Little plant, big flowers??

13 years ago

Hi,

I just noticed a tiny bud on one of my very small cuttings of the Strybing vulcanicola (hybrid). I'm guessing that the bud won't make it, but I will certainly keep you posted if it does.

My big question: does this mean the plant does not have to Y, at least on this shoot?

Here's what I know:

It's definitely a bud--that might not be clear in the photos.

The growth is new growth since the cutting was taken (in mid March).

The leaves are obviously small, but it looks like there might be unequal joining on at least one of them--I have a photo below that shows this, although not a good one. Not all leaves above the Y in the parent plant so unequal joining.

I don't know:

If the cutting was from above the Y. I believe most cuttings in this set were not, but one was, and I lost track of that info. I did keep two side shoots on my plant (one at only about a foot and a half up the main stem), and both Y'd fairly quickly.

I'm also curious if others have photos of very small plants in bloom. I know it happens for Brugmansias and often the flower is bigger than the plant.

A photo of my little plant:

Zooming in on the bud:

Possible unequal joining? See leaf on upper right. Bud is obscured in this photo.

Comments (6)

threas
13 years ago
Hi Randy! So nice to hear from you! Congratulations on rooting those cuttings. You're so good at rooting alot of things:)
If the brug cutting is taken above the 'Y', sometimes a bud will form. I would probably remove it, I think it stresses the cutting. The only cutting I had that did this was "Tropical Sunset" and it promptly died after blooming. But alot of people let them bloom with no harm. I don't know about your Vulcanicola though.Does your mother plant have buds too?

Theresa
mark4321_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi Theresa,

The mother plant has buds, but at this point they are all very small as well (some a bit bigger, but not much). The plant last bloomed in March (a single flower). I'm curious whether it will bloom with our summer "heat". It looked like it was wilting a little today--our first day in the 80s in a few weeks.

I think I'll risk it, even if it does stress the plant a bit. It would be interesting to see.

So will the plant continue to produce buds as it grows, or will it need to Y before making more?
threas
13 years ago
I would let the cutting bloom too, being you have some to spare.
The buds might drop with the heat. Do you have any shade? Might help keep it cool enough to bloom.Is your cutting outside or in? I'm pretty sure it will continue to make buds from around the same area and continue to grow & Y. Hey, it bloomed and you didn't post a photo?.... shame on you.LOL We love pictures! ;)
Hopefully, someone more knowledgeable will be along today to thoroughly answer your questions. BTW, have a nice Memorial Day.

Theresa
mark4321_gw
Original Author
13 years ago
All the plants get morning sun, afternoon shade.

Actually the March flower wilted when we hit 84 in March (and then partially recovered overnight). The wilting happened when the plant was shaded. Here it is before the heat. I never got a really good picture.

{{gwi:492673}}
karyn1
13 years ago
It's not uncommon for a cutting taken from above a previous Y to bloom at a very small size. I've had cuttings where the bloom has been 3x the size of the plant. If it's well rooted it should probably be fine if it blooms. If it's not well rooted I'd remove the bud. I've also had a couple develop buds without the unequal leaf bases or a Y. As a matter of fact I have one now, a Mango Crush, that has a bud below the branches that have Y'd. It's from a cutting that had been taken from above a previous Y.
threas
13 years ago
The bloom is so pretty, Randy. Hope the buds survive your heat.