Lotsa pictures!!

Finally I got a few free minutes this morning and went through snapping pictures. I hope you enjoy them!

Chirita sinensis 'Hisako' that Allison sent me in my first box.

This message was edited Oct 7, 2006 12:43 PM

Allegro Appalachian Trail from Jill. This plant bloomed the day after it arrived, and couple weeks later, it started to die. I finally figured out that my lights were too close, it was used to unchlorinated water at Jill's home, and I let it get too dry once (or maybe twice). I didn't know it to begin with, but I was torturing the poor little thing, and wouldn't have given you a wooden nickel that it would live, but look at all that new growth!

Alsobia 'Cygnet' from Allison. It's about to bloom!! Yay!! See the bud?

Begonia from KachinaGirl. I love it!

Biscayne Trail from Jill. This poor little thing went through the same thing as Allegro Appalachian Trail, but look how healthy it is now! Boy, am I learning a lot as I go!

You'll all have to excuse the "pots" my plants are in. I've run out of pots, so just potted them in cups the last go-around. They don't seem to mind, but I sure do hope to have actual pots for them next time!

Blue Tail Fly from Lali.

Two Codonanthe plants from Keyring. One of them has a bud, which I circled in red. I can't wait to see it bloom!

Deer Trail and Rob's Outer Orbit (I think) from Jill. I think Deer Trail has really grown, don't you, Jill? Love it!!! :o)

Fittonia I got at Lowe's last week...I couldn't resist. I know it's a bit OT for this forum, but with that lovely variegation I thought everyone here would enjoy seeing it.

Indian Trail from Allison. It arrived one day and began a heavy protest the next day. Most of the lower leaves dried up and died, so I unpotted it, removed the few remaining lower leaves, repotted it deep enough to cover the neck, and put it in a half gallon pickle jar. I left the lid off the pickle jar. It has grown a ton of new leaves in the 2 or 3 weeks it has been here, so evidently that was the right thing to do. I think it just couldn't handle the dryness here after being used to the humidity of Florida.

Rain, I use the large clear plastic glasses exclusively for my AVs - I can easily see when they need water and they do so much better. I just place the glasses in decorative pots and no one is the wiser.

A whole box of babies from Jill! I can't remember all the names right now, but Deer Trail and Rob's Outer Orbit are in there. Aren't they gorgeous?

Kay, I've found that I really do like having them in clear plastic. I had thought about trying to find clear plastic pots for them, but your idea of decorative containers is very good. The cups are plenty cheap enough and serve the very same purpose as a clear pot! Thank you for telling me that. :o)

Mini Minx from Allison. What a cutie!! I have to really watch how much I water it. Not too much, not too little...
Correct watering is the bane of my AV growing experience. Out of fear of overwatering, I've been underwatering, not to the point of plant death (for the most part), but to the point that I don't have one single AV blooming right now. I do have several putting up buds, though, so I think the watering schedule correction I made a few weeks ago is a definite step onto the right path! Cross your fingers for me!

Mosaique I grew from a leaf.

Variegated Optimara I got from Lowe's. Unnamed, but hopefully when it blooms I can ID it at the Optimara site.

Precious Lavender from my Bingo box from April! :o)
I thought I had taken a picture of the Russian Coffee Aroma from that same box, but evidently I didn't. I'll get one soon...

Ramblin' Ruby after I cut her head off! LOL She got so tall she completely fell over, so I cut out the middle stem. There's new growth where I cut it! I cut the middle stem into two parts and potted both of those up. I believe they're rooting nicely, but I haven't bothered them, so I don't know for certain. In retaliation, she quit blooming... LOL Actually, most all the blooms were on the middle stalk, but there are several buds left on her so hopefully she'll explode in bloom soon.

Rob's Antique Rose from my Bingo box from April. A lovely plant!

Silly Girl from Allison. What a pretty girl!

Sinningia noid seedling from seeds Keyring sent me. Key, is this going to be a larger one like S. cardinalis or a mini?

Sinningia pusilla pods. Do these look like they're developing seeds? How dumb do I sound asking that?? LOL

Teeny tiny mini Sinningia seedlings from seeds from Keyring. Key, do you remember which these were? I'm thinking you said they are the Rio das Pedras (I probably spelled that all wrong), but can't remember for certain.

