April Flowers IV

This is streptocarpus 'Winter Dreams' in a 6" pot, the parent of many variegated streps.

(M. Kartuz) Large ruffled pink flowers, leaves variegated with white, cream, green. (AGGS register)

I would describe the flowers as more red than pink.

Thats pretty! I love the varigated strep leaves, but I've lost every plant I had, I just can't keep the varigated ones going for some reason. I had visited Kathy Spissman last week and she showed me some huge varigated stock streps growing in small little pots. But she said every leaf of them she put down none of the babies were varigated, she was quite disapointed. tish

Beautiful plant Goldleaf ... pretty bloom, and I love the gorgeous variegated foliage!

That is a beautiful big plant GL, interesting about it being the parent of many of the variegated ones we see now. The bloom does remind me of the Iced Pink Flamingo bloom.

I spent the last two days overhauling two sets of plant shelves to have them spaced better. What a job to take those things apart and put them back together again!

The good news is while I was at it I was able to get my plants organized better, found some streps I had not been appreciating enough and that's always fun.

I enjoyed getting new pictures of some of my Kohlerias, they are happy this spring!

Peridot's Kitalope

K Snakeskin

K Tane has not bloomed for me in almost a year, good thing I like it's foliage almost as much as the bloom! ^_^

Beautiful GL! That strep stole my heart--do you know where it is available?
Brenda--you grow the most beautiful kohlerias!

Looking at your kohlerias, Brenda...........makes me know I can't grow them..

GL,I might have to take a look at Kartuz's website for streps........she is wonderful!

Brenda, are your plants growing in plastic pot placed inside the ceramic one? The plants have a nice compact growing shape! My kohleria are leggy, I need to work out the light thing better. I have had Dark Velvet for 3 years now and keep potting it up..its in a 10" ceramic pot because the plant is just all over the place and I have trellis in it to tie it to. One day I'm going to take cuttings and start it all over and put it under lights, currently its in a window. I started planting some of mine in ceramic planters cause the plastic pots tip over so much. My plants are definately NOT any way shape or form show plants!...they are a showcase of what not to do! ha.
tish

I bought some sinningias from Kartuz's last fall and I was very impressed with the beautiful plants, the careful packing and the fast shipping. If they do streps as well it would be a great place to buy from Gail.

Yes Tish, I have my Kohlerias in plastic pots that are then placed in ceramic pots. When I grew them in natural light they were leggy and all over the place. I cut them all back and put them close to the lights (6 inches or less) and they came back thick and bloomed on shorter stalks. Some legs still sneak out and about but for the most part they are much better behaved now. ^_^

K Brimstone

Close up of the Brimstone bloom, love the two colors....

Last one that I took a picture of yesterday

K Marquis De Sade

bemedel...your kohlerias are perfectly grown. Exceptionally nice and compact. A real pleasure to see. It is a lot of work reorganizing but the plants look 100% better spaced out so they can be appreciated more.

I didn't get Winter Dreams from Kartuz. I got it from Paul Sorano.

Thanks to Brenda and GL!!!! I might call LLG today............and take a look at Kartuz also......

We are getting a taste of spring here and the snow is melting fast! Getting the plant shelves all organized was my version of spring cleaning! ^_^

Here is another surprise I drug from a top shelf, sinningia Spellbound

Brenda, that is so 'yummy lookin'!! I may have to shop for sinningias.........I can grow them and love to grow them.....I went out and looked at the basket due you in our trade and forgot that I watered it 'good' this morning. (LOL) so it may be next week before she comes to you.
Did you say you got your sinningias from kartuz, too?

Goldleaf, I love your strep. She's a beauty.
Grenda, your kohleria are simply georgeous. Nice and bushy. The two that I have:
Red Ryder and Manchu were growing very leggy. I cut them back and they are under lights but still grow leggy. No blooms yet.
I think I'll have to try some different ones.

Imadigger, she said she had them closer than 6" to the lights. That may be the secret plus cutting them back.

MUST RESIST THE URGE TO GET KOHLERIAS ..but I do admire your alls,very very pretty,i like smithiantha myself, good job all

JIM

Gail the only thing I have bought from Kartuz's is sinningias and I was impressed with their plants and quality shipping after having bought several from various other places.

I've decided I like the bigger sinningias best because I have trouble keeping the foliage looking decent on the mini's. Maybe not enough humidity?? They bloomed like crazy but still looked pitiful to me the majority of the time. I need lessons from mrsbonnie!!

