Gesneriads

[Heather]

Darn it, first succulents, now this? What are you people trying to do to me??? That Fire Dragon one is gorgeous! (I was trying really hard NOT to look!)

 

[Elena]

Wow, Silver Skies is a beauty!

 

[Sirius]

I have had the Episcia's in for about a week now, and they seem to be doing well. They are rooted cuttings from a mother plant, so they aren't very big yet. Here are pics of my favorites...

'Fire Dragon' - this is the coolest non-orchid plant I have ever seen

'Glitter Magic' - this one can't make up its mind. In natural light, it is silver with green veins. In artificial light, it is green with silver veins.

'Autumn Glow' - green, yellow, gold and red; very true to name.

 

[ogecko]

I have a variety of gesneriads, including African Violets, Chiritas and Petrocosmeas. My favorites are probably Sinningia pusilla and Sinningia leucotricha, which are at the opposite ends of the size spectrum. Here's a picture of my Sinningia leucotricha which is in a 10" bulb pan (but unfortunately out of bloom):



This may really mess people up because it's grown like a succulent (although I grow mine with my orchids).

I also have an oddball which hasn't flowered for me yet but has interesting leaves, Pearcea hypocyrtiflora. The picture is of a little one. I'm trying to grow this one in semi-hydro because it's a pain, it needs to be watered twice a week (and I'm growing it in a terrarium!).



Here's something I'm throwing in because I can, Amorphophallus konjac (a common aroid), currently in bloom and smelling like something dead:



Larry

 

[Heather]

Wow, Larry, your konjac is SO red! Very nice!

 

[Rick]

We usually have some African violets around the house, and there are some of our orchid society members that are also in the local gesnariad society.

There's pretty fantastic diversity and color in the gesnariads, and they are usually cheaper, easier, and faster growing than orchids in general, so I can see the appeal.

 

[MoreWater]

Larry - I love leucotricha and pusilla too! If I had the space, I would grow the bigger sinningias too.

John - Glitter Magic looks gorgeous.

I just finished uploading photos from our local society's show. It's a small group, dominated by two growers.... Anyway, I recently got pulled in to do the newsletter, so somehow I also managed to wind up taking photos of the show. I haven't sorted, edited, or checked the tags yet, but they're here.

This is the same room as the orchid show, otherwise known as the room with the Worst. Light. Ever. To be honest, while the orchid show is jam-packed with fun stuff, the gessies are taaaaame in comparison....

 

[Sirius]

Awesome Ki! It's good to see what Episcias should look like when well grown. Gives me something to shoot for. There are so many blue flowered gesneriads! :drool:

 

[MoreWater]

From what little I know, episcias score higher when the leaves are bigger bigger bigger. And yes, we get bigger leaves during the summer, so I'd say this show was not all that exciting on the episcia side of things. OTOH, the Chiritas like the coolness of the winter home, so there were lots of them in the show.

Me, I prefer my episcias to grow like the good ground cover that they are.....

 

[rdlsreno]

Here's something I'm throwing in because I can, Amorphophallus konjac (a common aroid), currently in bloom and smelling like something dead:



Larry

That is the main ingredient for Liposine!


Ramon

 

[Sirius]

From what little I know, episcias score higher when the leaves are bigger bigger bigger. And yes, we get bigger leaves during the summer, so I'd say this show was not all that exciting on the episcia side of things. OTOH, the Chiritas like the coolness of the winter home, so there were lots of them in the show.

Me, I prefer my episcias to grow like the good ground cover that they are.....

Well, that's plant judging for you. Bigger here, bigger there. I think the men who made up plant judging rules were trying to compensate for something.

It would take up way too much room to grow Episcias in bulb pans so they could spread out. I am trying to root some of the runners back into the pot so I can get a pretty nice display from each one.

 

[streetmorrisart]

It makes sense to share these here rather than beginning a new thread--two of my micro minis!

 

[MoreWater]

Very cute!

I've got mini and micro spotted sinns starting to bloom. More buds on the way... From left to right, Country Crocus, Ruffled Wood Nymph and concinna.

​

This year is looking good for the gesneriads, although I'm already out of light and space. Argh!

 

[MoreWater]

And here is another micro sinningia, sp. Rio das Pedras (as yet unnamed species) planted in moss at the base of a bonsai at Al's in Leesburg.

​

 

[Heather]

Those are VERY cool. I sense another addiction lurking in my future!

 

[streetmorrisart]

Ahhh, seeing the one growing in the moss is so nice! Thanks. (And of course you grow beauties, too.) I would like to expand at some point, but decided to tread carefully at first. The ‘Freckles’ I posted wasn’t fully open at the time as the micro-mini AV was, but it’s doing really well in its open glass jar with more flowers on the way.

 

[MoreWater]

oh cool, that's freckles? Should be a cutie.

I'm growing most of them in the open now - seems fine as the small gessies are all in a tub anyway (I know, visual appeal...) and once they're 2-3 years old, they do fine.

 

[streetmorrisart]

Yup, freckles in its jar:

 

[MoreWater]

awwww.

Freckles = (S. concinna x S. hirsuta), hirsuta being infamous for needing extra humidity. I can't find my Sinningia register so I volunteered to help edit the new edition! The sooner it gets published the better I should work on it today.....

 

[streetmorrisart]

I'm resurrecting this thread to thank Ki for the assortment of corms, leaves, seeds and cuttings she sent me awhile back and to share a bit of the progress / first to bloom, Sinningia sp. "Rio das Pedras"--two blossoms and four more on the way:

close-up (this is a micro-mini!):