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| Metapetrocosmea tamiana by Dibley's |
Vietnamese
Violets are here for the World to see.
It’s not often that a species can be a commercial crop without
any hybridizing improvement needed. A
species is how a plant is collected in the wild. By definition it is true from seed, as all
the seedlings look like the Mother.
Why it has been overlooked is baffling,
because it has it all as a flowering houseplant. It can be grown in quantity from seed, prolifically generated from self-pollination.
We have a believable common name in
Vietnamese Violet. It’s native to Vietnam
and grows like an African Violet with clusters of bright white and purple
flowers. Culture is the same as African
and Asian Violets – Bright window or under florescent/LED lights.
The botanical Genus name keeps changing
from Primulina to Deinostigma to Metapetrocosmea. But that won’t matter with the strong
category name – Vietnamese Violet. There
are other Metapetrocosmea species but it’s unknown if they are commercial.
It’s a nice plant. Pictured are multiple seedings growing at
Dibley’s Greenhouse, U.K.
It will be accepted as a flowering
houseplant, if the supply and distribution get better.
I was very surprised to see these at the grocery store a year or so back. They had a number of them in the floral department labeled as "Asian Violets."
ReplyDeleteThanks for noticing. I hope that the Vietnamese Violet name can win out, since I want Asian Violet to apply to Primulina.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know which grower grew them.
I know how to grow them now in 2.5" pots, 4" pots and 4" hanging baskets. We should be able to sell a lot.
Thanks for being a faithful reader.