Mini Sinningias - Assorted |
If you would
start a Gesneriad Farm, what would you do?
Let’s suppose that the houseplant
boom of the 1970’s is starting again.
The leading commercial horticulture
trade magazine, Grower Talks, gave its lead story to this idea. The Sill, of NYC, gets a mention as a rising
star by building a retail mail order source for foliage houseplants. They also just opened their second storefront
in Manhattan.
If every apartment dweller in NYC
suddenly sees the need for a plant, we will need a lot of plants.
The grower at Costa Farms, FL, makes
this novel observation: “Urban markets
are exploding with small apartments and rental units, and houseplants are, in a
way, taking the place of pets.”
Last time, the supply never did catch
up with the demand. Then it peaked, and
houseplants proceeded to crash toward zero.
While starting with easy surviving
foliage plants, it quickly moved into more interesting oddities and flowering
plants. Enter---- Gesneriads.
African Violets, the leading
flowering houseplant in the World survived ---- most others did not.
Are indoor gardeners ready for
Streptocarpus, Nematanthus, Columnea, Aeschynanthus, Primulina and Sinningias? Since there is very little supply, nobody
knows.
As Seth Godin says: “Start small, start now!”
Streptocarpus 'Rose Halo' |
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