hello Chirita growers....

I think these plants are starting to bloom for people. Please consider pollinating them!

I want to try some from seed but I missed pollination time on mine, and I only have one that is anywhere near blooming.... I don't do very well with these, but I'm hoping that the cultural adjustments I made last year will pay off.

Anyway, hybrids or selfings..... please...?

I forget if I posted this one before. The one that is blooming for me is a species that is not yet named, so it is circulating under the accession number USBRG 98-083. This is the flower.

I had 6 flower spikes and each one had 1-3 flowers that opened sequentially. It's sort of a spaced out affair that wouldn't have photographed well even if I had gotten the camera out in time.... right now all I have is spent spikes.

This pic is of one of the first spike to form. I didn't realize I would get so many flowers out of it.....

this is my kazu, i was told these are bloom stalks,it is cover in them

and this is keiko with bloom stalks,but don't no why they laying down

Ki, mine with that number has already bloomed big time...Ijust looked and it is getting ready to bloom again...
I have lots of others, too that haven't bloomed yet (except Diane Marie looks like she has finished blooming)..........I still don't understand when to collect the pods and put them in an envelope??? How brown is brown??

here she is with one or two left over blooms....i was showing the bloom an episcia.....

Oooooh! I love them all! I am so getting hooked on Chirita's! I have a few and they are just beginning to bloom for me! Diane Marie has two bloom stalks fading and more coming up. 'Kazu' has one bloom stalk just opening! And, 'Aiko' has what appears to be new little leaves or possibly bloom stalks forming. I would just love to have them all blooming at the same time! Maybe someday!

Here's 'Diane Marie' .... I need to repot, it's still in the same pot that it came in from Bluebirds a couple of months ago. There are still some brown edged leaves too. This one just doesn't look real great, but I was afraid to pull off those ugly leaves. I think I will repot it this week and do the much needed grooming!

MsC .... If you are around ... You've got D-Mail!

thanks, Lin....I am catalog shopping this afternoon....going to look at Bluebirds now.....
Diane marie is the prettiest of all....................

Here's a picture of my other Chirita's:

The one's I have so far are:

C. 'Aiko'
C. 'Crossroads'
C. 'Diane Marie'
C. 'Kazu'
C. Senesis 'Hisako'
C. 'Stardust'
C. 'Vietnam'

And, I have an order in at Rob's Violets for three more:

C. 'Betty'
C. 'Kitaguni'
C. 'Little Dragon'

I can NEVER find the dog Lucy to tell them what she says for a free plant, but did tell them on my order that I searched for her! I've ordered from there four times and have only found the dog once! They usually send a free plant when I tell them I can't find her, so I will probably get a free one with this order too. I want to order that one called 'Longangensis' too, but forgot!

Gail, do you have seed pods that are ripening? You probably have to do some pollinating before you get pods on Chiritas. I don't think they spontaneously self-pollinate like some streptocarpus....

Eunice, I think chirita flower spikes just come out at that angle, but I could very well be wrong. I really shouldn't be answering any Qs about Chiritas, as I'm really only just figuring out how to grow them.

I love Chiritas! I have four, but none even have buds now. Hopefully later in the summer they'll bloom, and whenever they do, I'll get with you, Ki, so you can tell me what to do to make sure they're pollinated. I think it would be fun to grow them from seed, too. I sure enjoy looking at the pictures of everyone's in beautiful bloom! :o)

Wow, lin, you are getting into chiritas!!!!!!
I think I will stick for now just learning to get the seeds from the streps....I am in waaay over my head!!!

I had to make myself Stop! I find the Chirita's easier than the AV's and Strep's ... they seem to a bit less needy to me. But, Hey ... I've only been growing them a couple of months, so we'll see! The only strep that is really doing well for me is the one Starfly/Eunice gave me a couple of months ago ... 'Dilby's Gwen' I think it's called. It's been blooming for about three weeks now. The couple of others I have are small and look rather pitiful. The leaves keep turning brown and wilting. I probably need to repot them into a better mix and wick them like I do the others?! I have four Episcia's that I've gotten trade too and so far, so good with them ... they look okay, just slow growing.

