More May Booms!!

Good Morning! I thought I'd start a new May Bloom thread and then I'll go back and post a link so we can continue sharing photos and chatting over here!

Here is where we are coming from http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/843575/

This bloom is from a gessie called a Pearcea with a name of "sp Equador" ..........this plant was sent as a free gift last year at this time with some Kohlerias I ordered from Out of Africa. It has beautiful dark foliage which I have enjoyed! This is it's very first bloom for me, one year later!! Glad I kept it around. ^_^

~Brenda

That's stunning, Brenda!

Yes, that is an absolutely stunning plant! I love that awesome dark foliage and that bloom just sets it off! Beautiful!

Congratulations Brenda! That is one AWESOME looking bloom!
Woo Hoo :)

Kim

Thanks all, I had about given up on the Pearcea ever being more than a foliage plant for me! ^_^

I just had to show the streps that came from Out of Africa on Friday. Remember my cousin and I ordered together to get wholesale pricing? I ended up with 16 plants as he sent two free gifts! He choose the names at this pricing deal but I am more than happy!!

What I can't get over is the skill in packing he displays! The best I've ever seen with not one spec of dirt out of place. Check it out each one looks like a gift!

Edited to say my cousin also received 16 plants, I just took my half out of the box and then reused the same shipping box and got it off to CA the same day and she has already gotten it. The packing was so awesome that they didn't even mind the extra couple days in transit!!

~Brenda

This message was edited May 12, 2008 10:17 AM

I also received a small order from Dave's Violets on Friday and although the size of the plants was bigger the packing had nothing t hold the dirt in, just plastic wrap around each pot. I will say that the Post Office must have put the box through a cement mixer before giving it to me as I have never seen such a mess on any order of plants!

The poor little Ozarks Pink Kitten sininngia was dumped fromthe pot and six leaves broken off leaving just three. The other plants were just covered in spilt dirt.... The Playful Porpoise sinningia was a really nice size with two blooms on it but the poor thing was all beat up so I'm hoping it recovers after some TLC in my mini greenhouse!

~Brenda

This message was edited May 12, 2008 10:15 AM

Amazing the difference packaging can make huh Bren?
So sorry your sinn's were so beat up :(
BUT...........WOWZERS check out those BEAUTIFUL streps! You're right, they look like gifts!
I had heard great things about Gary :)
I should have taken pictures of what I received from Belisle's but quite honestly, I was a little sick to my stomach.
All in wet spaghum with 1 or 2 roots in sandwich bags!
I learned 1 thing though........order cuttings *lol*

Absolutely stunning Brenda :) You have some real pretties there :)
Hope he sent you Museum of Art? That one is spectacular!

What fun you are going to have :)

XO
Kim

The best box of all was a trade box from Gail with two great streps (Tumbelina, I love her! and a young King of Kings strep) and a big pile of leaves of new streps for me!! I enjoyed sticking all those leaves and plan on having plenty of new streps on my shelves and plenty of babies to share come fall!!

And talk about some awesome packing, your a pro Gail! Thanks so much!!
~Brenda

Nope, no Musem of Art :( sorry Kim..... ^_^ But I was absolutely thrilled with a Silvia!!! Most everything in the box was a double as he knew I was splitting the box and there were two Silvia's! Both my cousin and I were the most pleased with that growers choice but everything else was new to both of us so we are happy campers for sure!

My Bristol's Petticoats is looking very pretty right now.... Susan I have babies coming up of this one if your interested in adding it to the fine strep obsession ... er .... I mean ... collection you are acquiring!! Like I have any room to talk at all! ROTFLOL

~Brenda

One more picture for me and then back to work.

This is a first bloom on Bristol's Blackbird (grown from a leaf Rain sent me last fall) and it is so cool how it has that little crossed wing look to the bloom!

I wish I had Mulletmans fortitude to clip the first few bloom stalks to help the new plant with it's other growth needs first ........ but I don't!!! I'll never be a pro grower that's for sure, I'm too greedy for the blooms. ^_^

~Brenda

Uh Oh..I have a box coming from Daves Violets this week..I sure hope they travel better than the ones they sent you Brenda...uggg..that is so sad!! I know how disheartening that is to receive plants in shambles.Hey tho the rest of everything you got from Garys and our own gessiegail look marvelous!! Your Pearcea looks mighty pretty!