Which is why I like streps the best, they always look good, from small to large!! And for me they give the best bang for the buck bloom wise. ^_^

imadigger I know that something else helping my Kohlerias look good right now is the abundance of rhizomes in the pots. Lots of growing places with more rhizomes thus thicker and bushier. These I have have been in their pots a good year now and are looking their best ever. I've also been feeding them the same Optimara Violet food I give my streps. I am assuming it gets them to bloom sooner on the shorter stalks. I've still got some legginess going here and there but I hide those when I take pictures! LOL

This is a bigger growing sinningia that I bought from Raingazer via the marketplace last fall. She alwasy grows the best stuff! It's tuber has now split the plastic cup I have it in and it needs to be re potted but it's still growing and blooming. S sp Cardoso Morinea

thats very pretty brenda,

JIM

Thanks Jim! I have a question for you??

I should be embarrassed to show you this but here goes..... You sent me a cutting of Schiffneri- tuberless in the secret swap last fall. Well here it is 6 months later still in the 3 oz cup I started it in! Besides potting it up to a bigger cup should I also clip it off and maybe start the top half again? It has never bloomed but I love the texture and the color of the leaves.

I've been keeping it with my sinningias close to the lights, is that good? Any advice on what to do with this would be appreciated.

I looked up the smithiantha's, cool plants!

~Brenda

Brenda, you weren't here this winter on DG when I grew 18 kinds of sinningia speciosas from seed. You would have a ball with these......going to post a few old pictures........got rid of them to make room for streps. I love the larger sinningias......

Sinningia speciosa 'Red Slipper'
The first was 'Nocturnal'

Sinningia speciosa 'Purple Peloric'

Ok im not an expert on it,but i do love mine,i had that plant a year before it grow ,i treated it like a violet,well one day i put it in a 4 to see if i could get it to grow,well it did,it got bigger quick like well then i decided to put it in a six inch pot and it grew almost 3 ft tall
of course i pinched it to keep it bushy,if you will give it ,its own wick and its own dish or sauser ,it will get big,mine seems to like lots of light and water ,i would cut it and start a new one,i dont give mine that kind of water and it suffers,but its alive,maybe i should restart it
and see how big i can really get it,its a neat one and it doesnt bloom much ,infact ive been told it wont bloom indoors but...... mines bloomed and that story went right out the window,it starts in water or the dirt,as im sure you know

JIM
ps yours should go into a 4 inch asap,and watch out lol

sinningia speciosa 'Jack Evans purple'

very pretty,i like the bigger sinns too ive decided too,

I am going to grow only about 5 kind this next winter........they are so easy to grow from seed. You are right, Jim......the bigger the pot I use the bigger the sinningias get in a hurry....

gotta go......bye

OMG Gail, those are absolutely amazing, I love them!! I had no idea of the variety of colors available. How long from seed to bloom?

And I keep forgetting to say that I am so excited to get that Hoya in trade .... but I can wait another week! The longer it's with you the better probably as it is in for a rude surprise when it gets to my house. LOL

This is my husband this afternoon enjoying our first week of temperatures in the 60's. Notice his "ottoman" to prop his boots on. ^_^

Thanks Jim, that sounds like a plan! I'll cut the top off to re start it and then I'll pot up and watch it grow! I did a search on it and the flowers may be few and far between but I love the ones with the polka dots inside! It does get quite large, I'll have to get it it's own grow light. LOL

You also sent me Apricot Brocade and it needs potting up just as badly but I have had some pretty blooms from it.

The tubiflora you sent did really well at first but now it's half dead, I think I waited too long to pot it up. I'll do it now and hope for the best, that too is a very cool plant if I can revive it!

This is a plant called a x-phinastema that came with the sinningias I got from Gary Mikita last year. It has pretty foliage and pretty little blooms on it. I need to research and see what it needs.

just cut off the bad part on tubaflora,it should come right back,maybe repot it

JIM

Brenda, i thought it was going to take 9 months from seed to bloom but it only took 7 months for those giant blooms.......they love to be very close to the light also...........

Brenda, you are so patient........i ordered two boxes from Gary last year and didn't even keep anything very long...........look at that picture of x-phinastema. I should have kept some of them.......

A couple more of my babies bloomed....

I had a couple Fancy Pants that didn't bloom true.
(The color is not coming up true on this photo... it is definitely more pink!)

This message was edited Apr 20, 2009 10:02 PM

And then a couple of them that did bloom true... Yay!!!

This is Atsu Hama

Another bloom on Nerys... I just love the mix of colors ion Nerys!

Are you sure, Rose, that you don't have Space Dust ? She is just beautiful..........
Here is a picture I have of Fancy Pants..........let me see if I can find Space Dust also........
Here is Space Dust...........

I love Nery's , too..........you have some pretty ones!
Here is Fancy Pants.......

And last but not least...
Sinn. Leuc. continues to put on a show!
A detail...