Basement babies

I finally took my camera down to the basement.... only got a few pictures before my battery died, but it's looking very promising down there on the light shelves! I wanted to show a few shots of how the leaf pots are coming along, post pics of some of the plantlets that have been promised, etc.

I've got trays of leaf pots and sucker/crown cuttings, plus young plantlets and also older AVs that aren't currently in bloom. Everybody's all mixed up, because at this point all my plants from various sources have been exposed to one another. From now on, strict quarrentine procedures will be observed for longer periods! :-)

Here's one of the shelves under lights. The heat mats seem to be reducing the minor powdery mildew that was going on, but I only have 2 heat mats so the second shelf must do without (for now).

In the front of the second tray, you can see 3 or 4 plantlets I separated from my crowded pot of 'Winnie the Pooh' from the Violet Gallery. There are also 2 suckers from 'Tiger Trail' in that tray (front right). They've all rooted nicely! My 'Marion's Enchanted Trail' that was so tiny when I got it this summer is in the middle of this tray, and it's doing well (big tag, tiny leaves).... I'm planning to take an "insurance" cutting soon (I think Dana has dibs).

OK, that's enough of that. I'll take some more closeups to show you how individual plants/plantlets are doing....

One of my newest leaf pots has ears!! I put down a round of leaves on November 8.... this one is 'Rob's Gundaroo', from MsC.

That looks fabulous!

Here are 2 plantlets of 'Grape Slush', coming along nicely and about ready for transplanting. You can see the dark green mother leaves (no visible variegation) on either side of the photo. Both these plantlets arose from the leaf on the left. One plantlet has a lot of white, and the other is much darker.... I'm intrigued by the marked difference in color between them.

(but wait.... there's more! LOL)

Oh, here's a closer look at that first tray of leaves & plantlets...

and a second tray of leaves & plantlets....

Edited to add that MsC may recognize several of the gorgeous little plants she sent me... 'Rob's Gundaroo', 'Orchard's Wonder Twin', and 'Ramblin' Angel' are all doing great.... Thanks so much for them! :-)


This message was edited Dec 14, 2005 10:34 PM

and a third....

We were just talking about 'Silly Girl'....

Here's a plantlet that's coming along nicely.

and here is a plantlet of 'Smitten Kitten', with Danak's name on it! :-)

There are 5 little plantlets of 'Rob's Bunny Hop' in this cell pot!

and I *think* this one is also 'Rob's Bunny Hop', but its tag got lost.... We'll soon know (it's definitely one of the "Rob's" varieties, that much I'm sure of), because -- look! -- it's about to have its first bloom!

There are 4 plantlets of 'Peppermint Girl' in here.... about time to transplant them, I think!

My original plant of 'Rob's Love Bite' bit the dust... :-(

Fortunately, I planted an "insurance leaf" -- see how cute! I love the pink crown! :-)

I've already taken 2 crown cuttings from the 'Rob's Humpty Doo' chimera that MsC sent me! They're rooted and growing well.... nearly ready to have their own crowns cut, LOL.

Here's another crown cutting that's done very well.... 'Pink Champagne', a semimini trailer.

Now, to show you the difference that putting these violets under lights has made....

Here is 'Grape Slush' when it was living on my kitchen counter in October....

and here is 'Grape Slush' after a few weeks under the lights!

The leaves darkened dramatically.... you can still see some that are the "old" color out near the edges. It was a pretty plant, but now it is just striking! AND, it is about to burst into bloom!

Hooray!

:-D

Ladies and Gents! : Jill's Long-awaited Pictures!!!


Even better than we anticipated.
and I thought I was about to get off of DG tonight....

You have impeccable foliage tastes- 'Grape Slush,' 'Rob's Love Bite,' 'Peppermint Girl'...
I love it! (them- something er rather)

You know, a blind old lady gardener whom I used to talk to (walking to class) told me how she stacks her plant-lights and flats such that the heat from the lights conducts up into the plants above the light. This puts only the bottom plants without heat, which is allocated for certain seedling species.

I had better call my clients and work during this break for money to get more lights!

Wow.
Wow?
Wow!

'Grape Slush' is grand!

What are the potted (bigger) plants in the exteme lower-right of Picture #4? Foliage heaven! I have dtudying and vaccuming to do!
(As snoopy says to the Red Baron) I say to you.

-And Top-left plantlets of Picture #5?


This message was edited Dec 14, 2005 8:40 PM

"What are the potted (bigger) plants in the exteme lower-right of Picture #4? "

Hmmm.. Without trouping down to the basement to check name tags, I think the one in the center of the right edge of the photo is 'Rob's Whiz Bang' and the one with the large girl leaves is probably the big sucker I took from my new 'Kingwood Blue'. It looks like 'Rob's Whiz Bang' is finally going to bloom... check out its "grown up picture" at http://www.robsviolet.com/rob's_whiz_bang.htm I'll have to put a couple more leaves down, as I noticed the pair I've potted up seem to be struggling.

"-And Top-left plantlets of Picture #5?"

Kenton, you have a good eye! I was going to mention those plantlets (also from suckers) of 'Midget Gumdrop' because they have such cool mosaic variegation, but I thought, oh, it's too hard to see them back there!