Strep seedlings from seeds from Keyring. I may have sowed them a bit heavy... They need to be repotted, but I think that's a project for when I have a LOT of time! LOL

Summer Carnival and Rob's Temptress

OK Whew! That's all I had time for today. A huge thank you to everyone who has shared their cherished plants, leaves, and seeds with me!

Hurray! What fun! Thanks for the pictures.

Great looking plants, Amy. Thanks for sharing.

Don Ü

Nice pictures Amy Wow your plants have really grown. !

I love the Begonia from KachinaGirl.:)) And your seedlings from Key are adorable ! Thanks for sharing your pictures !

Thank you all! I'm glad you enjoyed them! I'll try to get more pictures soon, but I make no promises as to when. And maybe I'll have lots of blooming pictures to post soon, too.
I spent most of day before yesterday moving all my AVs out of the east window in the back entry hallway and onto the light stand. I know they would have suffered terribly with the drafts that come in with the opening of the door. I put some hardier foliage plants in that window, so I've still got lots of pretties out there.

Edited because I spelled "hardier" wrong and it was driving me crazy!

This message was edited Oct 7, 2006 9:24 PM

What a great collection plus excellent results growing from seed! I would love to know more about your method.

gosh, so many pictures! I totally missed the seedlings on my first look through.

They are growing well for you! they look great.

The sinnigia noid.... if it didn't say mini noid or micro noid, then it's a... noid. lol. It probably will not be *bigger* than cardinalis. I usually mark the micro minis as "micro", even if they are noids, so those will probably be between a mini and the cardinalis, but don't bet on it.....

Those pusilla seed pods look good :-) You shall have a forest floor of micro sinns in no time :P

I can't remember which micro sinn seeds I sent you, but you'll be able to tell when they grow up. If they are white, it's Sinningia pusilla 'White Sprite'. If it is a lilac pinkish color, then you it's either pusilla or Rio das Pedras. The foliage on the two are slightly different, but another good way to distinguish the two is to look at the back of the flower. Pusilla sticks out (it has a spur) on the back end: http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/gesneriads/sinningia/pusilla.html
whereas Rio does not have that protrusion.http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/gesneriads/sinningia/muscicola.html


On the strep seedlings, if you don't have time to repot, take a toothpick and jostle the soil around the roots gently. It might help them grow faster.

WOW! Your plants look wonderful! I know we exchanged several Dmails trying to figure out why the ones from me were not thriving for you, but it looks like they are more than happy now -- congrats! I know how it is to try one thing after another on a plant that is barely clinging to life.... and what a rush when it recovers and starts putting up new growth! Hopefully you"ll be getting some blooms soon too. My plants (at least just before I left) have not been blooming much this summer. I think I had issues earlier with too much light, and then I was trying to lay off the fertilizer and might not have fed them enough, but I am hoping that I can get them back into good condition so they"ll bloom all fall and winter for me! :-)

Snowrose, my seed-starting method is pretty primitive. I've not had the opportunity to start many seeds, so I tried not to make the process too involved. The fewer steps there are, the fewer places I can make a mistake. The containers are round black plastic tubs with clear lids that take-out barbecue came in, thoroughly washed, then run through the dishwasher. I used a soldering iron to poke holes in the bottom of the tubs, but left the lids intact.
The potting mix is 3 parts perlite to 1 part MG potting mix, microwaved to sterilize it. The potting mix was barely damp, so I sprinkled the seeds on top and then used a mister to moisten it. The mister is one of those bottles for misting yourself when it's hot outside that you put water in and pump it up so it's pressurized, then turn the stopper on the tube and a fine mist comes out. I think next time I'll mist the soil first then sprinkle the seeds. I'm afraid some of the seeds might have gotten flushed down into the soil because the one Sinningia noid seedling and the three mini Sinningias are the only ones that sprouted out of each of those sowings. I kept the lids on them and only misted once, or maybe twice, before they sprouted. I had learned from the first misting that I needed to hold the mister way above the container and just let the mist fall onto the potting mix, rather than hold it close to the mix. It takes longer that way, but is much less disturbing to the seeds, I think. They have been on the end of my light stand the entire time.
See, I told you it was simple! :o)

Key, I can't wait to have an overabundance of the S. pusillas! I love that little thing! :o)
I taped the labels to the seed containers so I would know what was what. I'll snap a picture of the mini Sinn. label and send it to you. I'm really thinking you said they were Rio das Pedras, but can't find the note you sent with them. I put it up so I wouldn't lose it... LOL Tomorrow should afford me time to repot at least some of those Strep seedlings. If I don't get them all repotted, I'll stir the soil around. Think it would be alright to space them out and leave several in that same tub together, at least for the time being while they're still small? I'll refresh the soil.

