I have two trays of gesneriad seeds. Here is one. I had to dmail begoniacrazii and ask her what to do about some of them being so 'leggy'. She sent a picture to me and marked where they should be pinched...which I did. Then jannich had told me that when I planted them up in solo cups to remove the bottom two leaves so i could plant them deep and get a good solid main stem to each plant.
Here is another tray from the gesneriad seed. Look on the right at those shiny leafed begonias!
These are the gesneriad seeds I still haven't planted up in solo cups. Poor babies...I will have to do a lot of pinching and planting deep on these.
Oh my .... Gail, are those from seeds??? I will be THRILLED if mine ever reach anywhere near that stage! I have some Episcia 'Strawberry Patch' seeds that are sprouting in two little bunches and I have no idea how to thin them, or even if I need to thin them. I have just been leaving things alone and leaving them in the plastic bags! I do open them to let a bit of air circulate every so often. The container the strep seeds are in has a lot of green algae on the perlite so at first I didn't even notice the little seedlings popping up ... looked like algae. Now, if I squint I can see the teensy plants.
Gail, your set up and planting ability is just Amazing! Wow! What a great job!
Are some of those Gesneriad seeds from the little packet after you joined the Gessie Society? Are some from those seeds you got from the guy in Brazil?
Everything looks really Awesome! So healthy and happy!
I didn't realize that you planted yours in perlite.....which is fine....but they will need more water and fertilizer. i planted mine in my regular potting mix.
I wouldn't worry about thinning or anything...........as they start to get bigger.........both the streps and the gesneriads I would squish the pots to move the roots around a little, but not now I don't think.
*****edited to say that these seeds of the gesneriads came from that guy in Brazil. They were really good seeds as were Snowrose's.
This message was edited Nov 17, 2007 7:43 PM
I probably shouldn't experiment like I do at times. I have two AV Wrangler's Pink Patches leaves that Snowrose sent me and one I planted in my AV mix with a lot of perlite, the other in straight vermiculite ... just to see what would happen! The one in the AV mix is just beginning to show a little ear peeking out ... the one in vermiculite is rooted because there's a bit of resistance when I tug on it ... but no "ears" just yet. I hope to get at least one mature plant out of this experiment.
YOu will for sure. Straight vermiculite never fails (even though I usually use 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite)...
I am like you. I just like to try different ways.
Gail ... give me your opinion on these. I sowed Episcia Strawberry Patch on the left and Chirita Tamiana on the right in this photo. The Episcia's are all bunched together ... I don't know if that is going to hinder their growth or not. I must have been half asleep when I scattered them!! The Chirita never germinated ... no sign of sprouts at all. I really would love to have at least some of these Episcia's do well enough to get a couple of mature plants eventually. Should I be thinning them out at this point, or just continue to let them do their thing and grow like this?
I've been having fun catching up on all the wonderful photos and blooms and baby plants on this thread! First blooms are especially fun... 'Seadrift' is stunning!
Wow, Karen, your Alsobia 'Cygnet' looks awesome! I need to be better about grooming mine so it gets bushy at the base instead of putting out long strings of little babies... but those itty bitty cuttings do quite well for themselves in the right hands, don't they? :-)
Hope everybody will join in the fun of the Holiday Bingo game! I'm looking forward to the daily chatter and to posting those pretty pics... :-)
This photo is the mixed gessie seeds from when I joined the Gesneriad Society on the left and Strep Trumpeter Swan seeds from Snowrose on the right.
Same thing ... I get to this point and am not sure what should be done, if anything.
These are from the Brazil Seeds. Seemania Sylvatica
This is more of the Brazil Seeds. Chirita Tamiana was sowed on the left and Achimenes Tiny Red x self on the right.
Lin, I don't know what to tell you about the first picture of the episcia seed? It wouldn't hurt to get tweezers and gently prick out some but when mine are real thick I don't do anything but wait until they are bigger. then I just plant the ones i want.
Do you have drainage holes in those plastic containers..........they will do so much better if your hubby drills some holes from the bottom for drainage and watering needs.
Other than that I think they look great!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is so strange as to how some seeds germinate and some don't. I have two kinds that didn't evn give me one plant, yet my chirita tamiana must have 100 of those seedlings in one solo pot.
I go to the florist and ask for orchid corsage boxes to grow seed and leaves in. They costs about 50 cents apiece but I use them over and over again with the holes I drilled n the bottom of them.
