LOL.

Every time I prune an episcia, I have some 20 cuttings. It's never ending!

I trade as much as I can, hold a few in reserve, plus a few for myself (I tend to throw out the parent plant when it gets too big and shrubby), use some as space fillers the way one might use some short-lived annuals in a flower bed, and... toss the rest. I've used them outside in the summer in the window boxes as well. Last year I gave a flat of episcias and other things to a friend to donate to the local gesneriad society.

60 degrees seems a little low for an episcia but if it's growing, it's growing.

I find them very useful (as well as lovely), but when it comes down to it, it's ok to send some on their way. You don't save every cutting when you prune a bush....

I know all about getting stolons with roots already formed when they are grown in terrariums. In my case I have small episcias under community domes that fit over standard flats. (1'x2'). Remember that episcias do not like cool conditions. They often suffer during winter in homes that are on the cool side. But, when enclosed they tolerate lower temperatures better. Also, they love the high humidity and in our cool but heated winter indoor conditions they get hit by the low humidity as well as the coolness. Try to keep them above 60F. Episicas are fast growers that respond to frequent restarting. You will find that you will need to redo your terrarium from time to time, depending on how fast they are growing. I like to take cuttings all the time. Either crown cuttings or stolons will quickly reroot under the domes planted in regular potting soil,(I use 2" pots) and make beautiful compact plants. When these outgrow or get leggy then I simply restart them again. But, this is really the first year that I am taking this approach. In the past I would let they grow on to the point that they either got too big and rangy or they started to go down hill. Now, I will restart the crowns when they make too much stem, and also cut and pot up the stolons. You can also pin the stolons down to the soil and let them root in. When redoing your terrarium you can plant several crowns or stolons and let them make a solid covering of the soil.

I can get carried away with propagating too. I belong to a couple of local gesneriad societies and donate starts for their raffles and to give away. I also propagate lots of plants for our annual plant sales. I really enjoy these two gesneriad groups so it is a happy situation. But, without a way to pass the plants along then it will become a problem. I only know of one gesneriad society in Arkansas--located in the NW corner of the state. I think they meet in Bentonville. Its a nice group. But, I imagine there are also African Violet Societies. If, by any chance you are interested in this group I can send you information on how to contact them via the internet.

There are several episcias with "strawberry" in their name. Two that I know of are 'Strawberry Shortcake' and 'Strawberry Patch'. They both have solidly pink leaves when grown under lights. The leaves can vary depending on culture and lighting though.

Jon

Thanks for the tips, Komi and Jon. The 60 degrees is out on the shelf; since the plants are in bowls or plastic bags, they're probably a bit warmer, and will certainly get warmer as spring approaches. We keep the house about 74 deg. or so in warm/hot weather.
I cut off and threw away several leaves that were touching the glass and staying wet with condensation; they had developed black edges that looked way too much like fungus for my peace of mind. Looks like a major overhaul is in order to get leaves off the glass; also I'm partially uncovering the top and partially opening the bags to let out some of this moisture. Is this the right thing to do?
Thanks again for your help.
Becky Jo

"Is this the right thing to do? "
Yes, I think that is the thing to do. You don't want wet leaves rotting on the glass--it might stain the glass. I am finding that the more I propagate and restart my episcias from cuttings the better they look. They are a very interactive group of plants--they need to be worked on.

Jon

I can't contain myself any longer--every time I see this thread I envision someone being strangle by their episcia--'episcia victim--'. Maybe that's getting to be the case too! I'm guessing that you have nights almost as warm as we have here in southern LA--when you run out of friends to give them to you can put them outside for the summer as long as the nights are 60 or over. I figure that won't be more than a few weeks here. They absolutely LOVE the heat and humidity. And you can start new ones for your terrarium. Of course the ones outside won't survive the onset of cold weather. This year I'm thinking about a moss or coir-lined basket with the stolons pinned down all around to root. I've used them as groundcovers too. Couldn't do it where the nights got cool enough to be bearable for people, but there have to be advantages to everything, right?

Greenelbows,
Thanks for the advice; think I'll try some in small pots under domes (just 2 or 3, since space is limited and I've got lots of seeds ordered that'll be hogging the shelves). Yes, we get obnoxiously warm nights here in central AR. BTW, ever heard of St. Helena Parish, up NE of Baton Rouge- that's where I was born & raised, an still get down 4 or 5 times yearly to see the folks (and the farm). Unfortunately, I can't care for plants outdoors anymore due to heat being so bad for victims of multiple sclerosis, so this is my 1st try at totally indoor gardening. Will be giving away tons of garden-sized seedlings, along with the extra episcias. It's kind of nice to know they'll go to a real gardener before I have a chance to do too much harm to them.
Happy Gardening!
Becky

See, this is exactly why I promote gesneriads so much--here and elsewhere. WE NEED MORE GROWERS TO TAKE OUR PROPAGATIONS. OK, I am off my soapbox. For a while I was the Chapters and Affiliates chairman for AGGS, so it was my job to help people start new chapters. It would be nice if we had more chapters, since that would get more people interested in growing and taking on all our extras.

We once had a great little chapter in S. Louisiana. It was small group, that mostly met at one member's home in Grammercy. They hosted two great AGGS conventions. But, their original members passed away and the group stopped meeting. Too bad.

One of the best methods we in our local chapter use to dispose of plants is by growing them on for our one or two annual plant sales. All the members donate their plants and the club gets the profits, which support many of our activities. Every year I am able to dispose of a carload of extras, making lots of temporary growing space.