Lin, when my episicas aren't growing as fast as I wish, I just plop them in a Bio-Dome................within a week they look 100 times better and really take off with the humidity and warmth.....

Go to a bakery at the grocery store and asks them if you can buy the round clear cake domes.....then they will be nice and give you some..............it is the same priniciple.....

Thank You Miss Gail! I think that would probably help a lot! Will do, tomorrow!


Starfly/Eunice: I think those bloom stalks on your Keiko will eventually turn upward! That looks exactly how my 'Diane Marie' did!

Please post photo's when the blooms open! I have Keiko too, but she's not blooming yet!

Lin, I have a couple Streps that just are not happy no matter what I do: Jason and Bristol's Blackbird. They're in the same potting mix the others are, on the same shelf, and get watered the same time all the rest do with the same fertilizer. But they are some truly unhappy plants. I'm hoping they'll perk up enough to put out one decent leaf each so I can at least try to propagate them. Try repotting yours and see if that helps. No guarantees, of course...

Having Episcias in some type of terrarium environment really does help them so much. If I'd follow my own advice on that, I'd have some lovely plants, I'm sure. :oP

Thanks Amy & Gail: I love planting in terrarium type containers, so I think I will do that with my four Episcia's! And, I am going to repot my little Strep's that don't seem to be so happy!

I have had four Chirita's for several months and finally one (Diane Marie) is blooming but it is just laying sideways and flat, not standing up or even trying to. I see several other flowers forming so maybe my next ones will stand up. My other three Betty - Hisako - Blue Moon don't even have a hint of a flower forming yet. Do any of you have trouble with them suckering? I didn't know until I started hanging out here at DG that they were supposed to grow in a rosette form like AV's. My Hisako and Betty each had at least three suckers a piece on them. I operated last week and took all the suckers off (and promptly lost them by leaving their little pots in too direct of sunshine, I'm new to all this!) and the mother plants look much better now. Maybe they will get some flowers now too. Here is a picture of my flat laying Diane Marie bloom. It is very pretty even laying flat on it's side. ~Brenda

Here's another angle of my "flat bloom" and you can see the pretty foliage too. Never having owned any type of African Violet or Gesneriads until about November of 2006 I'm thrilled with each new bloom on any of them! And just amazed that I get blooms at all after 47 years of mostly a brown thumb, LOL. I'm still so surprised that I actually have some very beautifully big blooming streps after starting with just some little babies from Rob's at the beginning of the year. Of course I've lost some too! ~Brenda

bmedel, look under your leaves for the giant spike that Diane marie puts out and work it free to stand up and show off!!!!

Ok, I went and poked around and pulled the plant stem to the top of the leave but it's no giant, it's maybe 3 inches long. With a little propping from the leave next to it it doesn't look quite so wimpy laying flat. But it does have two more blooms forming right behind this one on this stalk and two more flower spikes (both very short) getting blooms way underneath the leaves. I've been married 31 years and my husband thinks I have lost my mind in the last 6 months with the happiness and joy these plants have brought me with each of their little blooms or changes! LOL

Welcome to DG bmedel! You will Love it here! This forum especially .... so many really nice people who are always willing to help with tips and suggestions!

Your Chirita 'Diane Marie' looks great! I wish my Diane Marie had more leaves like that (bushier) ... mine is very sparse looking. I have Chirita 'Aiko' that has some little sprouts coming out kinda sideways that I'm not sure if they are new leaves forming or bloom stalks. I think it may be bloom stalks, hope so cause that one hasn't bloomed for me yet!

Again, Welcome to the Forum!

