One third more...

Three leaf Sinningia 'Prudence Risley'

Story # 67,


      Most Sinningias have one pair of leaves per whorl.


      Sometimes something happens and you get 3 leaves per whorl which repeat up the shoot.


      Many Gesneriad followers have noticed this before and get excited that a super-clone has been discovered.


      Why does it matter?


      Well with this shoot of Sinningia ‘Prudence Risley’ we could get one third more flowers ----- 3 instead 2.


      In all the times that I have followed a 3-leaf shoot, it always fails me when the branches revert back to 2-leaves.


      Maybe this time will be different?

Will 'Cindy-ella' Return from the Past?

Sinningia 'Cindy-ella'

Story # 66,


      Sinningia ‘Cindy-ella’ is a plant I learned about some 40 years ago.  In the house plant boom of the 70's, plant shops sprang up on every street corner.  Gesneriads were among the hundreds of collector plants that people looked for.  Mini Sinningias were produced as rapidly as possible.


      S. ‘Cindy-ella’ was one that came true from seed which made it easily producible.  The original hybrid was S. ‘Cindy’, a cross between concinna and eumorpha. Since ‘Cindy’ was sterile it was doomed to slow propagation by division, tip cuttings and leaf rooting.


      Through the use of the mutation chemical, colchicine, a tetraploid version was created which restored fertility.  Through this particular technique, the seed produced by self-pollinating ‘Cindy-ella’ are identical to the parent.  A seed pod may have 40 – 60 seed.


      ‘Cindy-ella’ flowers easily and has pretty, slipper-shaped, spotted flowers.  It’s a good one.


      Will it return from the past?

What if nobody buys it?

Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie'

Story # 65,


      A very big bet has been placed on S. ‘Li’l Georgie’.


      What if nobody buys it?


      Entrepreneur books always have a chapter with stories about products that were built that nobody wanted.  It’s the opposite of ‘Build it and they will come’


      Since nothing can be sold unless it has a name and a use, maybe we need 20 ways to use it.


      What could you possibly do with a miniature flowering house plant?

Can't shake the flowers off!

Sinningia 'Stone's Yulia' grown by Gary's Specialty Plants

Story # 64,


      Can’t shake the flowers off!


      It’s always a challenge to time the flowering of your entry into a flower show.  The frustration is when you get it in prime condition and then the flowers fall off during the packing and transport to the show    

     So here’s the plant for you.  In my very scientific experiment I’ve determined that you can not shake the flowers off of Sinningia ‘Stone's Yulia’.


      It traveled to the Mid-Atlantic Gesneriad show (1 hour), to Longwood Gardens (1 hour) and to the Delaware AVS meeting (1 hour) and home again (6 hours of bouncing) without losing a flower.

 
      The first flower to open has finally gone past after 15 days, but it has not fallen off. 

Slipper Gloxinias are more interesting!

Sinningia 'Pristine' grown by Jon Lindstrom

Story # 63,


     Slipper Gloxinias are more interesting!

      Gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa) come in three flower shapes ----single bell, double bell and slipper.


      For years the most common was single upright bell in red, white, purple, bicolor speckled or ruffled.  When double flowered were hybridized the supply was limited because the seed lines were difficult and unstable.  Tissue culture changed that and select clones are produced in big quantities for showy pot plants.


      My favorite style is slipper-shaped, which are seldom grown.


      The hybrid by Charlene Marietti, Sinningia ‘Pristine’, was selected for tissue culture propagation and will be showing up soon.


      It is pink with many flowers possible.


      You’ll like it, too!

Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie' released without fanfare!

Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie' ready for sale

Story # 62,


      Sinningia ‘Li’l Georgie’ released without fanfare!


      The first ever availability of flowering Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie’ occurred on Wednesday, 10 Oct 2012 at Longwood Gardens’ Plant Shop.  These plants were grown from the first propagations from the tissue culture lab.


      If this amazing little plant was in the consumer electronics industry, the internet news would be buzzing.  There would have been rumors of it being sighted last week (Mid-Atlantic Gesneriad Show).  There would be insider reports that production had been halted due to supply line snags (now corrected).  There would be reports that the production crew must work 7 days a week to keep up with the demand (Seriously-------Do you know anything about greenhouse production? ------- It’s always been 7 days a week).


      For now, there is a limited supply of ‘Li’l Georgie’ coming through to Longwood Gardens 


     It’s not an iPlant, but it should be!

1/2 Year!

Sinningia 'Gabriel's Horn'  looking very good.

½ Year!


      This blog was started 6 months ago.


      Anybody that tells you that it is easy probably isn’t writing theirs alone.


      I’ve read that most blogs stop at nine months.  We’ll see.

The best 'Li'l Georgie'!

Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie' by Brian Conner

Story # 61,


     There were three ‘Li’l Georgie’ in the mini Sinningia class.  The fact that ‘Lil’ Georgie' had 3 out of 4 entries is interesting in itself.  The other one was 'Freckles', a showy multi-flowered plant.


      The winner by Brian Conner was perfect.  All the leaves were a uniform dark green.  It had flowers open and buds showing.


      Since ‘Li’l Georgie’ holds its flowers tight, it will be possible to have many flowers open at once.  Several people at the show told me that their ‘Georgie’ never goes dormant.  And mine at a North window has never stopped flowering.


      ‘Li’l Georgie’ will be showing up more in the mini Sinningia class because they are capable of being the best.