Kohleria from seed.

Kohleria 'Ruby'

Kohlerias from seed --- revolutionary!

 

 

            Millions of annuals are grown from seed produced by large international seed companies.  Seed is the propagation method of choice because it’s the cheapest.

 

            Then what happened when some hybrid seed got expensive?  This allowed vegetative cuttings to be produces by the millions.  Off-shore farms can ship unrooted cuttings into commercial horticulture at a reasonable cost.  This allowed for selection of the best clones to be maintained vegetatively.

 

            What if Kohleria, an unknown flowering houseplant, could be produced by seed like annuals?

 

            The very few Kohlerias maintained by Gesneriad hobbyists and specialty retail mail order greenhouses are select named varieties.  Vegetative reproduction is time consuming and costly.

 

            Let’s get good seed lines, grow thousands of a new flowering houseplant and make people happy.

 

            By crossing the best Kohleria hybrids together, the seedlings can make very good crops.  They will be variable, but that’s a good thing --- More variety.

 

            Can Kohlerias grown from seed bring them out of the woods into garden centers for all to see?

 

            It is worth a try.  The named selections will be the standard, but seed crops will introduce a hidden gem to indoor gardeners.