Vacation - What I bought & how things were at home...

We're home from vacation and I wanted to share with you what I bought and what I found when I returned home. :o)
Evidently Gessies aren't the big thing in FL, because the only ones I saw were AVs at Walmart. I did find some other neat things, though.
To keep it somewhat on topic, here's Episcia 'Blue Heaven' which has never bloomed for me before. These are cuttings I rooted from the mom plant and both of them were blooming when we got back. This was two weeks of no light, water, or attention of any kind!

Oh, and I posted this on the Petrocosmea thread, but have to include it here because I'm so proud of how it's done! This is that sad little Petrocosmea that we all laughed at because it was so small and Nancy thought I should just give up on it! ;o) Look how it's grown! It might make it after all!

Just outside Panama City Beach, FL, there's a little mom & pop nursery. The folks there are super nice and the greenhouse is simply a little slice of Heaven. There's no other way to put it. I visited them last year and was thrilled, but my joy was crushed when they informed me they would be closing in October of last year. I kept hope alive and looked them up and called when we arrived this year. They had decided to remain open (YAY!!!), but cut way back on the trees and shrubs they were selling. Fine with me, as everything I buy has to ride home in the trunk of the car, so no trees and shrubs for me anyway.
My birthday and Mother's Day fell on the same weekend, so my sweet family sucked it up and took me to the nursery. :o) As soon as I walked in the greenhouse, this is what greeted me! I've looked for one of these for ages, but have never even seen one in real life. I thought it was a Crystal Anthurium (Anthurium crystallinum), but after looking in the PF, I think it's Anthurium clarinervium. Either way, I think it's gorgeous and I'm thrilled to have it. I bought the smallest one she had because of my space limitations. Some of them were huge.

Here's a Pink Princess Philo I bought there. I'll be propagating babies from it, so let me know if you want one. :o)
I know they look a bit rough, but keep in mind, all these plants rode home in the trunk and we stopped to visit a friend on the way home, so they basically spent two days in the blazing sun in the trunk of the car. Not the best for them, I know, but it was either that or not buy them at all, and they always bounce right back with lovely new growth.

Then there's this. I hope it's Syngonium podophyllum 'Albo-variegatum' but haven't been able to confirm it yet. It was tucked way back in the corner of the greenhouse, so I had to crawl under some potted palm trees to get it (my husband's eyes rolled all the way back in his head! LOL). One of the vines was probably 4 feet long, but I cut that off and gave it to our friends while we were there because she loved it. I guess I'll repot it and treat it like the rest of my Syngoniums and see how it does. There's a tiny fern in there, too, so I got a bonus! ;o)

I guess I did get one shrub...a varigated Hibiscus. It was too pretty to leave! She said it will have big red blooms! I've got to repot it into a larger pot, because I'll have to bring it in when cold weather comes.

I also got a Marble Queen Philo and a Brazil Philo, but they're outside so I didn't get pictures of them this morning.
We went to another nursery that's in PCB and I got a Jellybean Sedum, cuttings from a Swiss Cheese Philo (they really cooked in the car, so I don't know if that will make it or not), some little variegated thing that I don't know what it is and neither did the nursery lady, and a Variegated Peace Lily. I've never seen a Var. PL before now and it sang to me! LOL
I believe that's all I got. There was SO much more I would have loved to bring home with me, but we just had no room. I swear, next year we're taking the truck and trailer down there. LOL The mom & pop place had a pencil cactus taller than I am! Oh, I forgot! I got a Hoya from the mom & pop place, too. She had curled it up and laid it in a plastic pan of water and it had rooted all over and was blooming! $4 for the whole thing, and it was so big it was spilling out of a Walmart bag! I filled two 6" hanging baskets with it when we got home. The blooms fell off but the peduncles (I think that's the right word) are still there so hopefully it will bloom again soon.

Last one... this is the little thing that nobody knew what it was. A Caladium of some kind, maybe? I really don't know, but it's pretty and was only $2, so it's here now. :o)

Maybe that wasn't the last one ;o)
Streps will live two weeks with no light or water. It's absolutely awful for them, but mine have survived. They've got buds, too, and I wonder if the flowers will be deformed or discolored in some way because of the stress. Time will tell, I guess.

A pan full of Sinningia pusilla babies, one of which bloomed while I was away.

The AGGS seedlings. Three quite large ones, two very small ones, and one that I believe is completely dead. Are the big ones starting to look like anything identifiable yet?

RainGazer.....i have an episcia 'Blue Heaven' but she has never bloomed....what color does she bloom.....I am jealous!!!

I also have a Blue Heaven and have had others of a similar type and none has ever bloomed!

Personally, I am not surprised at all that things are looking good after 2 weeks. I do that a couple of times a year and only lose a few plants or less each time :-)

Nice haul from your trip!

Now is the not the place to post this......jannich or RainGazer gave me this baby.....it is still alive, but I just messed it up!!!!
I was cleaning around the baby plant to take a picture and I accidentally broke off two new sets of leaves....darnit!!!