Jill, I am so happy the Allegro App. Trail has perked back up! I was so worried about those plants, and I knew it was something I was doing wrong. That Biscayne Trail is the first one you sent me that was just a wee little thing. I'll have to find the picture of it when you first sent it so you can see how much it has grown. Tripled in size, I'd guess... I was just frantic about what I was doing wrong to them! Everything you told me helped me figure out the mistakes I was making and how to correct them. Thank you for the time you spent helping me. :o)
I have had and worked through several mistakes with my AVs - lights too close, not enough water or fertilizer, chlorinated water, incorrect potting mix formula. I've corrected all those. I'm watering every 5 to 6 days in a 4 step cycle. 1st watering, fish emulsion, 2nd watering, Peters AV food, 3rd watering, Optimara AV food, 4th watering, plain (unchlorinated) water. It seems to be working miracles for my plants, so I'm really happy and have some pretty high expectations for blooms.

OK Halftime is over and the football game is back on...gotta go! LOL ;o)

yup, the strep seedlings can be potted in compots - a few to a pot. That's what I usually do, as I find they grow faster this way. (Note, there are experts who say that they grow faster in individual pots....) http://flickr.com/photos/ki/90916243/in/set-72057594048086790/

Also, if you don't want to separate each one, I sometimes plop a clump down in a new pot and tease them apart a bit to spread them out. Not the best but a lot faster.... Pic of a clump method on sinningias below....

edited to say that it's the big round pots that have the clump seedlings. For size reference, the white small cups are 3oz dixie cups, and each of the larger green pots has one dixie cup's worth of seedlings in it.

This message was edited Oct 7, 2006 10:27 PM

and the same pots one month later

edited to say that it looks like I moved some of the smaller pots in the upper right, but the larger green pots are all in the same place as a month ago.

This is a plastic box - I slap the lid on and slide the whole thing under lights, and check it about once a month....

This message was edited Oct 7, 2006 10:29 PM

Raingazer - Interesting. I am always curious to see what types of media used for seed sowing. Your's obviously has done very well. Perhaps the tiny bit of fert in the MG was just enough to be helpful but not burn since it was cut by 3 parts Perlite to the 1 part MG. Continued good luck!

The only seedlings I've got going right now are the streps seeds from Iced Canadian Sunset. They are just beginning to come up and really just a few so far. I sure hope at least a couple of them will be variegated. It really is a fun process and full of surprises. I tried spaghnum moss ground finely in a food processor for my medium this time. Seems to working great so far as no mold has grown unlike other mediums I have used. A friend of mine uses Jiffy pellets with good success but I have never tried them.

Keyring - Always a treat to see what you've been up to....a zillion or so seedlings there! All looking good.

Amy your growing is awesome ! Great talent and fun I'm sure Everyone's environments is different and plants have to adjust and we have to have fun playing around what's best for us ! I learned from my local group always put a leaf or two down for insurance as sometimes this is the only way a plant may adjust in a new home and a leaf for sharing :))
If we ever get moved I'd like to play around with some seeds :))
I also fount my plants bloomed more in cooler weather, more light and less food. But then Eunice she lives in Florida ( though she is more up North and she has cooler weather ) her plants and her sister Mary's are always blooming !
It also take a plant sometimes to be 9-12 months age before they will bloom also !
The Wonderful World of Gesneraids and their fun beautiful foliage I don't even miss their blooms.
Amy your Chirita sinensis 'Hisako' is more beautiful than I have seen in Shows and even more beautiful as the one on the Gesneraid Reference Web sight ! Great growing !
Is it grown in natural light or under lights ?
Thanks for the wonderful pictures !

Key, I'm going to repot them today. I won't know just exactly how I'm going to do it til I get my hands on them, but rest assured your advice and pictures will be a huge help! I'll post pictures when I'm done.

What is the plant I've put a red border around in your picture? I love the pinkish tinge of the foliage.