Hi Barbra,

It has been my experience that the smaller or compact streptocarpus bloom a little more often if not continuously. The standards seem to have resting periods.

If you were to get some steps seed you would definitely have the chance of having several plants that were quite different from another. You say that you have trouble growing tomato plant seeds though. Streptocarpus seeds are not as easy to grow as common vegetable seeds. I would say if you have trouble growing tomato seeds it would be best not to tackle growing streptocarpus seeds. You say that you don't have very much money. I'm not sure I know what that means. You can buy streptocarpus from Rob's violets for $5 a piece and for up to 8 plants the shipping will be around $12. He also has a special of 10 streptocarpus for $30 plus shipping and handling. All that said, I would encourage you to only buy one or two to begin with and make sure that it is a plant that will grow in the environment you have for it. If they work out for you then maybe you could try propagating some leaf cuttings. If you are successful at that, buying or trading for leaves may be a possibility in the future.

I have my streptocarpus under the same light stands as my African violets. I grow only compact streps. I know that streps can take a little more light than violets can.

I hope this helps,

Larry

I have put in Rob's violets website on the bottom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rob's Violets

Thank you for all of the advice, 10 leaves for $30 is a really good deal. The link is really helpful and I appreciate it. A simple question - which plant or plants are your favorites?? (I am sure you probably have more than one.?)

Barb

Hi Barbra,

I have 6 streps: Texas Hot Chili, Picotee Lace, Alicia, Michelle, Party Girl and Blue Gem

Here are some of them:

Texas hot chili
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Picotee Lace
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Alicia
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Michelle
{{gwi:829515}}

I have had Michelle and Alicia for years. They have been really easy to grow. I think Michelle can be found at Florals by Fredericks. I cant locate Alicia.

The rest I have bought on eBay in the last year. I am finding that Picotee Lace and Party Girl are performing very well. Texas hot chili and Blue Gem are very unforgiving if they get dry. At least that's been my experience.

I really don't have that many streps, so I'm not the best person to ask for varieties. There are people here who have many more streps than I do. I hope they will see this and give you some suggestions.

Larry

Rob's is good for great plants. He writes comments in his descriptions such as "always in bloom," "heavy bloomer," "constant bloomer." In this case, his comments are true and not just an advertising gimic. He shows you which streps have bloomed with over 100 flowers. Many are very good. Take his recommendations.

For the Dibley streps, I recommend for floriferousness: Gloria, Falling Stars, anything with small flowers will be floriferous.

Start off with a Few of Rob's recommendations and grow from there.

1. Streps do not bloom year round. Even the "Everblooming" Crystal Series of Dibleys do not bloom all year round from my experience. Therefore get lots so you will have more chance to have some in bloom all year round.

2. Reds and Purples do not bloom better than white. I had a Maassen's White with thirty to forty blooms on it for show. (I don't recommend M. White because it is large)

3. Cuttings are easier for me than seeds. With seeds you will get a variety of many colors but none will be registered so you can't show any of these except in the seedling class. Many prefer seedlings because they get the adventure of raising something from seeds.

4. Light. Streps will grow very well in a bright window )or under lights). They prefer cooler temperatures than African violets especially in the winter.

5. Water very sparingly in the winter. More streps die from over watering than by any other means.

6. You can get 10 leaves for $10 at Pat's Pets www.jcn1.com/patspets

Good luck in your choices of streps.

Nancy in Montreal

I think that the reds are just a little bit harder to grow and flower, which would be because they are hard to breed and because they all have the difficult to grow species, S. dunnii in their background. But, for the most part all the colors grow and bloom about the same. The various Dibley hybrids all tend to be very good. 'Kim', a deep purple, is a really pretty one. To see lots of the modern hybrids, go to ebay and do a search on streps. I have this search bookmarked on my computer and will post the link to the search that I use. Go down the list of streps being auctioned and click on the ones to see the enlarged photo on the specific auction page. I am not suggesting you buy these plants on Ebay though many do and are pleased with this method. The problem with ebay is that the plants can have shipping charges that can be high when only buying one or two plants. Growing from seed takes experience. Since you are new to this, I would suggest you stick strictly to buying starter plants. Leaves can be very easy to root, if you know how and have a light stand to root and grow them on. Seed is actually the fastest way to get a plant to flower. Seed can take as little as 5-6 months while cuttings generally take a couple of months longer.