I had an order planned for belisile's but after I heard of how yours arrived Kim..I scratched that order last week warp speed..LOL..I still hate that had to happen to you..I was afraid to take a chance : ( I really do love how everyone here looks out for eachother..I know I really appreciate hearing everyones experiences with different venders..the good and bad...

Nance, if they are the kind of plants you don't mind rooting, sometimes Belisle's is THE only place to find some things BUT I would only recommend getting cuttings. Cuttings are $3.00 and you get multiple cuttings, "plants" are a single cutting with 1 or 2 roots and EVERYTHING is shipped in wet spaghum in a sandwich bag.
Just wasn't what I was hoping for but I'm definitely going to make the best of it and before you know it, they will be beauties :) It will give me something to "play with" this winter :) Silver lining in here somewhere *lol*

XO
Kim

I'll be interested to see how your box from Dave's Violets arrives Nancy. I'll be hoping (for your sake) that mine just fell off the truck and rolled down the hwy a bit before they tossed it back in! LOL

I do think he could use the hint of a little damp paper towel or cotton around the base of his plants before the plastic wrap though...

On the really positive side the size of his plants is great!!! And because I had chosen one strep that he only had in a small size he sent me a free gift of an extra strep to make up for the small one! Can't beat that kind of customer service!

I need to leave some good feedback on both my orders!

Firehouse AV has gone crazy with blooms, they are even prettier in person!
~Brenda

Kim ..there is not a doubt in my mind that under your care my dear friend they will thrive for sure!!

edited to add..LOL..Brenda.. i am hoping they use a different truck with happy workers when they ship mine..

This message was edited May 12, 2008 11:54 AM

Ditto Nancy, that Kim has more overall knowledge and skill when it comes to rooting or propogating or pollinating "anything"
inside or outside than anyone else I have met!!! You grow girl!

~Brenda

AWWWW that is just not so *lol*
I think you have me confused with Gail *lol*
But I sure am going to try awful hard :)
Hubby let me order some really neat things yesterday and needless to say, I tried a DIFFERENT nursery this time *lol*
We'll see.
This time I ordered "cuttings" of most everything *lol*
I'm hoping to do more of the "woody" kind of plants this winter and let all you ladies do the streps :)
Maybe you will want some neat "woody" friends next spring :)

XO
Kim

Brenda- The box falling off the truck and being tossed back on was so funny! Great mental image!

Last year I ordered from Gary and my plants arrived in the same fabulous packaging. So that means it's a practice not a coincidence! I ordered Episcias last time and I think I'm ready to order again as I've never gotten Streps from him.

See, I don't even know what your talking about ....."woody plants"?? LOL

And if I'm ordering it sure as shootin' isn't going to be cuttings!! I need roots so I "know" a plant will grow for me. Actually I didn't even know you could order gessie cuttings! LOL

I must I've had good success with rooting some really great codonanthe cuttings I've been sent in trades! While I flopped with some that I bought as plants, go figure.... LOL I have a tendency to over pot little guys, lazy and trying to save a step, I need to stop doing that!

Both codonanthe digna and Paula have been giving their pretty little blooms this spring, from too big of a pot!!! ^_^

~Brenda

How cute Brenda :) They look GREAT!
I just love the miniature foliages don't you?
I checked on my babies this morning and they are just as perky as I used to be *lol*
I think they are going to pull through with flying colors and as soon as I can start cutting them I will :) But first things first......new set of roots :)


Kim

Oops, I meant to put a picture of a little bloom from codo digna ......but those are the great cuttings I received in trade this past fall that all have roots on them now!

Yes Kim, I do love the little foliage but I love the thick succulent type of little foliage even better! So these are great!

Trying again for codo digna with a bloom......

~Brenda

Brenda, those are doing great. I am trying some of the other gessies in 6" hanging baskets...........just root them in the 6" baskets....will post later. Dave's violets sell the 6" baskets with sturdy hangars on them for only less than 1.25 each I think.

Also, I am new at sinningias but learning quickly how tough they are as long as they get a whole lot of light on them. They really require more light than most gessies but they are sturdy easy plants to grow.

I really like the Out of Africa.