Gail, the bloom is a light purple. I'll get a better picture of it later today. I'm just taking a break to eat a bite right now. The mom plant has never bloomed. Have no idea why these bloomed now, but I'm sure glad they have. I've only had one other Episcia bloom one time with one bloom.

I believe Jan must have sent that to you, because the only Sinningia I've sent out went to Lin. (How's that doing, by the way, Lin?) I'm sure it will be fine. Those micro Sinns are surprisingly tough. I was worried to pieces when I received mine, but it is the easiest to care for and blooms more than most of the rest combined. Can't ask for more than that!

Key, if you can't get them to bloom, I don't feel nearly so bad! As beautiful as your plants are, I'll gladly chalk it up to them being stubborn.

I was worried that everything would be dead, but they all looked surprisingly well, except that Hoya you saw on the other forum. I won't be nearly so worried next time.

I love those nurseries in FL. They have the neatest plants and think nothing of it! I mention the word Hoya around here and get a blank look, followed by, "Huh?" Clearly, I'm not in the houseplant capital of the state. LOL

thanks for the info RainGazer!!!

Here's the bloom of E. 'Blue Heaven' It's kinda squashed closed by the leaf, but maybe you can see it well enough to get an idea of the color. I love the fringe around the edges.

I love my plant.............so happy it is going to be that color if it ever blooms......thanks
The fringe on the edges is just a 'gimme'...great

I wish I had some advice for you on getting it to bloom. Perhaps a bit of that benign neglect...sure worked for those you posted pictures of! :o)

I am trying something Snowrose told me...............hard to do but she can really grow....

.She doesn't allow stolons to stay on the plant. She gives the stolons away or roots a few for safety sake of her favorites. I took all the stolons off of her.....we will see if she bloom quicker and better. I have only had her since march...but that is a long time!!! She came to me as a small baby..

I don't think either of these two have stolons on them, so that might be the trick. I have several Episcias that I really need to give some extra care to. Maybe I'll remove all the stolons and see if I can get more blooms that way, too. Thanks for telling me that!

Blue Heaven had only two, but they were definitely stolens ......it also makes the leaves you have giant and beautiful......

Nice Vacation Amy! Maybe I need to go up to Panama City Beach area to shop! Wow! You really got some nice stuff!

My little Sinn pusilla you gave me was doing so well, real cutie ... had a little bloom before we left for vacation. Got home and it looks dead! I am still hoping it will perk up, but I don't know if it will.

I have some seeds of Sinn. sp. rio das pedras micro mini that someone gave me in trade. I haven't planted them yet, but will be doing so real soon. To whoever gave them to me ... forgive me for not remembering. I am really bad about that .. I need to refer back to my trade page to know who I sent what to and what I got from who! I'm old and blonde, need I say more?

I planted some seeds of Strep Daniel Xself that are sprouting. I don't know what to do with them at this stage though! For now, I am leaving them be. They are real tiny! I planted some in potting mix/perlite and some in straight spagh. The ones that are sprouting are in the soil/perlite mix.

I have a question from some of you Pro's. Would it be an okay idea to plant the Sinn. seeds I have in a glass container with a lid and if so is it okay to keep it under grow lights with the lid on? Do you think that would be too much light? I could always remove the lid for awhile if too much moisture builds up in the jar. Any hints or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Oh, Amy .... that is a Syngonium-Variegated: Check out PF on it:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/96469/index.html

When that one grows up I would love a cutting!

Your Caladium could be this one, but there are soooo many of these it's hard for me to tell:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57281/index.html

You'd love those two nurseries, Lin! That little mom & pop place is fabulous! I meant to take my camera and take a picture of her greenhouse, but I forgot it. Maybe next year... She had a Xanadu Philo that I sooo wanted, but I had no more room in the trunk, so it had to stay behind along with about a hundred other things. Of course, the other place is just as good and they have tons of neat stuff, too. She said they're thinking of making a website and starting to sell items on the internet. I sure hope they do. They had some Golden Goddess bamboo that we wanted soooo bad, but it was in a 3 gallon pot and as tall as I am, so it had to stay behind. I might still call her and see if she'll ship it to me. ;o)

You know you're welcome to a cutting of that Syngonium, and anything else I have for that matter! I haven't repotted it yet, so there might be a cutting to take now. If not, I know there will be by late summer or early fall. And you think the other is a Caladium? That's good enough for me. I just needed some idea of what it was. Now I know just where I'll put it. :o)

Don't throw that Sinningia pusilla away, even if you think it's dead. All the foliage might have died, but I bet the tuber is still fine. Ki could tell you for sure, but I believe you keep it slightly damp til you see it starting to put out more growth, and then you can start to water it like you normally do. It probably just went dormant. And Ki told me to leave the dead foliage on it to help it come back better. I think that's right, anyway, without going back and looking. ;o)

You remember the little black plastic BBQ tub with the clear plastic lid I posted the picture of? It's the one that was full of Sinn. pusilla babies. And I grew them under lights, so I think your idea for your seeds would be fine.