Yours are looking fantastic............keep us posted.........but do get drainage if you don't have it in the plastic containers..............
I love all the streps you bought Gail. I really like the colors of 'Susie'... bright red with yellow throat... very nice!
Lin... your seedlings look great to me!
Thanks Jill... can't wait to see that first bloom!
I'm surprised it hasn't popped open yet... it looked so close! 'Cygnet' always takes my breath away when it blooms... those lacy edges just don't look real. :-)
Gail: Thnak you for that advice. I do have drainage holes in the bottom of the plastic containers. I just don't water them since they are covered in plastic bags. There seems to be a lot of moisture built up in there just from the plastic. I guess I should take the plastic off once in awhile and feed a mild amount of fertilizer - It probably would help them grow a bit more. I guess I can take them out to the deck and use a weak strength of fertilizer and let them drain and dry a bit before putting them back in the plastic.
VaWildRose: That is a nice bushy Alsobia cygnet you have there! I have one that I got as a little baby last Spring .... I need to give it someTLC. It has grown and bloomed a couple of times but the description Critter gave of hers sounds just like mine .... long strings of little babies!
Whoa ... I just noticed in that second pic I posted there's a reservoir pot sitting there that is VERY, EXTREMELY green with algae water! Gotta go check that out and see what plant is in there ... it might be an empty one!
While I'm thinking about it. I have a few of those ceramic type 2 part self watering pots. I have really liked them ... they are sturdy and decorative and it seems like the plants I have in those do really well. A lady in our little in local AV club told me those are not good to use. She said after about 2 or 3 years something happens with the inner pot and the plants can't take up water anymore! Has anyone ever heard anything about these pots?
It's possible that minerals could build up, especially if you have hard water, so that the inner pot would lose its ability to wick water through its bottom and sides... When I repot, I run the inner pots through the dishwasher and/or let them sit in a bucket of vinegar water for a while. That seems to take care of any buildup.
Many of my AVs (especially the standard size ones) really love those 2 piece self watering pots, but occasionally there will be a variety that just sulks, maybe because it thinks the soil is just too wet. Some of the pots do seem to keep the soil mix more wet than others. It helps to let the reservoir go dry for a few days at least once a month, although you might have to water from the top a little to restart the self-watering action (the dry mix pulls away from the side of the pot). Also, I don't fill the reservoir pot up all the way, just enough to wet the inner pot about half an inch up from the bottom (put it in, pull it out, and look at the water line on it).
This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 12:00 AM
All I can say is "WOW", everything looks SO beautiful!
Gail, if you don't mind me asking, how long did it take from seed to reach the size your babies are now?
I'm going to try my hand at a few seeds just to see if I can do it.
Since I'm not having the greatest luck with streps, I didn't get any strep seed. Thought I would try something different. That way, IF I do get babies, I will have "other" things to trade :)
Got many different types of Nematanthus, a few different Sinningias etc.
All your babies look SO good, you are SUCH a green thumb it is simply amazing!!
Kim, I have some strep seed that i can send you after Thanksgiving.......remind me..........
Lin, Critter does exactly what I do with those self watering pots........I soak them in vinegar and they start to work again.
I would have to go back and find my pictures to remember how long this has taken from seed...I used not to mark the dates and now I do. But I will find the pictures with the dates when we all had to squint to see the babies from the seed coming up. It was funny as I really made everyone squint as Lin says.
***edited to say Lin, maybe you can just take the tops off and foliar feed with the Eleanor's fertilizer?
This message was edited Nov 18, 2007 1:20 PM
Gail- You can grow just about anything well can't you! It's amazing! I'm so enjoying reading all the posts and seeing the pics of how every one does the different things. Growing all these from seeds?! Never would have even thought to try anything like that! Until now, anyway. Can't wait to try!
The only seeds I had ever grown were just seeds for the garden. I started them outside so this is all new to me when I joined DG!
Jumping around this site gives me new ideas all the time.
Beautiful pictures everyone!
Strep Stephanie is putting on a show for me.
How gorgeous Janich!!
Her foliage is wonderful, too.
I just saw your post..
Better go back and look at the other photos.
Glad to see you posting as we miss you when you are not around.
Jannich .... That is Pretty as a Picture! Just Beautiful!
Thank you ladies.
We need a fresh thread...
Click below to continue our daily chats!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/791734/
