started from leaf, given to me and take a look

RainGazer sent me this baby plant she had propagated.....this is its second round of bloom and more coming....still in the baby pot...
thank you,
gail

Very pretty...is that a seed pod I see on the right there???

Beautiful plant. Do you know the cultivar name?

Oh, I forgot to say it is 'Midas'.....just a small baby when she sent it to me. They grow soooo quickly.

I thought it might be Midas (Oglevee). It is one of my favorites as it grows nicely and is in nearly constant bloom. A well grown lovely plant, Gail. I seem to love streps more and more.

They just seem too easy to grow but so pretty!!! They thrive from my neglect (LOL)

Your baby is absolutely lovely!

gessiegail, that plant is beautiful. I am going to see if I can find one. I love the foliage as much as the flowers.

Wow Gail! You took that baby and ran with it! LOL It's gorgeous! I thought you'd enjoy it! ;o)

You really had a good mix it was in......was it 1/2 perlite and 1/2 african soil mix???

I've been changing my soil mixes quite frequently so I can't be sure, but I bet it was 2 parts perlite, 2 parts MG potting mix and 1 part vermiculite. But, if you don't see much vermiculite in it, then it would have been 1/2 perlite and 1/2 MG potting mix. Right now I'm liking the mix with some vermiculite in it. It's so soft and holds just enough moisture. I've also just found another potting mix that I like really well. It has no fertilizer (thank goodness!) and has just the tiniest bit of sand in it. It seems to stay soft and not get compacted.

I am afraid to use vermiculite????? I shouldn't be.....our humidity today is almost 100%......why don't you like the fertilizers in the AV soilless mix....I do??
Oh well,i have tried them all......

If you don't like vermiculite, don't use it. Really, everyone here has their own recipe for potting mix and what works for one might be disastrous for another. Local weather has a huge effect on how plants do in each recipe. With humidity at 100%, you probably wouldn't need vermiculite anyway. Here, we haven't seen rain in weeks. We're over 12 inches below normal for this year. And during the winter, with our gas heat, humidity in the house can drop to 25% or less sometimes. That's why I like the vermiculite. You probably don't need it.
I don't like the potting mixes that come with fertilizer in them for a couple reasons. They contain urea nitrogen, and urea is known to burn AVs. I almost always microwave my potting mix before I use it because I have seen bugs in it before and want to be sure anything bad in it is killed before I put my plants in it. The time release fertilizer can dump it's full strength when heated up, so if it's supposed to last 3 months, my plants get that full huge dose all at once. And I just like to be able to control when, how much, and what type of fertilizer they get. But there again, if you like what you use, there is no reason whatsoever for you to change it just because of something I or anyone else says. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! LOL And from the pictures I have seen of your plants, I can most definitely say it ain't broke! ;o)