Hi All;
Gary, out of africa has some of the finest plants anywhere & his shipping is always great, he belongs to the same club i belong to,he is a wonderful guy. I have ordered from belisles several times & always got very nice plants & the packing was just fine. I think i would notify them if yours was not, as something must have happened,i always got nice plants, cuttings & packing.As far as daves, i have gotten plants from him also, his packing is not as good as gary's but they were not all broken either. i think alot of that is the post office, but the packing does make a big difference.
mrsbonnie

Bonnie, my packing from dave's on the sinningias was fantastic! I know someone recently on Dave's that received horrible plants from Belisles and it makes me sad. I love their selection of plants. Someone said they do a better job with cuttings than with plants????

I actually just sent one of the free "plants" to a friend as I don't grow Columnea and this is what he said when he got them today:

"Got the Columnea. Boy those are some sad puppies."

So, I am grateful to know it wasn't just me *lol*

He's a FANTASTIC grower so if he thinks they're "sad puppies", then I have to say I think he's right *lol*

Kim

Okay this is really off the wall question But you know how they have Co-OP is there some way us AV and All family in the AV's can get a co-op or is that to hard I have no idea how it works or if you can even do something like that.
Just a thought
Dimmer(AKA) Kim

I've never ordered from Out of Africa, Dave's or Belisles. Only place I've ever ordered on line plants from is Bluebird Greenhouse and Rob's Violets. I know, I know ... I am a novice with the plant ordering thing! Y'all are sure enablers though ... here I'm talking about cutting back, downsizing and only growing one or two of each type of Gessie and now y'all have me going visiting the Out of Africa site and Dave's Violets site!




If I end up ordering something, I'm going to blame it on every one of you! LOL.


Dimmer/Kim: I am new to the co-op thing. I joined in on a caladium co-op and the hang a pot co-op. I guess the only way it works is if you have a vendor who will agree to sell the number of plants you are looking for. Everyone shares in the cost of shipping and handling and pays for the shipping from the host to them. It sure is a lot of work. Whoever the host is has to do the ordering, receiving, unpacking, sorting and organizing and then packing and shipping to each person involved in the co-op. I can't imagine all that work!

Always I have to try something new (and it doesn't always work)! I decided to start rooting in these 6" hanging baskets and try to get blooms by February for the annual show and sale.

I had some scraggly episicas so I started them off, too. The only one I am having trouble with is a pot of columnea that someone here at home had and it hadn't been fertilized or taken care of, so it is having trouble rooting.

These were started 2 weeks ago...........in zip lock bags and the bags came off after a week.
Last fall I saw a great big hanging basket of episcia and I want to just try in 6" pots first.

****Just read your post, Lin, and I agree that I am not separating plants and reshipping.
Gosh.........I just looked at all of Brenda's pics and missed them.
This one is Mosaic

This message was edited May 12, 2008 7:12 PM

More just rooted cuttings
this one is an old one called Cotton Candy

This message was edited May 12, 2008 7:13 PM

another 6" new pot of episcia stolons
This is Moss Agate

This message was edited May 12, 2008 7:14 PM

Gail, what are the names on those Episcia's??



Ok ... going on line "window" shopping now!

Columnea Alladin's Lamp going great because the friend in Corpus who gave her to me in a two inch pot had grown her healthy all along.

Lin, let me go get the names.............be back..........

This is a columnea (I can't remember name) and she is having a hard time getting started.

Columnea 'Light Prince' is just taking off easily.

I think this is Pink Acajou or spelled another way
I have finally learned to start mine in a container of some kind and the little added moisture seems to help the plant

Her name is somewhere but I can't find it...........just little babies

Tomorrow I am taking off every bloom on a strep who doesn't even have baby leaves ..........just the mother leaf and they want to bloom. I need foliage , not blooms.

Those episcias are really nice gail..they do great for you!! Oh I love Columnea 'Light Prince'..or should I say loved it!!..LOL..snowrose sent me some last year and it was doing so well then all of a sudden it went kaput..never did figure out why..I kill things for no reason sometimes..lol..love that variegation!

My other project tomorrow is to take every sinningia (small ones) (not yours Jan) and repot in my soil and also nip every bud and bloom off to see if I can get them to grow faster. I won't change the size of the pot........just the my own soil.

Hi, Cedarnest!!
Yup, we are all busy just working on plants.

I should have said that I do love Gary's plants so much. I have ordered a little of everything and always gotten very healthy plants. He will get a big order of streps later on in the summer for our big sale in the fall. Do you think I will have fun finishing them out? Of course! Maybe I can even swipe a leaf or two.