We also have a great little raffle table each month. One ticket per member for the price of a dollar. Then we call the numbers over and over until all the items are gone. Usually a ticket is good for 3 items but sometimes there is enough for five. I always try to bring at least five or six plants each month.

Jon

I probably know at least a few people from St. Helena Parish--gardeners of course!--but don't get out to the African Violet, Gesneriad, and Iris meetings like I used to before my husband got sick. I usually just know the general area a person lives if they're people I just see at plant meetings, and i know some were from north of Baton Rouge. I'm in Lafayette. Miss that bunch of AGGRs in New Orleans. Sometimes I think when you have a really enthusiastic person like Earl everybody sort of goes along for the ride, or like one AV club near here gets dragged and brow-beaten, and nobody learns to take over. My little gardening friends group--which used to be an AV club with me especially growing gesneriads, has gotten to be as much a support group as a gardening buddies bunch. But a main feature every month is a plant exchange, and I love to propagate, so I'm grateful to have people who will take my extras!
I'm sorry about your MS, Becky. I have a niece with it. So far she's doing well, and has a husband I think is good medicine, but she's quite young. Terrible disease, which I understand is related to rheumatoid arthritis and migraines, which happen to be family treasures.

I can tell that episcia growers are pretty cool people just from the responses to my plea for help. Greenelbows, thanks for the vote of sympathy. So sorry to hear about your niece having this disease; it's great that she's doing well. I've been very blessed by having it for 18 years now (age 50 now), with no major disability though some pretty bad attacks. My one prayer when diagnosed was that I be allowed to raise my 3 small children (ages 2,3,and4 at the time). My youngest just turned 20, so I am very, very greatful. Feel free to pass on my e-mail address to her if she wants someone to talk to, or complain to, or whatever. Funny you should mention the migraines- have had those for 30 years now, and am sure there's a connection.
But so far as gardening goes, it was roses that turned me into an enthusiast, that being the only plant I'd managed not to kill, and they actually bloomed! Then growing from seed, seeking something to plant as border around rose bed led me into a new gardening addiction. Oh, the joy of planting that seed beneath the sod (or sterile seed-starting medium), and waiting to see! Even succeeded with a cutting from Zepherine Drouhin (an old rose from about 1868), which is still doing very well for my co-worker.
Her husband says he'll take anything I don't have room for, but I don't think he'll manage to squeeze them all into his yard, and am wondering if any of our institutions here in N. Little Rock might benefit from some freebies.
Have any of you had eager takers from, say, hospitals, libraries, schools, or whatever? Some of the plants will be great bedding plants, and some will do really well inside (such as our wonderful episcias!).
I'm not in it for money, just the joy of watching some of nature's miracles. Jon D., guess we've discovered the dark side of propagation success, though really the dark side to me is when the fluorescents aren't lit up and the seeds popping through the growing medium, and those precious plants reaching so eagerly for the light. Or is it the stars they're reaching for?
We really do need more people to understand how easy these plants are to grow and propagate- even for the not-so-great gardeners such as I. Sure wish I could I.D. my plant; such gorgeous thick dark crinkledy leaves with heavy pink veins and pink undersides. Maybe it'll bloom some time and give me another clue. BTW, when is the bloom season for episcias?
Thanks to all for your help and understanding of the problem. I never thought that having something too easy to propagate would be a problem for me!!
Happy Gardening to you all, especially Happy Episciating!
Becky

Hi, Becky:

You could always auction your stolons on eBay. Those are easy to ship and you could sell them for enough to make back your eBay fees. Some are selling five stolons for $3.00 + shipping. That would be one solution and one about which you shouldn't feel guilty; just recouping your expenses.

And if you get more than you anticipated and feel guilty about taking the money, you could earmark the overage to go to a favorite charity, animal rescue group or shelter or a local garden club.

Best wishes,
Linda

I need some advice. I have no experience with episcia plants. A coworker has asked me to nurse his chocolate soldier episcia back to health because I have many other plants that are quite hardy. He's a novice with plants and when he repotted this particular plant he scraped all of the soil from around the roots and put the plant into a bigger pot. Needless to say this resulted in massive root loss and the plant went limp. I salvaged what I could of the plant and put many stem pieces, those with roots and those without in water to root. It seems fine. I figured that I'd let the roots redevelop and then plant those stems again. Is there anything else that I should do to bring life back to this plant? How long will it take to get stronger? Thanks for any suggestions.

Rooting episcias in water is an iffy situation. Sometimes they will root and often they will not. But, soaking the limp stems and pieces in water will "turge" them up nicely, usually overnight. I just put them in a bowl of water, letting them float. After about a day in this situation it is best to plant them up. If they sit in a bowl of water for more than about two days they start to go down hill with the leaves rotting and then the stems rotting. Soooo, if your cuttings are looking good, then pot them up in a mix of perlite and vermiculite. Wet that mix thoroughly, let drain and then enclose the whole shebang in a large ziplock or regular plastic bag. Place in bright but indirect light (no sunlight). The high humidity inside the bag will keep the cuttings from wilting. They will root in the mix and also put out air roots in the ultra-humid environment. When they are well rooted you can take more cuttings of the stems with air roots and these and the other cuttings can be potted up in potting mix. For the best results I would pot them in a 1-1-1 mix of perlite, vermiculite and peatmoss. If, after potting up again, they start to wilt, then enclose them again until they have established in the potting mix.

Jon

Hi Jon. Thanks for all of your suggestions! I have been out of the office since Friday. I checked the cuttings today. The leaves are okay and have started to root to my surprise. I'm going to get some perlite, vermiculite and peat moss and repot the cuttings and place them in a Ziploc bag. I'll let the cuttings get strong before planting them in the big pot again.