Forgot to ask: I am new to Episcia's too. I have an E. 'Grey Lady' and it has what I guess y'all are referring to as stolons ( long stems with little leaves at the ends)?? So, should I cut these stems off and can they be planted up? If so, what part gets stuck in the soil, the long stem part? Here's a picture:

Lin, talking about the glass container.....begoniacrazii or Keyring came on line and said she used deep containers with those opaque lids and grew everything without any circulation under lights...she puts the lid on so it serves like a shade cloth (not too much light)......(now she was referring to propagation of leaves, cuttings, etc)....i wouldn't think that clear would do anything but be good for seeds.....let me show you something awesome I ordered from Violet showcase....I am in love with them.....they are mini propagating domes out of clear plastic....i believe they were something like 8.00 for a dozen....I am impressed with the results I am getting....
running to take a picture of them.....

Here is one open

Yep, those are stolons. Yours are smaller than I would feel comfortable removing (although they might be big enough), but let them get a little bigger and cut the whole stem away from the mom plant. Then I cut the stem so there's about an inch or so left sticking out from each stolon and stick that down in the potting mix at an angle. It helps hold the stolon in the mix. Keep them moist and you should have pretty much 100% success with them. Or you could leave them attached, bend the stem around so the stolon touches the potting mix in the pot with the mom plant or down to separate pots of potting mix, and use a hair pin to hold them down til they root. If you're going to leave them attached, you could go ahead and put them to rooting.

Lin, you need to hair pin to hold them down in the mix you are rooting in.....or you can pin it down in the same pot as the mother.....
(you do need to cut the stolon off the mother either way)

here is the mini greenhouse closed

Oh Thanks Amy! I haven't cut the little Sinn back at all. Do you think I should put a lid on the glass that it's in? It is under the lights. Maybe it did go dormant cause we were gone to the Mountains on vacation for a week and nothing got water while I was away and I left the lights off on my plant stands! Oh, I hope it comes back ... it is such a cutie!

If you hear of that nursery starting a website, please keep me posted! I never see Gessie's here except the few AV's that WalMart has once a year! And, I don't see many Philodendron's like those nice ones you got either .... only ones around here are the regular ole' hanging basket kind of Philo.

Those are really neat Gail! Being the thrifty mom that I am, I keep the clear boxes from doughnuts or cinnamon rolls from the grocery store bakery and use those. Just so you know, those bakery containers will melt if you put them in the dishwasher...don't ask me how I know... LOL

this is funny.......Amy, Lin and I are carrying on a three way conversation without knowing it as we are typing at the same time (LOL)

here is how much room you have in one of these mini greenhouses....

Thank's Ladies! I am off to find hairpins ... I think I have a whole package not opened that I found while cleaning out a bathroom drawer a few weeks ago! I am going to pin them down right in the same pot as the Mom Plant for awhile and see if they take root!

Y'all are a wonderful help! I Thank You!

here are a couple of pics of episcia propagation I put together some time ago. Click on the photos for larger sizes.
http://growtheworld.blogspot.com/2006/07/propagating-episcias-from-cuttings.html
I like to start with 2 pairs of leaves, and pot them so the lowest leaves are snug on the soil surface. I've started stolons with leaf spans of 1/2" (each leaf was only a quarter inch long), so you can go pretty small.

A friend grew Rio in a sealed container: http://flickr.com/photos/vsny/3073488/

I keep lids on my micro Sinns all the time. They love the humidity! Here's mine...again with the wine glass and yogurt lid.

We are now talking about two nurseries, Lin......the one with the iron works is not the one where i buy those beautiful houseplants......it is Gill's in CC......

I am so sorry that you all don't have good places to shop......look what I found today at a local nursery here in Taft.....it is called a (I think) a weeping pencil tree.....

This picture was taken outside in the dark with a flash.....(LOL) couldn't even see where I was aiming the camera...
Keep going Amy......you and Lin had a good conversation going until I hijacked the thread..................I am going to bed in a minute, Amy....sorry....

While i was typing, Keyring jumped in....good because I am never sure of what I am saying......

Don't you love it when several of us are on at the same time? Those containers are the perfect size, Gail. Could you post a link to where you got them, please?

Have fun propagating those plants, Lin!

Neat Ki! Thanks for linking that. I didn't know they could be started so small. That would sure make it easier to keep them snipped off, since that's supposed to help them bloom better. I just hate to cut them off and throw them away when I know if I gave them a bit more time they could be grown into more plants.

You didn't hijack this thread Gail! Stay as long as you want! You know we enjoy your company! :o)

I love that pencil tree. I have one much smaller than that and I think it was labeled pencil cactus. Either way, it's the same. What is the plant in the hanging basket next to it and the pink and green one behind it? They're very pretty!

glad Keyring is here to help us.....
I have noticed that episicas will grow better with higher humidity.......
This is one of those domes i got.....since then I have taken so many big cuttings off of this one and she grows like crazy (I have another one, too).....I put the saran top on about half way most of the day and sometimes I completely cover the top.....she loves her home and keeps multiplying even though i keep cutting...

I just read your post, Amy....the one next to it is a mini variegated hoya i got today, also.....behind it is I don't know....i think someone on plant id decided it was some kind of rubber plant.............the colors are gorgeous.....salmons, pinks and greens????