A Day Of Gratitude and Love

I didn't want to impose on anyone's thread so decided that I would just start a new one. I hope that is OK.

Many of you have asked how the growing is going so I wanted to share some pictures and a few stories as I go along with my photo album today.

First I want to say Thank You to each and every one of you that has shared a plant, leaf or seed with me. Each and every one of them is cherished immensely on a daily basis in my home.

For the first time in my life I have a plant stand. I cannot begin to tell you how much it has changed my life! I get tears in my eyes every time I look at it as in Maine on dark winter days it truly is the "light of my life"! I have spent countless hours just "playing" in my stand. It goes on the minute I open my eyes and off just before I lay down at night I have NEVER been able to grow such beautiful plants in my life and feel SO privileged to have met you all and been introduced to this wonderful gessie family!

When I first found you all (in October) many of you sent me nice strep plants to get started. This was before my plant stand. Being new to streps, I struggled and struggled with them. Some of them ended up being only 1 leaf left and poor Streaker went to rot heaven. BUT because of the knowledge I gained from all of you, I was smart and took leaf cuttings of EVERYTHING.

I put down leaves at the end of October. I tried some in perlite/vermiculite only and some in perlite with a LITTLE bit of soil mixed in. I had a couple rot both ways but FOR ME I'm finding the ones that are in the soil mix produced babies faster. I also did some "group" plantings and individual plantings. I have found that FOR ME the individual plantings produced bigger, healthier babies than the group plantings.

Picture time:

Here is a shot of my "group" babies. I have removed some of the bigger babies and then replanted the leaf to grow the little babies bigger. Again, this is all new to me and who knows if I'm doing it right but it sure is FUN trying :)

This is a shot of my individual leaves:

Now I KNOW I was supposed to let these babies get bigger but being the impatient, obsessive, compulsive person that I am.....I HAD to try to plant them up :) These were just removed from their mom 2 days ago and have been domed since.

Represented (all from leaves/plants that were shared by you loving ladies) here are:

Space Dust (1)
Iced Pink Flamingo (3)
Dibley's Gwen (4)
Party Girl (1)
Ruby (4)
Streaker .......... yeah.....Streaker lives on (4)
Rhubarb (1)
Surprise Party (3)
Salmon Sunset (1)

These are some bigger streps. Some were babies that were sent to me and others started out as nice sized plants that I kept alive until I had a plant stand and are slowly making a come back :)

Represented are:

Ribbon Candy (1)
NOID (3)
Blue Mars (3)
Inky Fingers (2)
Maasen's White (1)
Ilsa (1)
Streaker (2)

Woohoooo! You GROW, girl!

I think as long as you keep them domed so that you don't have to keep their soil over-moist, those little babies will do just fine. I'm watching & learning from you... thanks!

OOOOPS....forgot the picture :(

My first seed baby strep!

Bren.......... here is my very first baby from the seeds you sent me of Iced Pink Flamingo........isn't she sweet?

Planted these seeds on 12/7

Here is a picture of my 2 Alsobia's. These were such cute little babies when they arrived and seem to really be liking me :)

I sure love who sent them ;) and Thank You with all my heart. My plants truly "complete" me and whenever I look at them I think of the person who sent me it. Makes me feel so close to all of you :)

Now, the Episcias (which I rooted) babies are a little put out because they had to give up their heat mat to the seeds I'm starting AND they lost their dome because they got too big for it.........but they are adjusting well. I want to be able to grow them without a dome so they have been getting acclimated and babied daily.

I am SO happy the person who sent me these stolons shared them with me because I have truly fallen for their beautiful leaves and their fast growth. Sometimes I will still rub Chocolate Velour on my face because it is just SOOOO soft. They are VERY cherished and loved!

Gail, here is a shot of some babies you sent me :) I put them in a terrarium and they seem to be liking it :) Peg O' My Heart sent up 2 little babies but the main stem somehow got broke so I'm TRYING to root it next to the babies that came up :)

I got VERY impatient last month and decided to plant some perennial seeds *lol*
Represented here are:

Lychnis Chalcedonica (from the Netherlands)
Jasione
Dracocephalum Grandiflorum
and 1 Daylily seedling from one of my crosses (the only one I THOUGHT had survived until I found a sprout in my soil that I'm re-using *lol*)

Back in October/November sometime I had the urge to plant some seeds. The garden was going to sleep and I just needed SOMETHING to plant. I didn't have my plant stand yet but wanted to grow SOMETHING and decided to throw down some datura seeds.

