I thought that I would start our April pictures with my weekend find. They may not be named but it was a good deal. At 3.99 each I just couldn't pass them up. Now let's see how fast I can kill them. Streps just don't like me!! lol
Melanie
April pictures and chit chat
Nice plants, Melanie. I seem to have the same difficulty with streps. I have only managed to keep one alive thus far and it has yet to have more than 2 flowers at a time. Good luck with those.
Earle
What an deal! I would have snatched those up too.
Wow,what a bargain!
Lynn
Streps like bright light (mine get no Sun or very late afternoon Sun at most) and don't let them get totally dry. You CAN grow them!
Hey everyone! My plants and I are still getting used to the new place. I've been extremely busy and haven't had much time to post...
Anyhow, here's the first flower on Sinningia araneosa grown from seed.
First two pictures: Sinningia 'HCY's Coral Candy' x self
Third picture: Sinningia 'Country Tiger' x self
Fourth picture: Sinningia 'Country Crocus'. The leaf in the background is Sinningia eumorpha "Saltao" x piresiana and is almost as big as the whole plant of 'Country Crocus'...
Some sprouting Sinningia tubers:
First two pictures: Sinningia 'California Gold' x leucotricha clearly showing the silvery hairs of the leucotricha parent. The plant in the background is Sinningia eumorpha "Saltao" x piresiana getting ready to bloom.
Third picture: Sinningia cardinalis
Fourth picture: First shoots and buds on Sinningia speciosa 'Claire Roberts' grown from leaves
This message was edited Apr 9, 2012 7:52 AM
Very nice Olaf!
Great pictures Olaf!
I have only one African Violet...for about three years now. It grows well and the foliage gets more-and-more dense. But I can't get it to flower. It's in an southeast-facing window, alongside my orchids, and gets good morning sunlight. And I've fertilized it with both 'typical' fertilizers, high in nitrogen...and also tried the 'bloom booster' fertilizer that's higher in phosphates. I try to let it dry-out a bit before watering, hoping to stress it just a little. Still no luck. Any insight? I can post a photo if it helps. Thanks!
Gosh,a photo might help.It sounds like you are doing everything right.The only thing you didn't mention is how long has it been since it was re-potted?
Lynn
Hi, Lynn. I repotted it after bringing it home from the "save my life" table at Lowe's. It was in peat, which I knew I'd be prone to overwatering. So I moved it to a 4" pot with my own mix. It has grown - but only the foliage. Here's a photo. Thanks again...
Scott
Hey Scott,
It looks good but I think I see some "suckers" on her. Sometimes that will take the energy away from the main plant causing it to not bloom. The plant should only have one rosette form in the center so the other small rosettes are the suckers aka baby A.V.s
Connie
Thanks, Connie. I know nothing about these...so I was glad it was multiplying into a nice specimen clump...ha ha! It looks like I can easily divide it into 3 equally sized plants. I hope the two offsets already have some roots...
The size of the plant looks good for the size of your pot. When you go to divide off those suckers you will need to go down in pot size. They love to be hugged in the pots and if the pot is too big the plants can get root rot. If the suckers don't have roots on them you can put them in damp (NOT WET) mix and dome them with a baggie or glass jar until they get established again. After that, you will have 3 beauties to bloom for ya :)
Connie
Ditto.....what Connie said LOL.
Lynn
Everyone's plants look awesome. I am in a 'no flower' stage right now. I just have a few epicia blooming, but just one flower on each plant. I don't think I like them to much. They don'w seem to like it here. LOL
Awesome pictures and sinningias are just irresistible. I can't stand it any more, lol. About to make an order today, mostly minis. Olaf, do you know you're the one to blame?
Anyways despite of freezing nights spring is here and my Alsobias started to wake up. Cygnet if full of buds, here is the first bloom
It's really pretty Maria!
Lynn
First of all: Thanks, everyone!
Seems like my surviving plants have gotten used to the new place and so have I... LOL
Well, Maria, that's how it starts... Watch out, though: Sinningias are like gremlins and before you know it, they have taken over your house... ;)
Olaf
Oh, and here's an example of what a difference a day makes: Sinningia speciosa 'Claire Roberts'. Full of buds and getting ready.
