AVs just don't thrive for me until I repot them. My husband took the stitches out of my finger last night, so I can start working with my plants more now! Yay!!
I'll take a picture of it when I remove it from the plant. If you scroll back up, you can look at the other picture I posted of it. Those buds just to the left of the basket are the ones I took off this morning.

yEAH ! STITCHES OUT ! Do you wear gloves. I try to remeber with this bug killer in my soil. I don't always. Gloves or not I wash my hands good before touching Precious or anything else.

Oh I'm thrilled to have those stitches out! LOL I've been wearing gloves these last 11 days to keep from getting dirt in the incision. I guess I'll keep wearing them til it's totally healed, but I sure do hate gloves. I can't feel what I'm doing nearly as well. I've got a finger and nail brush that I scrub my hands and under my nails with really well when I'm done playing in the dirt. :o) If I try that kind with the bug killer in it I'll be sure to wear them, though.
Here's the basket baby on the bloom stalk after I removed it from Chico.

I cut it shorter than that before I potted it up, but I forgot to take a picture. Anyway, here it is all potted up!
Thank you for the help, Allison!

Looks Super Great Amy ! Is Chico the plant you have with Chimera flowers ?
Where is that plant posted ? Plant like that with some Chimera flowers/some not ~ you may be able to get a Chimera plant or two. Just keep progating by sucker or bloomstalk... Once you get some if you keep progating by these methods you'll have pretty Chimeras. It's common to see a Chimera with a few flowers solid.

Yes, Chico is the one pictured above in my post on Jun 19, 2006 - 4:41 PM. I'm hoping to get it repotted today and hopefully will come away with a sucker or two as well. I'm going to put down a couple leaves, too, just to see how they grow out and bloom.
Is Chico really a Chimera? Does it still count as a Chimera if some flowers are striped and some are not? Oh, well I just went back and read what you posted again, so I guess it does. Optimara doesn't list it as a Chimera, or would they do that anyway?

I went back up and looked at the picture of Chico. The blossoms on one side were mostly solid purple, but the ones on the other side were mostly striped. There may be two totally separate plants in that pot. I'm really going to try to get around to repotting it today to find out.

Amy Optimara does not have any Chimera's as Chimera's are ALL Sports ~
Your plant is Sporting Chimera ! One there might be two different plants in the part. Or it is Sporting and hopfuly it will keep blooming Chimeria. Progate it only by Suckers or bloom Stalks. Don't worry if they all do not bloom Chimeria. The babies that do keep as Chimerias. If you do this three generations you can name it ! Mom plant does not count. Her first blooming Chimera baby is one and so on.
I have Chimera foliage Little Stinker . Her large sucker has NO Chimera foliage and new growth has no Chimeria foliage :(( sometimes they revert back I'm hoping not.

Amy Optimara has a few plants that are registered as sports ! But not Chico. So if you grew it out three generations and it was a stable blooming Chimera you could register and name it :))
For examples
Optimara Rocky Mountain (6593) 05/25/1987 (Holtkamp) Single-semidouble white/red-purple center, edge. Dark green, plain, wavy. Standard
Sported to a Registered Chimera named ~
Rebel's Blaze Spinner (8815) 06/14/1999 (R. Bann) Semidouble chimera white pansy/red stripe. Medium green, plain, quilted, glossy. Standard
>>>>>
Optimara North Carolina (6585) 05/25/1987 (Holtkamp) Single red-purple. Medium green, plain, glossy. Standard
>>Sported to a Registered Chimera named ~
Red Mount Fuji (7812) 10/03/1992 (Horikoshi/Kawakami) Single chimera bright rose pansy/dark fuchsia-red stripe. Dark green, plain, pointed, quilted/red back. Standard
>>>
Another example !
Optimara Little Crystal (7350) 04/11/1990 (Holtkamp) Single-semidouble white wasp. Medium green, heart-shaped, hairy, glossy. Miniature
>>Sported to a Registered Chimera named ~
Amethyst Confetti (7555) 09/20/1991 (C. Carter) Single-semidouble chimera purple wasp/wide white stripe. Medium green, heart-shaped, pointed, hairy, glossy. Miniature
Sports are so much fun !
I think this one is cool ~
Optimara Nashville (6580) 05/25/1987 (Holtkamp) Single rose-purple frilled. Medium green girl foliage. Small standard
>>
Optimara Nashville Sported to a Registered as both ~
Optimara Chicago (6551) 05/25/1987 (Holtkamp) Single-semidouble white and purple/green-tinged back. Dark green girl foliage. Small standard
AND AS >>
Optimara Knoxville (6954) 11/19/1988 (Holtkamp) Single pink two-tone/darker eye. Medium green, hairy, wavy, serrated girl foliage. Small standard
COOL !

I have read this thread more than once and I hate to admit it, but I still do not understand what a bloom stalk or bloom basket is. Is it a stalk that has leaves on it and then a bloom comes out of the center of where the leaves come together? I'm trying so hard to figure this out because if it is what I think it is, I have had plenty of them. I wish someone could make a drawing of what one looks like. I'm trying really hard to understand this.

Jesse

Jesse when your plant flower the flower is on a stem , or flower stalk. Most of the time plants will just flower/bloom .
But when were lucky ( and sure helps with progating Chimeras) On this flower stem under the flower will be two little leaves, or a baby like sucker growing on it. This is called a basket. It grows to look just like a sucker , as you can see in my picture.
I now have the bloom basket above in a 2.50 inch pot ! I need to down load pictures.

Hmmm. I'm going to watch for that. I think that would be neat to find those and plant them. Thanks for clearing that up. When you find one, how far down do you cut it from the main plant?

Jesse

hn Ifind it Jesse I let them stay and grow a bit evenafter flower gone. Thn I cuthe whole bloom stem off when I am ready.
And like in pictures above shows I cut the stem short enough so when I push it into the soil the leaves touch the soil . I water threw good. I just put mine under lights on stands some people might need to cover them.
I have not had any sense this last one. But all the ones I have had rooted and grew nice plants for me. I was lucky my Chimera Sunray Trail gave me five. I just sent a baby off to Spider Anna I have been growing for her. It's blooming ! I can't wait for her to get it.
I will ship your box Monday Jesse. Will you be home next week ?

Yes, I will be home. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

Jesse

Here is an updated picture of my Little Pink Prides Trail basket baby above now in a 2.50 inch pot !

That is such great information about the sports, Allison! I'll keep you posted on how Chico does. The little bloom basket baby is still looking good, so I'm hoping it will root and do well.

Thanks Amy ! So far the only 7 baskets I've had rooted and grew well. I don't get them often