Well they grew....and grew...and grew *lol*. I recently unpotted all of them and put them further down in the cup so that they would get stronger stems. Here is an updated picture of them.

Represented are:

Ballerina
Double/Triple Yellow
Black Current Swirl

Here is a cutting of Hoya Multiflora that I took back in October when I went through the house trying to find things to propagate so that I will have things to trade in the spring.
This baby already has a home but I sure am lucky to be able to babysit until spring :)
I hope it's new mommy sees this picture and how big she is getting :)

This is a tray of different houseplants that I went around and cut in October so that I would have things to trade in the spring too :) I have NEVER been very good at propagating things but seem to be getting the hang of it now :)

This is a Kohleria that a dear friend shared with me. Originally there were 3 but one of them struggled and withered. I was worried about the other 2 but so far they seem quite happy :)

Thanks for all the pics and explanations! I will come back to this in spring when I order my FIRST streps as I'm planning on doing! I had an Alsobia a few years ago and did well with it. Have one of those on my wish list for spring as well. I also bought a group of Episcias late summer/fall and am enjoying them so much as you are yours! I don't have the Chocolate Velour one- I love chocolate so that one will be another for my wish list! Your description would make any one want one whether that like chocolate or not!
I t is SO helpful seeing everyone's pics as some times words don't give me enough of a mental pic! Gail does great explanations ans pics too! Can't wait for spring!

I got my very first bloom on Lipstick Rasta which where rooted cuttings from a trade with Snowrose before I even found all of you here on the AV forum :)

Sure wish she was here to see it :(

These are my bigger streps. The ones I got for my Birthday and the ones that I managed to keep a nice size once I started to get the hang of how to grow them :)

Represented are:

Party Boy
Space Dust
Salmon Sunset
Dibleys Gwen
Bristol's 6th Scents
Hot Ticket (sent to me as an anniversary present by a dear friend) Really made my anniversary a special one indeed!! Hey we can all be a Hot Ticket at any age right? *lol*

My tools of the trade

Pictured here are my "tools".
I have found that the best tools are those objects that come in the manicure sets we never use *lol*
I would be lost without any one of these tools!

I use the little shovel/dagger thing for removing strep babies from the moms and the little cuticle nipper for nipping dead stems.

The little face brush is WONDERFUL for episcia leaves and would probably be great for AV leaves too :)

My poor plants feel like a day at the spa when I'm done with them *lol*

poor plants??? They look wonderful, and I'm sure they love their days at the spa :-) You are doing great! I am hoping to finally get my lights on my stand today - it has been put off every day, and I'd be thrilled to have the successes you are.

Well I learned something new today. The aluminum pans with the covers look like great trays to grow in. Great idea. Thanks for sharing you plants.

AWWWW thank you so much but I can't take ANY of the credit. Everything I learned I learned from the ladies here.

There have been many failures along the way and days where I just wanted to give up as it semed like everything was rotting. There has been much un-potting.....re-potting etc. It has truly been a learning experience and still is.

I am SO excited about something though. I got an X-Codonanthus Vista for my birthday. I took 4 leaves and stuck them in some dirt. One of them HAS ROOTS! I can't even believe it. I didn't know that could be done. I also tried pollinating it so I'm waiting to see if I get any berries. I also tried pollinating the Lipstick Rasta so maybe I will get seeds from that too :)

My goal is to have 2 or 3 streps blooming at the same time and doing some cross pollinating :)

As long as there are more successes than failures it makes it all worth while :)

Still know there will be failures but am sure enjoying the successes too :)

I buy the "lasagna" pans (2 for $2.48 or something) at Wal-Mart as the bottoms of them are flat whereas the roasters have uneven bottoms. The aluminum seems to keep them nice and toasy. :) They are cheap to replace too :) I'm all about cheap :)

