Blooming in the Sunshine

This beauty has sunlight on her petals because I really do grow them outdoors where they get morning and or late afternoon sun. 

These Streptocarpus Have an Awesome Color Range

 Until I grew them from seed, even I had no idea what an incredible range of colors they can come in.  From whites and yellows to the deepest purples.  I don't think there is a color I haven't seen!

One After Another

 Even I have been amazed at the range of colors and patterns which have been opening up all year from the microscopic seed I sowed in May of 2019.

And again, all of these can also be found on Instagram under various hashtags such as #floweringshadeplants  💜😀

Saturday Morning Blue on White

 I submitted this one to be the cover for a groups cover photo, but they went with a marbled purple.  I have never really been into the marbled look...  But I do like this!

Blue Sunshine

 Don't forget that all of these have already also been posted to Instagram under the hashtags for #streptocarpus #capeprimrose #gesnariads #floweringshadeplants #floweringhouse plants etc.  And almost all of the photos I take are of the ones growing outdoors where they either get a bit of morning sun or late afternoon sun.

They are ALL my favorites!

One Long Summer and Now It Is Fall

 I haven't posted in a long time again.  I need to write a book!  Besides all of us worldwide coping with a pandemic, I fell and broke my wrist right after my lavender began to bloom.  That may not sound like much, but if you put one hand on your other forearm and then wiggle the fingers of the hand of that forearm, you will feel all the muscles and tendons moving in your arm because all of that action goes through your wrist.

So when you break your wrist, you can't use your hand for a long time.  It takes months just to be able to make a fist again.  Which meant that for the first time ever, I had to watch my lavender crop bloom and then turn brown as I could not weave.

Meanwhile, the streptocarpus kept blooming and delighting me with new flowers non-stop!  They even made it through record heat waves with barely any damage to their leaves or flowers.  Since my goal is to re-introduce them as outdoor blooming shade plants, I had planted as many as I could into one gallon pots and they are all out in the morning sunshine everyday.  

Now I hope to select more to pot up and keep as stock plants.  It is going to be SO difficult to decide which ones to keep for making leaf cuttings.  And it is going to take time to figure out which ones look too much like ones that are already named, which names have already been taken, etc. 

I have been posting all the new flowers to Instragram on a weekly basis.  I have sort of taken over the hashtag for floweringshadeplants, not so much the hastag for floweringhouseplants but they are there as well as the one for streptocarpus and capeprimrose.  I hope you'll take a look.

And if you are an aficionado of streptocarpus and think any of my posts look like a named variety you are familiar with, please let me know!

Although I shall be tempted to declare many favorites as I go along, it really is hard to decide.

Cape Primrose Streptocarpus Gesnariads Are Showing Colors

Just a quick update on the the new colors that are showing up in the streptocarpus that have begun to bloom.  Here are a pink and a purple.  There is another one opening up that is going to be a deep maroon red and another one that is going to be a very pale pink.

I am going to keep the ones that are showing colors so I can make cuttings from the leaves and be able to offer baby streps with known colors in the future.  This is so exciting, I have waited so long to see this species of gesneriaceae bloom again like they once did under my cherry trees.

Look out!  These are going to be the new outdoor shade flowering rock stars.