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whitelacey1

Look what Bob did! Attention newbies...

Whitelacey
9 years ago

In answer to the question, "How long does it take to get blooms from a leaf?" Sometimes, it only takes three months.

Linda

Bob Serbin

Comments (18)

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    More Bob. I think it's a beautiful bloom even if the picture is a bit fuzzy!

    Linda

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    I told you, it is your magical green thumb! I have never
    seen a leaf bloom so fast!

  • lauraeli_
    9 years ago

    You're joking, right? You just took a flower off of another plant, and put it in the cup?

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Nope. It's attached. I've had other blooms on babies that were not separated but never this early. Three months.

    Linda

  • Vikki
    9 years ago

    That poor little guy's gonna wear himself out before he even gets started in life. I've got a couple of babies still attached that are blooming too, but they're minis and semis.

  • bittybats
    9 years ago

    Amazing! That flower looks bigger than the plant! :P

  • philpet
    9 years ago

    Oh my lordð¨.this little guy really means business. ðÂÂÂVelleta

  • tommyr_gw Zone 6
    9 years ago

    That's nuts! I got a Bob Serbin leaf last year and it's just now blooming. You must be MAGIC!

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    I had a small plantlet do that also, but not as tiny as this one. I gave it to someone in my AV club, emphasizing how rare that was. I don't know how long the bloom lasted. I wish I had taken a photo of it. I saw in an older copy of the AVSA magazine, a photo of a small plant doing that. It is considered rare. Because the baby from a leaf is a clone, not starting from seed, it seems to have the potential to start off more mature than a seedling, which would need to go through all the growth stages. (Just a theory, as most of my babies seem to go through embryonic stages, they don't start out as "teenagers.") Linda, soon Bob Serbin will be asking to borrow the car keys! Joanne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I am magic. It's my one talent. ;)

    And Bob can borrow the car as long as he puts gas in it!

    Linda

  • Karin
    9 years ago

    And there i thought the requirement for driving was being tall enough to reach the pedals...
    Bob Serbin, on the list now ;-P

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    This reminds me of a quick story: last year DH bought a vintage sports car that he been wanting since before he was born. So I get in it with visions of me driving it with the top down with the wind in my hair and the radio blaring, And...and...and... I can't reach the pedals.

    Back to the truck.

    Linda

    This post was edited by whitelacey on Fri, Oct 24, 14 at 5:38

  • fortyseven_gw
    9 years ago

    rofl!

  • tonibaumgard
    9 years ago

    Comment from a very newbie! This is just fascinating. I am learning so much. Is the flower coming out of the mama leaf or one of the baby plants? I can't tell from the picture. I potted my first set of leaves on September 15 and every day I check them. Lost a few, but most are doing fine. No babies yet, but maybe some sign of them in two more weeks? Thank you for sharing such an exciting event. :) toni

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Toni,

    The flower is coming from the baby plant. Leaves cannot bloom. You must have the entire plant. It is rare for this to happen, which is why I posted it, but it does happen.

    Usually, this early blooming comes from a variety that is particularly robust and an easy grower as Bob Serbin is. This is not always the case, though, as I had 'Gillian' bloom for me while still a plantlet and it never bloomed again.

    Again, usually (and there are wide variations), it takes about two months to see babies and about six for bloom. I have waited as long as a year for babies but that was highly unusual as well.

    It sounds as though you are doing well with your leaves. Don't get discouraged by losses. It's part of growing. In the beginning as you are learning, there will be casualties. As you gain experience, there will always be the varieties that do not propagate easily, or those who just do not like your growing conditions that will die off. I like to think of it as making room for more violets!

    Linda

  • AnneCecilia z5 MI
    9 years ago

    Linda, I just add to mention that I was startled this afternoon when I was checking on my covered tray of leaves - some purchased and some from the spring round robin - to see a bloom staring me right in the face when I took off the lid. It was so neat to "meet" Brass Band this way (from the GW RR) and the leaf was put down on 5/31/14 so mine wasn't as speedy as yours, that's for sure, but I didn't think the plantlets were even big enough to separate from Mama leaf yet and certainly never expected a bloom at this stage. Made me think right away about your Bob. (I also see that there are more buds than just the one open blossom, so much as I hate to do it I'd better take the bloom stalk off, hadn't I? Don't want too much energy going into the flower and not the baby plant, isn't that correct? I've never been faced with this before - but now I knew just who to ask! ;-)
    Anne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Anne,

    When I was in school for Horticulture, one of the things the professors hammered away at is that plants know best how they should grow. They don't need any 'help' from us. They will only do what is best for their survival. If they do not have enough energy for flowering and leaf growth, they will not flower.

    Foliage growth always comes before flower growth in plants as they cannot live without foliage while they can survive without flowers. There really is no need to worry about leaf growth suffering because of flowering.

    Sometimes, when a plant is in extreme distress, they will flower as a last resort to produce off-spring but this is not what's happening here.

    Many plants are manipulated for shows with dis-budding but these plants will invariably decline after a certain period of time. If you have ever been to any shows, you will notice that many growers will not take their show plants home. There are other reasons for this but one of these is that the plant will not continue to thrive.

    I take this hands-off approach with all of my plants and it has worked quite well for me!

    Linda

  • AnneCecilia z5 MI
    9 years ago

    Linda, I am so glad you are here on this forum. :-) Thank you for your sound advice and clear explanation; I'm glad I waited for it and did not remove the blossom stem from my baby Brass Band. I'm certainly not 'growing to show,' so now I will enjoy the bloom with no guilt from feeling I'm in any way harming the baby plant by letting it bloom. Thank you!
    Anne

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