MI buy the yogurt cups with the candies and granola in the cup on top and use that cup on top of my solo cups as domes. They fit perfectly :) All about cheap :)

Kim, Kim, Kim .... You my friend are a pro! Your photo's are wonderful. I only wish I could grow like you do! You may have had a hard time in the beginning but you sure have the hang of it now! Your photo's look like expert growing to me ... I need to take some pointers! I think my problem is patience ... I have none! :) I would die of embarrassment if anyone saw my plant areas right now! Yours is so neat and clean and everything aligned so perfectly. Hat's off to you gal - wonderful job! Your babies all look so healthy and beautiful, a sure sign that you are a great plant mom!



Diane: Your Lipstick 'Rasta' looks great! I have one that is so parched right now. It had a couple of blooms on it last week and then we had the two real cold nights. It was in my unheated Florida Room. Everything is so dry, I really need to go out and water all of my plants real well.

Kim;
You have done wonders with your plants, it's because of all the tlc you give them that they do so well.Keep up the good work & you will have a jungle soon, if you don't already have one. lol
mrsbonnie

Kim- I'm impressed with all your babies. I am trying my first strep leaf for propagation . I t seems to have rooted, but no baby yet. I am trying to learn patience as I read that it is an acquired virtue , not one that is automatic with most personalities. LOL You give me hope, that eventually I will get the "hang" of propagating too. I Love your plants!!! Lou

Again I want to thank you all for your kind words but I do want to stress that everything I learned, I learned from the ladies here! LOTS and LOTS of reading, lots of failures, lots of patience, lots of re-potting *lol* but Lots of Love too :)

Remember, the babies that I'm showing here are the results of mid October leaves. So really, 2 months. Patience. I'm learning it but VERY slowly. I wish I could learn not to over water *lol* I just always think they "need" me in some way but the reality is....they don't need me until they wilt *lol* which I'm not sure I could ever let happen.

Even when leaves were rotting and things were molding, I refused to give up. Even if every single pot had to be dumped out and the soil "changed" AGAIN, I refused to give up. I wanted to some days but my friends here kept me going and kept encouraging me :)

I hope to "pay it forward" this spring with my babies and/or leaves too so that others can "play" and learn as it truly is a gift that we all must give. I only want 1 strep of each so all the babies I'm making are for trades, give aways, bingo games etc. I wanna share and have never had enough to share before so I put down every leaf I get my hands on.

When I removed the babies from the mom leaves, the mom leaves were still nice and sturdy and still had roots. So...... I potted them back up again in hopes that they will continue to make MORE babies. Being new to this, I don't know how that works or if it will but I'm trying :) I couldn't throw out a perfectly healthy mom leaf with roots on it *lol*

Please remember, for anyone trying something new this winter. DON'T get discouraged....keep trying.....re-pot if you have to....dome if you have to.....move from spot to spot if you have to but DON'T give up :) Until something is absolutely rotted and the roots are dead, I keep trying everything I can to save it. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't but I refuse to give up and hope you all do too :) Spring is coming ladies :)

((((( Hugs )))))

Kimber

Kim, I'm gonna start calling you GessieKim!! You are reminding me more and more of Gail with your expertise at these plants! And, putting down so many leaves - Gail does that too! Your house will be one big greenhouse before long! You are doing a wonderful job and it certainly shows with your photo's!

Someone here told me recently that you could use a "mom" leaf over again if it was still strong! I never knew that. I haven't had the chance to try it yet though! We all learn so much from each other! I love this Garden and all you lovely ladies in it!

I LOVE this garden too Lin and it's because of all the ladies here that I feel at home. I used to think I was going to collect hoyas. Well, hoyas never really "took" to me for some reason and I couldn't get the "hang" of them really. Then, I didn't really feel too "homey" on the hoya forum. Just when I was about to give up on growing....I found you ladies.

Everyone here was SO encouraging and uplifting and so many of you have such skills that you are willing to teach newbies like me. I was like a sponge....I read EVERY post I could get my hand on. I printed off 100's of pages from websites. I stayed up many late nights just reading everything I could and slowly I am learning I think. SO many of you inspire me and have taught me so much. As gardeners it's our job to continue to share our knowledge with others so that growing continues to thrive in generations to come.