Some Sinningia speciosa babies and Begonia 'Joooles Moon'. The light green speciosas are 'Wendy' and the other ones are 'Donna'. The Sinningia in the upper right corner is S. lineata "Highly Spotted Clone".
This message was edited Apr 10, 2012 6:07 PM
Your Alsobia is way ahead of mine, Maria... I will never get tired of those frilly, white blossoms with their little, purple dots... :)
The second picture is Sinningia 'Seminole' going crazy on me with five well developed crowns that all seem to be making it and also showing the first signs of buds...
Olaf,
I don't see the highly spotted clone?
Here you go, Lynn! :)
Sinningia lineata "Highly Spotted Clone". Grown from seed and still a baby... :)
Question for all of you AV enthusiasts...
If I wanted to get just one AV, and I wanted variegated foliage, and a fantasy bloom, what would you recommend?
I have never met anyone who was able to resist growing more than one Violet...
LMBO!!! GOOD ANSWER!!
Connie
My new micro mini Sinningias:
'Lil' Georgie' and "Mystery Micro"...
Second picture: Primulina tabacum. Unfortunately, I lost the original plant but the baby is going strong. :)
Karen,
If you have FC,you might try looking through it.
Karen, check out Buckeye violets, I think they have nearly the best variegation, often multicolored. I have just one so far, Buckeye Country Girl. Great color and fantasy, large and very long lasting. And semi/double too. A winner!
Lynn...
I'm LOL because I figure if I don't know what FC is, then I don't have it. What is it and where can I view it?
Maria...
Thanks for the selection... I will look at some more of the Buckeye varieties.
Olaf...
I am that way with Streps and Episcias, but I've never been as successful with AVs. I had one before that was in honor of my grandmother who grew them on her windowsill, and the name of it was 'Grandma Rose'... But I lost it, and I have tried to find that one again but cannot. So... I just wanted to try one again to round out my gesneriad collection.
I will look at some from your suggestions, and have even perused eBay...
But being more specific now, I would like one with heavy variegation and red and purple or fascia and purple fantasy. I actually prefer the single flowers too.
Thanks all and have a blessed day!
Karen
Karen, I'm that way with Sinningias... LOL Violets are not exactly my friends. I love them but they don't exactly love me back...
Anyhow, speaking of Sinningias:
Sinningia 'California Gold' x leucotricha, Sinningia eumorpha "Saltao" x piresiana and, last but not least, not a Sinningia but a Kohleria 'Strawberry Fields'.
Karen, you can do it (with AVs), good luck!
Olaf, they are good enough to eat, just yammy, lol
BTW what happens when different sinn species are crossed like those two in your pictures? will they be completely different or look more like one of the parents? Actually I got 3 tiny seedlings of S. Calif. Gold x leukotricha. They are very slow growing though and it will be awhile before I see their blooms. Although I can tell there is no bulbous part typical for leucotricha
Well, there's no simple answer to the question as to what happens when you cross two different Sinningias. That's the beauty of raising those plants from seed because you never really know what you will get... :) I can't wait to sow Sinningia ('Country Tiger' x self) x self (or 'Country Tiger' F3) and see if the seedlings will show a greater variety than the first selfing (or F2).
Well, 'California Gold' x leucotricha yielded two seedlings for me. They are slow growing in the beginning, I agree. They also will form tubers. The plant that you see in the picture is about a year and a half old and this is the third set of shoots. The flowers on my plant are peachy/orangy/reddish.
Olaf
Mine are like 3-4 month old, way to go..... But growing sinns from seed is an adventure for sure
They are kind of slow in the beginning because they are making tubers and aren't growing that much. Once the seedlings are past about 2-3 inches in height, they will start growing much faster. :)
Another fun aspect of growing Sinningias from seed is the fact that the seedlings often don't resemble the mature plant AT ALL!!! S. leucotricha is a prime example. The seedlings look straggly and nothing like the tidy, silky, silver leaved plants that we all know from pictures. It takes a few growth cycles for Sinningia tubers to mature, some of them take several years.
Any day now!
Sinningia speciosa 'Claire Roberts'
Karen,
F2 is a computer program sold by the AVSA.It has about 17,000 descriptions and thousands of pictures.I think the initial program is $30 and after that something like $11 a year if you want to update it.
Lynn
Sinningia speciosa 'Claire Roberts' and Saintpaulia 'Allegro Appalachian Trail'
