Are Episcias becoming a thing of the past?

Hey. All!

It seems like no one is growing/trading episcias anymore. I have made several attempts to trade for other Episcias that I don't have (with the few that have them listed) and for Streps and other Gesneriads. I only have Episcias and A.V.s My plants are starting to produce more stolons and I am wondering whether I need to root or toss them lol. Are they just not a popular plant?

Connie

I think they are popular and sell well. Where have you tried trading them? I've never seen you posting on this forum before but may have missed it. Welcome!

Thank you for the warm welcome, Gold! I really haven't seen much trading in this forum. I searched trade lists which is very slim. I thought they were popular too but have found that on the trades I have made, almost all of the traders did not even know what an Episcia was.

Connie

I think everyone on the gesneriad forum knows what episcias are ^_^.

People outside gesneriads probably wouldn't as they aren't sold at garden centers readily and most people have never seen them.

Tell us about your collection, aspenjocop. Do you grow lots of different varieties? I for one love them.

PS: Folks do trade all the time here but don't talk about them too much in the forum format. Details of trades are done through dmail person to person usually.

I also grow some Episcia and I know several others here do also.
Welcome Connie ^_^.

That is probably why I have not seen much trading! I have 8 or 9 named Episcias. I lost a few this winter...they can be so tempermental sometimes :) My Grandmother had one when I was growing up and it took me years to find out what it was. I had no idea there were so many different ones to choose from! I absolutely love them also! I am wanting to expand into streps and others and also expand my Episcias. What collection do you have? What kind of Gesneriads do you grow? By the way, these traders had tropical/houseplants which I love also :)

Thank you, Ibrabec! I can say everyone on DG are so nice and friendly! Never a rude comment! I read a thread that you responded to and again, didn't see any listings for episcias. Am I wrong for listing them? Should I not trade them openly? I usually read the threads and try not to be rude by popping in and say I want... I am learning a lot from all of you and I thank you for that :)

Connie,
You are not being rude!! I would go to the top of the Gessie threads and list what you have to trade and what you would like to have on the want/have thread for a start.People who have extras or are looking for what you have will then Dmail you. Hope this helps,Lynn

Did not know that. Thank you Lynn! DH has gotten out the MONKEY (Mantis tiller)! Got to go pull weeds. Ordered some daylilies that should be here today or tomorrow.

This message was edited Jun 8, 2009 4:38 PM

Got it all ready for my new plants. That last post sure didn't read like I wanted it to. So sorry about that.

I think we all grow episcias and I don't think we keep our trade list up to date..................welcome aboard. We have some good growers and lots of episicas on this forum............as GL said, we don't always post private trades.

As both GL and Gail stated,we do not always post our private trades.In my personal experience,if you are around for a while and get to know people and they get to know you,it just naturally happens.I don't know any other way to explain,but we are all plant and Gessie lovers and mutual interests just seem to get us together. ^_^

Thank you Gail for the welcome. I am so sorry. I was not talking about private trades. I was referring to Posting haves or wants in general. I do see what you all are talking about though. What all does everyone grow? What are your favorites? What is your best recipe for planting meduim?

Aspen, all I know is that you shouldn't "make up" your own mix or you won't get trace minerals in the mix. So.............you can find some African violet mix at Lowes and add lots of perlite to it.............or some people use Pro mix if they can find it...........always needing to add perlite to lighten the mix.

Maybe other people will chime in on what they use..............there are a zillion mixes people use................
Some people even use Canadian peat and then add a small amount of vermiculite and lots of perlite..........but then you would need to add the trace elements to the mix............like STEM which can be ordered from many places.

I grow Epecia's. I have Showtime, Checkerboard, Cleopatra's, and others.

Aspen,
I grow many kinds of Gessies.At the present time I have more African violets,Streps. and small Episcias than I do of others.I just started growing again in February after about a 20 year hiatus.
If you go back through the old threads,you will find so much information (maybe too much LOL) on soil mixes,different pots,different opinions on propagation,etc. and the sticky threads are a wealth of information.
Ask lots of questions.People here are very friendly and willing to give good advice.

Lynn

Cleopatra. I love them, have several.

I love them too Sally,especially Checkerboard!

Thank you. I love Ember Lace too!

Lovely! I particularly love the green with the pink.Although I like the pink ones,I especially love those with intricate patterns on the leaves.

These two tables were just a place for the 'overflow' of episcias last January.............

I didn't even know you liked Episcias.I thought you were a Streptacholic LOL.

I do this all the time, Lynn...........I build up a collection of something besides streps.......then end of getting rid of everything to make room for more streps.

Now I am trying to balance plants out...........a few sinningias, a few chiritas, a few epsicas, a few african violets and other gessies. After a period I time, I miss all the other gessies and I love to grow from seed, too, from The Gesneriad Society and Mauro P from Brazil. The seeds bring me all kinds of weird species, etc.

Wow!!!! Thank you all for sharing. Those are so beautiful :) Gail, I think once anyone gets into one of these collections they get the urge to try other related ones. Kind of like Lay's Potato Chips, huh? LOL

So true, Aspen!!!!! I bet you can't just eat one potato chip!!!

I love episcias so much that the folks at Baker's Acres call me "The Episcia Lady"!

I only have one, but I love it:
pink smoke

That is BEAUTIFUL, seedpicker!

Thanks!

I actually have two(one in each window) and they have lots of pups. I'm game for trading after the summer heat lets up. Let me know in a few months if you're interested in some pups of this one.

It sure is a glittery one :0)

Very pretty, Seedpicker!

Thank, Sally

You are welcome to some too, if you want :0)

AWESOME! Thank you for the offer :) Just let me know when you are ready

Sally, I love your fairy terrarium, the plants are so appropriate for it!

Hello Aspenjo, I am fairly new to this forum....the people here are very nice. Don't ever feel strange about asking questions or speaking up!
It seems alot of ppl here grow all types of plants, though at this time I am limited to violets, I collect other plants as well and have to save some room. I am very interested in branching out to other AV related plants when I have some more space.

I've looked thru older posts for people who were offering trades or babies for sale, and then inquired from them to see if they still had anything - sometimes they do. Most are open to trading, and everyone is very sweet and very generous.

Hope you hang around for a while!

Welcome aboard Aspen...

My name is Karen... and I am an episciaholic! I started out with just episcias and then grew into some of the other gessies... I now have a thing for the fantasy streps! I grow a couple of sinningias, chiritas and one lone AV! *LOL*

As I was growing up, my aunt grew "flame violets" and I loved them so much. When she passed, I was determined to have them in her honor. I still have mostly episcias... currently 18 named varieties (I think).

What is her name, WildRose.............beautiful bloom!!

My Prescious...

Beautiful pic, Karen! You kind of sound like me. The episcia has always reminded me of my Grandmother and after years of trying to figure out what the plant was...I found out there were many to choose from LOL! I can look at their beauty and think of Grandma. I too have started expanding trying to get into the streps, etc. I have a few african violets and as soon as they grow a bit more, I would love to share some leaves with you. I don't have any variegated leaves but the blooms are pretty :)

Thanks so much jmp24! I would love to stick around and I love the members! It is unbelievable how nice, friendly and helpful everyone is. It is like a big extended family!

Connie

Welcome Connie! This forum is my most-visited forum at DG! The people here have always been wonderful, and are more than willing to share... not only information but plants too! Lots of laughs too! Always nice to visit at the end of a long day, cheering me up and giving me reason to keep going!

'my precious' is gorgeous! Is that an episcia, or strep?
-T

I believe she has an episcia there. Yep, I am addicted.....I mean uh uh...okay, I admit it! :)