I truly wish that you all could know how touched I am to have you all and how touched I am that you have shared your babies, leaves, seeds with me. Watching each new leaf, bud etc. has just been an incredible journey for me and has really given me such enjoyment. There are no words to express the love I feel when I sit and "play" with my babies and think of the person who sent it to me. You all are like a family to me and though I don't always post alot....when I do.....watch out :)

Luv Ya!

Kimber

Kim, I so wished I could retain in my addled brain all the information I read! I read something and thirty minutes later forget what I've read! I'm getting old! I print out tons of info too ... actually have a file box that I file away all the info I print about plants I have, just so I can go back and read about them later cause I know I will forget something! LOL. Talk about inspiration .... you and a few others on these forums are really inspirations to me! I am amazed at your growing abilities and only wish I had room to grow more! I guess a lot of us would actually live in a Greenhouse if we could!

My poor husband, he's SO good. We live in a double wide mobile home and I have plants crammed in every single spot I can find *lol* I keep telling him I have room for more and he says....where? I tell him, well all these plants on this stand are not for me, I'm only keeping one of each kind and then I will have room for MORE :) And if I move this one here and that one there....see.....more room *lol* My side of the bed looks like a jungle and I love it! It's the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before bed at night. Sometimes I wonder what the neighbors must think? But you know what? I don't really care *lol* I pretend I'm in Florida even when there's 2 feet of snow on the ground!

Now Lin, I have seen your Chirita's and many of your other plants.........YOU my friend are a grower! I'm just a "wanna be" newbie :)

:) hee hee - Kim, with me it is mostly luck, believe me! I have had my share of plants that live 3 weeks and then fizzle out ... I bet I have had a couple live less than two weeks in my house! Some do really well for me and others just don't seem to like it here at all! I just have to say to heck with it and try again! I used to get sooo upset and depressed when a really beautiful plant would start going down hill and die but finally decided it wasn't worth the headache and stress to worry about it. I do the best I can ... well, most of the time. LOL. I know there are some times when I don't take the care I should with certain plants. I am just not as serious about it as some folks are. Good thing I live in Florida where a lot of things grow without much help and the weather is good so I don't have to drag everything inside during the winter. I'm afraid if I had to look after tons of plants inside and water them regularly I wouldn't have many survive. It's so easy with plants hanging and sitting out on the decks ... I just have to turn the hose on and point it in the direction of the plants!

WOW! Look at you growing, Kim. No more depressing days when you can post photos with growing skills like this!

I am so excited for you! Great looking healthy plants you have and I love your strep babies and bigger plants.

My friend who is president of the Corpus Christi AV club came at noon and just left a few minutes ago. It was amazing to watch her as she took my african violets and started pulling the leaves off in the right manner for symmetry.

I learned so much my brain is jumbled (LOL)........no, I mean it, my brain couldn't even absorb all she had to offer.
Here are some new things I have learned:
1.A strep leaf only puts out 7 blooms and never any more, so get rid of the big leaves after they have done this and let the little leaves start growing.
2. An african violet can never grow right if it is not exactly in the center of what ever pot it is in. (I have to replant a lot of mine. She said just to take out some of the soil and move the plant over to the center and just fill in with your mix where you need. Don't disturb the roots anymore than you have to.
3. She taught me how to take toilet tissue to place around a violet to see which leaves to take off. It should be 3 leaves on each layer of leaves.
4. Don't try to grow so many plants at once. Find the avs you really want to grow for show and concentrate on them. (meaning all the different kind......and colors, etc.)
5. She is encouraging me to grow more of the unusual gesneriads from seed or from a starter plant. (she knows how much I love them)
6.I learned how to start strep leaves individually for a real strong new plant (or plants)
7.She has me back on Sunshine 1 mix with perlite and no vermiculite for our part of the country. Fertilizers in the av mixes can be horrible and ruin a plant before you get started. (Sunshine 1 has no fertilizer in it)
8.She thinks I am I wicking on the grid too soon with my baby plants. She wants me to leave them wicked in a solo cup on acrylic blanket material and domed longer.
9. Evidently I am using too big of pots for the little root system in some of my african violets.
********As I think of what I have learned I will be back to share.........my mind is still dizzy but doing the happy dance to find out all this good 'stuff'.

