The pink blooms are very delicate. Again, you can't mistake the leaves
Isabelle
Thanks SG.
Left of Isabelle is e. Dixie Dynamite. To the right is e. Strawberry Patch. Back left is Pink Sensations. One of the av's I am disbudding. Back center is e. Pink Acajou and back right is e. Blue Heaven.
Here is a picture of the entire light stand.
They are all so perfect-looking. Really beautiful.
Wow Nanna. Looks like show plants! Do you show?
Debbie
Oh, Debbie. You are too kind. No I don't show. That would scare me to death.
Thanks 1gardengram. I really enjoy growing plants.
Wow! Looks like a Professional to me ... I was gonna ask the same question about whether or not you show!
Can you tell me what the reason is for disbudding? Is it to make the plants grow stronger roots, more leaves, different shape, or what? Don't mean to sound like a complete dufus here, but I am still learning!
Nanna,I agree with the others.They look like showplants to me.All Simply Gorgeous : )
Nancy
I have been looking for "Isabelle" ... I have a couple of the "Annabelle" that I found at Wal-Mart for $1.98 each!! Our Wal-Marts have now marked all AV's up to $2.47 and no more Annabelles came in with the latest shipment and nothing that looks like Isabelle either. I did purchase a couple of cute Optimara Noids though .... need to search fro the ID.
Ordering from Optimara is expensive. Isabelle is the newest of the series. I won't be taking leaves from the plants for a couple of months. I will be repotting them. I will be happy to send you some leaves then.
The reasons I can think of to disbud are: allowing the plant to shape itself in the rosette leaf pattern and allowing the leaves to grow to the size in the "official" description. AND it looks pretty. Also from very sad experience I have learned that if you allow a plant to bloom constantly all the energy goes to the blooms and the crown and roots suffer. The crown become very small or nonexistant. Many growers who show plants sell the plants after the show because it takes a lot of effort to get them back to show quality and many time they never do.l
I have been trying to let the plant bloom for a month to six weeks. When the mature bloom stocks begin to die I remove them and any new stocks that are forming. I allow the plant to rest for a month to six week and start over. During the resting period I check the plant a couple times a week and remove any bloom stock I find. I also understand that you can allow one or two stocks to bloom continually and remove any additional stocks. This allows the light to get to the crown and also allows the leaves of the crown to fall into a circular shape instead of being bushed alside by the bloom stocks. It also allow some blooms to brighten the shelves. Does that make sense. No sure if I explained it well.
Thanks so much Nanna .... Yes that does make sense and I really appreciate the information and explanation. I am learning so much here in DG!
Good luck with a trailer. They are really beautiful. So many blooms and crowns. I just want to touch it all the time.
Gorgeous! You've got me making New Year's Resolutions with regard to grooming and disbudding... I have too many plants that for one reason or another don't have a nice shape, and I need to work with them, possibly just use them as a leaf source and start again with a new little plantlet.
I like the idea of encouraging one or two bloom stalks and removing the rest rather than completely disbudding. By the way, I have a terminology question... I know you do a lot of reading about your plants... Is "stock" the official name for what I would call a stalk? They seem to be similar terms botanically, but I wondered if "stock" was the term you'd seen used most often with regard to AV blooms... ? My botany-speak has gotten better since joining DG, but I know I have a lot to learn. :-)
Thanks for the correction Critter. Stalk is right. In a previous thread I joked about being spelling challenged. You can see why!!! My kids laugh at me all the time. I interchange words and they have a big hoot!!! Many this one was psychological. I really want to STOCK my new shelves. lol I have just enough information to be really dangerous!
That was one of my resolutions as well. I decided to have a few really nice plants if possible. I don't do well at leafing and growing babies. I do better buying small plants and helping them along. I would like to replace a couple of plants that I've lost. Ma's Debutante for one and Ness Cherry Smoke is another. There are a couple of others I am hoping to replance when we take our spring trip to PA. I have two plantlets of Irish Irridescence that seem to be doing OK Have to wait and see.
LOL, honestly I didn't think I was making a correction... I thought you were teaching me something new! You know I can relate both to being spelling challenged and to wanting to STOCK my shelves! :-)
I hope your Irish Irridesence plantlets continue to do well... Can you believe that's one that Bluekat has given me leaves for *twice* and both times I've failed with them?!? Not that every leaf I stick does well for me, but I generally have a better track record than that. Speaking of leaf failures, I may have to hit you up for a couple of replacements... I recently moved a domed set of leaves (including a couple from you) to a spot with more light, and promptly melted several of them (combination of heat and humidity, I think)... The other plantlets under the dome are just loving the new conditions, but it was too much for the leaf pots.