Nancy may be right about showing streps at AVSA shows, but in AGGS shows there is no difference between seedlings and named varieties. Since there is no AGGS chapter in Montreal she doesn't have the opportunity to show in an AGGS show unless she travels. We really need a chapter in Montreal!

Jon (I bought a strep today--a white with frilly petals, probably a mass produced commercial variety.)

Hey Jon,

I was wondering about that. So in AGGS you can generally show unnamed varieties? Or just unnamed seedlings you raised yourself? Or what?

Barb, note that Larry said at Rob's you get 10 plants (not just leaves) for $30. And like Nancy said, at Pat's Pets, you get 10 leaves for $10.

If you are just starting, I would highly recommend getting a well-established plant first and then trying cuttings or seeds. When I first started, I killed my first two little plants. And even now (a whole year and a half later!), if they are really tiny, I can kill them easily.

I really recommend ordering from Lyndon Lyons when spring comes because they're plants were so much larger and better established than any other commerical vendor I've ordered from or anyone I've ever bought from on ebay.

Can I just stick in a recommendation for "Bethan"? Very floriferous and a compact grower. One of her parents, "Falling Stars" is also a good grower, or so I'm told, as well as the pink sport of Falling Stars, "Gloria".

Reds do seem to be a tougher to bloom. But two I would recommend are Susan and Happy Snappy. Once they grow to mature size, they bloom periodically. My Happy Snappy was huge when I gave it away and it looked wonderful with seed pods and blooms nicely distributed all the way around the plant. But it was almost 3 feet around! Susan blooms best in the spring but generally has one or two bloom stalks through the year. Christmas Morning is another nice red, but it blooms once in the spring and once in the fall for me.

Of the Bristol streps, I highly recommend Bristol's X-Ray Vision. This one bloomed non-stop for a year with a full head of bloom most of the time. It also has red-backed foliage and stays compact and small. Bristol Sunset is another good one that takes only short rests between having full heads of bloom.

And I will add my vote for Falling Stars and Gloria. Lots of bloom for small plants. These are very rewarding varieties for the novice grower. The leaves could be more compact but you just have to grow them out a bit longer to have a good show plant.

If you have a warm spot, Mighty Mouse is a good bloomer. Since I moved it up from the basement last summer, it has been blooming non-stop. And there aren't too many mini streps out there. This one stays very small.

Another nice small one is Thalia. It is compact and always has two or three bloomstalks.

Alicia is a very easy plant but it does like to take breaks from blooming. I find that keeps the plant looking neat and when it blooms it is very floriferous.

I've grown a dozen or so varieties over the past 5 years and these are the ones that I recommend. I have about another dozen new ones that I can't pass an opinion on yet.

As to others that I've grown, here are a few comments.

Chorus Line -- can't beat the bloom -- very nice flowers. Fairly large plant and difficult to keep the foliage looking good in my limited space.

Pegasus -- nice when it blooms. I may have to move this upstairs to see if it will bloom better.

Crystal Ice -- Great bloom when warm. Refused to bloom in the cooler temperatures of my basement.

Black Gardenia -- seems to be a spring only bloomer

Bristol's Leopard Skin -- looks like an everbloomer, it's been blooming non-stop for almost 6 months, very floriferous

Charlotte -- has only bloomed sparsely once this year

Aly's Tiger Lily -- beautiful small plant and small flower, but seems to be a difficult grower

Bristol's Bluebird -- very floriferous and blooms heavily in spring and summer, less bloom in fall and takes a break for the winter

That's all that I can remember off the top of my head.