Thank you plantladyin for the warm welcome. I had to find someplace to share and enjoy my plants as my hubby and kids tolerate my enthusiasm but still think I'm a bit nutty when I get so tickled over every new flower etc. I have read so many posts that sound just like me that I knew this was the place. :) I had checked out a couple of other online places but DG is by far the best with the friendliest and most helpful people! ~Brenda

Is this Chirita called Aiko? I got the parent from Rob's Violet Barn about 4 years ago. This specimen is a plant that I propagated from my original. I find that this plant gets so large that some people myself included have a hard time figuring out what to do with it. The leave base plant measures at least 12" across and the flower stem is 16" long. My original plant grew far larger than this one! It takes up a lot of window space and does not fit under flourescent lights very well.

Here is another picture. It is a hard one to get a picture that does it justice.

hee hee Brenda - You are in the right place!! No one here will roll their eyes or get that glazed expression like husbands do when a new, different plant finds its way into the house! :) I remember seeing DG a few years ago when googling some plant, but didn't pay too much attention!? I guess I was busier back then. I just joined myself last October and still kinda consider myself a newbie! This "Garden" is almost as much fun as being outside in my live garden! LOL .... actually, sometimes it's a lot more fun! You will find so many Generous and Kind people here. Have fun and "Happy Gardening"!

Lin

Oh My Goodness, Hoya_24 ... That is the MOST AWESOME Chirita I've ever seen! I have a Chirita Aiko, but mine is new ... I just bought it a couple of months ago so it's small. WOW! I usually don't want any one plant to get that size, but oh I am hoping mine grows to look like that and will be as Beautiful! That is Amazing!

Great Growin!

..... and Welcome to DG! and the AV Forum!


p.s. You REALLY should add that photo to Plant Files!

This message was edited Jun 4, 2007 4:31 PM

Here's the Plant Files info on C. 'Aiko' .... it says it gets to be 6-12" and your plant looks but doesn't say how wide it will get.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64651/

Thank you for the compliment plantladylin. If you were nearby, I would give you the plant. It is a leftover from my gesneriad days and I'm not that into them any more, but this one can be so spectacular that it was hard to part with. It would be too hard to ship it without beating it all up but if I ever find the right person around here that appreciates it and would take care of it properly, they could have it.

I will pay postage for you to ship it to me!

I meant to ask ... What do you feed your Chirita's???

If you want it that bad, I would attempt to pack it as carefully as I could and send it to you, but no guarantees on what kind of shape it will arrive in. I don't see how the flower stems will stay on, but it does have a lot of others coming. You could send me a Dmail with your shipping information and I will send it out next Monday via priority mail.

Doug

I started feeding the MSU fertilizer and all my plants seem to love it. It is a fertilizer developed by Michigan State University for soilless potting mixes.

Doug: You have D-Mail! It's okay if the flower stems don't make it, I'm sure it will survive the trip to bloom again!


Oh, I've got to find that fertilizer! I'm going googling for it right now!

Doug: You can actually cut those flower spikes off before shipping the plant. You could enjoy the flowers in a vase of water. I don't know how long they would last, but they sure would be pretty to look at for whatever time they survived.

Plantladylin: It is not the easiest fertilizer to find. I got mine Online at some orchid supply place. I've also found it on Ebay. Thanks, it will be easier to send that plant without the flower spikes.

I'm going to google to see if I can find a source for that fertilizer! Thanks for entrusting me with your Beautiful Plants and also for the info on that MSU Fertilizer!

Thanks again!

Hoya_24, that Chirita is simply breathtaking! Thank you so much for posting the picture of it! That MSU fertilizer must be something else...

And Lin, you lucky duck to get that plant. Well I'm all jealous now and I'm gonna pout! :oP ROFL You know I'm kidding! You'll have a ball growing that one! :o)

whoa! some amazing growing going on!

I still have to get the chirita thing down. The only one I can grow reliably is Chirita tamiana, which can go for months without water. (Kids, do not try this at home.) But I *am* getting better.......