Here is an example of what disbudding can do. The plant is Frozen in time. On the left is the mother plant on the right is the baby from a leaf I put down sometime last year. I let the baby bloom once to make sure the bloom was true. I did not let the bloom mature but cut it as soom as I knew it was true. Since then I have disbudded every week. The mother has bloomed constantly. I just began disbudding her this month.
Notice that the baby is larger than the mother even though the mother has more rows of leaves.
The spacing of the leaves on the mother has gaps. The gaps are where the bloom stalks took up space.
The leaves on the baby are larger than the mother and overlap nicely.
The variegation is nicer on the mother but that is because they are mature leaves. The baby plant is beginning to produce nice variegation.
In a nutshell that is all I know. I am sure there are much more experienced growers that can let us know many more tricks that will help our plant not only bloom but look like the pictures in the avsa magazine.
One last thing. Notice the mother leaves don't lay flat some are turning sideways. This is also because of bloom stalks pushing the leaves out of the way.
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This message was edited Jan 23, 2007 11:57 AM
Oh Thanks so much again Nanna! I am printing a lot of this info because I tend to NOT retain much in my brain! :)
I have to go back and read and re-read stuff all the time! I am so glad you posted that photo so I could see the difference of what you are explaining!
Thanks again!
Hopefull others will post as well. We have some very experienced growers on the forum. I know several that show plants. They could really give us some good tips with pictures of their plants.
Thanks SG. Sorry, I can't remember. Keyring told me once and I forgot to lable it. Aren't the leaves beautiful? When it's warmer it blooms like crazy. I will check the threads and see if I can't find the name for both of us.
Nanna, I just saw your plant comparison pictures and analysis. : ) Thanks...that is so informative!!!!! I want to try this as soon as a few of my little plants start growing. Very interesting!!!
It's a Ruellia Portellae. I'm going to check it out on google.
Thanks Pam. Good Luck.
Nanna your plants are beautiful and very healthy looking. Congrats on your successful growing and thanks for sharing your information.
Deb
Nanna: Where did you find your 'Isabelle' .... she is just beautiful. I plan on ordering one when places begin shipping again as soon as the weather warms up. I have 5 of 'Annabelle' that I found at our local Wal-Mart for $1.98 each!!! I didn't know it was Annabelle until Allison ID'd it for me and told me about the Optimara website. I have been checking back at our local Wal-Marts to see if they would get more of 'Annabelle' or possibly 'Isabelle', but no luck so far .... and they raised the price of their AV's to $2.47 which is still a great price! I have been gardening for nearly 40 years and have had a few AV's over the years, I have between 15 and 20 now, mostly Noids, with the exception of a couple of new babies I just got a couple of weeks ago from Bluebird Greenhouse! I found a website for a DP Greenhouse and they have some beautiful plants too, but their site says they aren't shipping until further notice! I'm guessing it's because of the weaqther. I am learning so much since joining Daves ... not only about AV's but about all kinds of plants & flowers! Isn't this a Wonderful "Garden" .... so many beautiful people and their plants!
I ordered IsaBelle from Optimara last year before their prices went up. I'm not sure but their might be one other place that sells her. I was looking at several places on line yesterday and I can remember if it was Belle Series they had or the Ever Series. Let me check again and I will edit this post.
It was at Bluebird. But it was the Ever Series and not the Belle. The only other place I have seen a plant of Isabelle is on ebay. Hope you find her. Maybe Walmart will come through for you. I know many on the forum that have found named Optimara plants at Walmart. I have not been so lucky.
Wow Nanna, thanks for the pic lesson on disbudding. I got Frozen In Time in Nov and I've left 1 bloom stalk on her just so I could see it. LOL It should only be a couple of days. Then I'm gonna cut it off and remove at least 1 row of leaves that don't look too good from shipping. They got cracked, not really broke, but they won't get better will they? LOL
Debbie
You're welcome. I just removed a row of old leaves and repotted pink sensations this morning. I have been disbudding her as well. I always cringe a bit when I repot. I wonder if I have crushed the roots or removed too many leaves or looked at the plant cross-eyed and it will never bloom again or die.
You're welcome.