As to seeds, cutting or plant, it really depends on the quality of what you get. Seeds are very easy -- just keep them in a tray covered with plastic until the leaves grow big enough to work with. Cuttings can be difficult. I was lucky that my first leaf produced lots of babies. Half of my next batch of leaves rotted. And then I've had leaves which gave only one baby. I have also lost new plants because the soil mix was too heavy for my watering schedule. And I've had new plants that just don't thrive wherever I put them in my house.

But my recommendation for the novice is to start with one or two good-sized plants from a reputable grower. But even this is no guarantee as they can experience bad batches. I lost Bristol's Pink Lemonade a couple of months ago. It just didn't thrive -- it was a small plant when I picked it up at the Violet Barn, and just dwindled away.

Happy plant blessings to all! Thank you everyone for all of your excellent advice and opinions. I am going to a local plant sale this weekend. They will have some Episica's, Streptocarpus, and Violets too. My idea of Christmas!! I am making a list from all of your reccomendations and hope to find some of them there. I really like to see a plant before I buy it. I am happy to hear about your on-line ordering experiences. I will hang onto them so I can order from them later. I hestitate to order on ebay, if you ever get wronged on a deal. I am sure you know what I am talking about. I will be sure to keep all of you updated on what I find at the plant sale this weekend. I think your plants are gorgeous Larry. You really have something to be proud of. Everyone has been very kind and thoughtful in answering my questions - I sincerely appreciate the advice.

Barb

Hello Barbra,
So happy to hear that streps have won another heart!
The trick with streptocarpus is always be sparing with the water (unless you have a large plant in full bloom).
I have found Athena (a compact white with some red striping in the throat) is a VERY forgiving variety and is always in bloom for me. Any beginners I have given streps to also seem to find this is one that survives. It stays small too. However white is not that exciting when you have all those lovely colours to try!
Of the new Dibley's everblooming varieties I find Crystal Dawn and Crystal Beauty are good bloomers but I have not had them long enough to say if they do continue in bloom all year round.
I find that once you get streps to a certain size with a good healthy root system they are very resilient. Struggling little plants often respond well if you enclose them in a very humid environment (which would be their natural habitat). My favourite is a clear plastic birthday cake box from the supermarket as it is nice and deep. If the plant has been overwatered, replace the growing medium with new loose stuff that is just damp. Don't water again unless the soil looks dry and basically ignore it until it takes off. If the root system is dodgy try spraying lightly with a foliar feed in hot (yes hot) water. It will feel only lukewarm on your hand. You'll need to make sure your fertilizer is soluble. I always like to water with lukewarm water (as warm as baby's bath water). It seems to run off the leaves differently from cold water and the plants don't sulk. Water on the leaves doesn't seem to matter inside the cake box - perhaps the lid shades it somewhat, but if your plant is unprotected from sunlight you will need to soak up any water on the leaves with a paper towel.
I find the reds are particularly sensitive to overwatering when small. Susan and Ruby are good bloomers. Sorry if I have repeated stuff you already know and have a wonderful time growing your streps,
Frances in Nova Scotia.

Nikki, regarding the showing of unnamed plants in AGGS shows. Any plant can be shown. The judging rules allow a few points for nomenclature, so a known variety with the wrong name (it often happens!!!) or without a name will lose those points. A plant that has never been named and is just called, say, Streptocarpus seedling, will perhaps lose a point or two, depending on the judges. A seedling with the exact data on its parentage would not lose points--example Strep. 'Mighty Mouse' x 'Joker'. But, all of this depends on the talents of the judges, and who am I to criticize anyone willing to get up early in the morning so as to judge a show. Really, the purpose of a gesneriad show (or any plant show), in my humble opinion, it to put on as big and wonderful a display as possible-- with beautiful, educational and interesting plants. When I think of that "artist" Christo and his "pieces", like the recent display of orange fabric in Central Park, I think that he has nothing on one of our shows. We put together a room full of amazingly well grown, nurtured and groomed, rare and fascinating plants--all he does is hang sheets. I think the judging part just helps us all to keep on our toes, and get those plants into as good a shape as possible--but the winning or losing of ribbons is unimportant. Though we do like to win our little ribbons. My own talents are for bringing in all the plants that fill up the classes so our members who do win have something to compete against. (Aw shucks, I win a few ribbons too.....)