****edited to say that when deciding which leaves to remove, remember that a lower leaf cannot be smaller than the leaf above on the next level of leaves.

This message was edited Dec 21, 2007 8:23 PM

Gail: That is some great information! How wonderful that she came to your house and helped and taught you all that! Please tell me what is the Sunshine 1 mix you are talking about? Do you know where it can be purchased? I don't think I will ever get the symmetry thing down - most of mine have smaller leaves on the bottom row. Is it that you wouldn't want the smallest leaves on bottom because they can't get enough light from the upper ones shading them. Or is it just the symmetry thing of the plant not looking quite right like that?

So much to learn ... such a little brain I have that does not retain info very long!

Lin, if you could watch someone else do it, it makes all the difference in the world. If I knew how to use a computer i could do a tutorial on how she did it, but I can't.

I get my Sunshine LC1 from a nursery lady here in Taft. She orders it for me. I did see it this afternoon on line because Marjorie wanted to read about it. Tomorrow I will find the site. It was a giant bag of it. I had been using it on smaller pots on the front porch since last summer and I just didn't know how important it was to not use any soil-less mix with fertilizer.

She tried to find on line a brand that she said Lowe's carries without fertilizer. I will let you know when I find the answers to both these questions.......

Marjorie doesn't grow as many plants as i do and she orders her soil=less mix from Volkmans online. It is too expensive for me with this many plants. It comes in all sizes including the 40 quart size I have but haven't used.

I think next week I will call around to the nurseries and see if anyone locally carries it or if they can order it for me. I bet it would cost a fortune in shipping if I bought it on line. Bags of soil usually weigh a lot. And, like you ... I would need a lot. I like to use the same soil for all my houseplants, gesneriads included.

Lin, go somewhere where they are actually growing plants.......at least have a couple of greenhouses so you know that they are using soil=less mixes.

No wonder this baby wouldn't bloom.........marjorie made 8 new plants out of her and told me I could put as many as I wanted into a pot. This is Thumbelina still sitting in the kitchen sink.

Ok now Gail, explain that last picture. Is Thumbelina a Strep or a Sinningia? And, why is it in the strainer inside the pot? LOL ... Curious minds must know!

I've heard of the Sunshine mix. I use something we sell where I work. Wonder how they compare.
Mine is called Berger-has canadian spagnum peat moss with perlite and vermiculite. I would NEVER use a mix that has ferilizer in it even though I know a lot of people are crazy about Miracle-Gro- I don't like that stuff. I just ammend the Berger( it's ph-balanced) mix with whatever I think the particular plant needs.Usually perlite and/or orchid mix. All that being said- I have heard a lot of interst in the Sunshine mix....Supposed to be pretty good stuff!

Gail- Never would have thought of the AVs not growing well unless centered- Very interesting!
And what unusual plants are you going to grow?? Come on , let us in on it- you know we're dieing to know!

The only reason I buy Miracle Grow is it's all I can find locally. There used to be 2 different MG's on the market, one with fertilizer added and one without. Now all I can find is the one with. I have tried other brands that HD & Lowes sells but they are full of stuff ... I have found hunks of glass, pieces of plastic and trash in some bagged soils! I know it's not the best idea to use the MG with fertilizer it but I am bad about feeding my plants on a regular basis anyway so I guess there hasn't been much harm done so far. I used to buy specially made soil from a place locally called WORC (Work Oriented Rehabilitation Center) - a nursery/garden run by disabled and handicapped. It was the very best soil I have ever used. I might give them a call and see if they are open to the public again as they were many years ago and see if I can start buying from them again!

So, for the past few years I have been buying the huge bags of MG, adding Orchid Bark and perlite for Hoya's and a couple other plants and adding loads of perlite for most other plants! I stopped using vermiculite recently. Had not used it in years and decided last spring to get some to mix with the soil and perlite ... don't like it. Holds in too much moisture.