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| Sinningia 'Li'l Georgie' - The life time project |
The Anniversary
Issue
I missed the April anniversary
story. The plan never worked. I was going to write it early, then on time,
then a little later.
So here it is.
Started in April 2012, I have eight years done and moving into the ninth year.
Check other blogs, most can’t do that.
So, I have longevity.
For me, it is incredibly difficult
to find a topic, write with focus, type, and publish.
My blog is about plants, but I can’t
help but lean into philosophy. I reject
hundreds of ‘points of view’ in my head because --- who cares what I think.
I have plant people ask for more information
about ‘plant culture’. I find that very
boring and difficult because everyone’s environment is different. Maybe someday.
Anniversaries are for reflecting ---
Past and future.
I’ve had phases of Streptocarpus, Sinningias,
and Primulina. Then Strings of
Things. We constantly chase the hot new
plant --- It’s where the money is.
The future is the most
interesting. Sinningias need to come back. Garden Centers are begging for them. String of Hearts ‘Pretty Pink’ will be a gold
mine if supply can be created.
Who knows what new ‘hot’ plant will
pop up? By definition, there will be a
shortage.
Peperomias are hiding in the
weeds. There are hundreds of species and
they ‘live’ as houseplants --- always a good value. And we’ve barely touched Begonias --- one of
the old original houseplants.
Some of my blog stories strike me as
very good. Some --- who cares? But you don’t know which is which, before you
write.
Seth Godin, genius blogger, knows
--- Good ideas come from bad ideas.
Happy Anniversary!
I may be in the minority, but I check your blog for new posts quite often. I'm always interested in what you have to say. I used to grow a lot of Streptocarpus, and remember ordering your 'Essue' and friends when you first introduced them. After moving across town I found I could no longer grow Streps very well in my home and after a few years I discovered Primulinas. I love them and have several in my dining room window. Where I used to have a basement full of lights and plants now I'm confined to just a few choice windows.
ReplyDeleteThank you for having an interest in my blog. I don't know if anyone still has an 'Essue'. I don't have one. It is a nice tricolor. Since then there are spectacular flowers on newer Steptocarpus.
ReplyDeletePrimulina are more durable, and there are more unique varieties being added all the time.
Every year there are less sellers of Mini or larger Sinningia. Look back thru old issues of Gesneriads and you see ads for places that used to sell them. That no longer exist. I believe there are two sellers of Sinningia left in the USA. You can find places that have one or two for sale. But only a couple have ten or twenty varieties to choose from… albeit infrequenty. I guess propagation is just too difficult for most greenhouses to bother. It is frustrating as a recent enthusiast of Mini sinnigia to be unable to find them for sale. Without contacting overseas sellers. In the past year I have bought around 30 varieties in the USA from two sellers and a few on EBay and Etsy. I was able to get sixty more from overseas. The next big issue is as supply has dwindled the price has gone up. I’m sure I will whittle down my collection over time to the easiest ones to care for and those that have the most blooms. But it’s difficult to find that information anywhere. So I find myself buying every mini sinnnigia I can find to try out at great expense. The best ones I’m going to try hybridizing to increase my supply of interesting ones. I hope that someone finally able to tissue culture them at scale. So these little beauty's become easier to find and affordable.
ReplyDeleteYour observations are very valuable. You are describing demand. Free market capitalism is supposed to solve these problems.
ReplyDeleteThe best hybrids have come from hobbyists. The method has always been: Cross the best, select the best, throw the others away. Now you are stuck because self pollinating the best may not give you the next best.
The method to try is: best hybrid X best other hybrid. Grow the seedlings to see if you get enough 'good enough'.
Another method that has been discussed is follow the hybrid corn plan. Purify two seed lines by selfing until uniform, then crossing them to get a superior hybrid. This takes a long time and nobody has been dedicated to it.
You could take on this project.