Here's a photo of 'Midget Gumdrop' with all the suckers still crammed into the pot.... wonderful foliage!
It's bloom is a "double dark pink" so I guess you don't want it, Kenton... no more pink AVs for you, right? ;-)

I don't like pale pink. ( I hate it, actually.) A friend of mine makes fun of me, and I thought " I'll never hear the end of it" when I showed her a picture of teh dashing 'Rebel's Splatter Kake.'

Most pink I don't like. It is very rare that It doesn't repell me. (on those occasions I'm usually quiet.)

Now, a "dark pink" can look like a fushia, or a red, and I would just have to see it.

And ""What are the potted (bigger) plants in the exteme lower-right of Picture #4? "" means the ones outside the flats, adult-ish size? Is that them?

I really have work to do...

I couldn't find one- can anyone supply a flower photo of 'Midget Gumdrop?'

I'll post one when she blooms, Kenton! :-)

and yes, 'Rob's Whiz Bang' and 'Kingwood Blue' are the ones outside the flats.... check out this thread for more of the AVs with cool foliage that I got from The Violet Gallery.... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/553644/

Whoops!!

That's not 'Rob's Whiz Bang', it's 'Silly Girl'! (now who's a silly girl??)

This message was edited Dec 14, 2005 11:48 PM

Fancy.

When I searched Google, I got that thread!
Thanks Jill,
Kenton

'Midget Gumdrop one of FC photos there are 2 She has double dark pink

I have Midget Lillian we can trade Jill
I also have Lillian Sparkler She has Pink but darker fantasy

Lillian Sparkler

Kenton I posted her 'Midget Gumdrop'
First Class says Double dark pink

This message was edited Dec 14, 2005 11:35 PM

yah.... yah.... putting that one on your wish list, Kenton! I'd say she's not "pale pink." I'll make a final judgment when she blooms.... colors are hard to tell sometimes....

For example, I took a flash photo of the AVs currently on my kitchen island. (They also benefitted from the florescent lights & started blooming this week!) I've already deleted the picture because the color was so untrue.... the dark red one showed as stopsign red, and the violet-purple one showed as dark pink -- not even close!

This photo with no flash shows their true colors, I think.... at least it does if your monitor is adjusted the same as mine! LOL, that's why the First Class software has all sorts of disclaimers about how you're not supposed to use the photos for identification purposes!

The deep maroon red one is a NoID from Home Depot. The big purple bloom in the adjoining pot might be 'Purple Ruffles', but the mother plant of that variety is on its very last leg (very last toe, actually, as I potted up a 4 leaf crown from it in desperation last week), so I haven't seen it bloom in a long time, and somehow this pot lost its tag. Anyway, the perky plant behind that duo is 'Sure to Please'.... and both the foliage and the flowers sure do please me!

oh, more cross posting!

I would be delighted to trade for your 'Midget Lillian' or 'Lillian Sparkler', Allison! What an adorable plant! *going to trade tracker to make a note* My 'Midget Gumdrop' plants should be a very nice size by spring! :-)

(edited for typo)

This message was edited Dec 14, 2005 11:35 PM

They are both miniatures :))
Lillian Sparkler is standard
They are vintage by Ethel Champion She died in her 92's this past summer. She was the 1st Mother Hybridizer of Mosiac variegation and the yellow crown variegation, She Hybridized almost 300 Ava Superman was hers
look Midget Midnight also Mini

I also have Ramblin' Midget ,
Variegated SM trailer lots pink, foliage, crown variegated Dark green ,
and pink. Almost Vintage fantasy bloomer WOW

Thanks Critter!, I just got back from my knitting class. Got roped into going with my best pal! It was fun but boy this is fun too!

So Critter, what's this yummy little one here? Is this Silly Girl? If so, Now I know FOR sure that I have to have one! Was it you that said you had it?
L-

Yes, that yummy one is 'Silly Girl' -- and she is already on your list in my trade tracker! :-)

In addition to the larger plant in the photo higher up in this thread, I have at least one little plantlet coming along from this leaf, and I have another leaf that's rooted (but no ears yet).

Kenton, I thought about your comment and decided the shelves should be rearranged! Now, all the flats are on a lower shelf, on the seedling heat mats (now set to 70 degrees). The larger plants in individual pots are on the shelf above, where they will hopefully get a little radient heat from the mats as well as the lights on the lower shelf.

Oh, and for those who have been envying my setup downstairs....

I also have an old double washtub on legs that I use for mixing potting soil. Along the right side of this photo, you can see the "parasite tap" that DH put in as a Valentine's Day gift a couple years ago.... It may fill my water jugs slowly, but it sure beats carrying water downstairs to all those plants!

Here's a cute little plantlet of 'Buckeye Boysenberry'.

It's going to be big when it grows up! I took this bloom picture of 'Buckeye Boysenberry' soon after I got the plant, and it has really filled in and grown out since then.... I'm hoping for a bunch of blooms soon!

To give you an idea of the scale of this plant, check out the leaves that are visible on the right side of the photo of the third flat of leaves & plantlets (the 10:17 pm post above).

Edited to say I tried to adjust the color of this photo to be more "true" to the bloom color, which really is a rich boysenberry purple!

This message was edited Dec 15, 2005 1:29 AM

I have one larger plantlet of 'Buckeye Bellringer' (for mk), and then I have this leaf, which seems to be putting up 2 or 3 sets of ears!

Here's the bloom on the 'Buckeye Bellringer' mother plant...