Its great to see all of the above opinions about specific varieties. I guess I have forgotten much of my observations about varieties over the years. I do believe that named strep varieties will never be that much better than well designed seedlings from crosses. But, it really helps everyone to have a good base of named varieties that we can all grow, propagate and compare.

Back in the early 70's I was growing plants at a college greenhouse made available to students (nice idea, huh!). A friend had his little collection of African Violets. They always looked the same to me, kind of boring really. They somehow looked repressed--so formal and staid, with a little clump of flowers inside this big ring of leaves. Then I saw my first strep, grown by the same friend, and I said something along the lines of " Oh....Wow!". I asked him, why aren't people growing these? Compared to the violet it had such big and interesting flowers, with patterns of stripes and rich colors. Well, he said, streps have these big horsey leaves and they don't travel well, and the flowers need constant grooming and bla bla bla. Really I was never impressed with the reasons and was sure that soon, streps would hit it big time, so to speak. My friend at the greenhouse went on to hybridize all kinds of gesneriads and about eight years later he was busy creating mini streps, convinced as I had been that they had great potential. 'Mighty Mouse' ('Cape Beauties x johannis) was his first mini hybrid, and many many unnamed seedlings followed. He didn't name anything because, every seedling from each successive cross seemed to be better than the previous. Out of his crosses came the basic mini-strep that we see today in varieties like 'Joker'(two or three generations down the pike from 'Mighty Mouse'), which is a Jonathan Ford cross, but actually a selfing from one of Bartley's.

Anyway, just the other day, I was at sales area of this huge local wholesale grower, the largest in the US, and they had two flats of streps, a nice red and a nice pink, about a dozen of each. I rarely see commercial streps around here. I inquired at the front desk, and they called their head grower, and he said they were just an experiment. So, it seems that streps never seem to make it to commercial success. Nurseries have been experimenting with them but then become convinced that they aren't commercial. I guess they are still too fragile. But, they have made it big with us growers, so the specialty mail order nurseries and ebay growers are really getting them around. We did buy about eight of the streps for the shop that my housemate has. They look really great there, and are sitting outside the doors, doing beautifully in our cool humid spring weather. Actually they are good outdoor potted plants in this climate--especially near the coast.

Jon, rambling on as usual. I hope you are all taking notes, there is going to be a test next week ;).

Jon,

Just how would I go about building an AGGS affiliate in Montreal. We have three local AV clubs, one of which is very active. I'm sure the club would have to be in French or at least bilingual in order to succeed in Montreal.

Nancy in Montreal under three feet of snow.

Nancy, it is a fairly easy process to start a chapter. You can start by first finding some members and then also contacting the AGGS Chapters and Affiliates Chairperson, Arleen Dewell, (Vancouver, BC), who can take you through the process of starting up a chapter. Being a French speaking chapter would not be a problem. To find members you could ask the AVSA chapter members if they are interested. Many AGGS members are also active in AVSA chapters. Sometimes an AV group will decide to affiliate with AGGS as an AGGS chapter, usually by changing their name and by-laws to accomodate this. We have, I think three or four dual chapters. Some started out as dual chapters, such as the Delta Gesneriad and African Violet Society in Sacramento, Calif., and some were already AV clubs that wanted to expand their mission to include gesneriads. To be a chapter of AGGS, though requires that the main officers be AGGS members. I think you also need to have about ten members. The cost to affiliate is only for the dues for the annual insurance, which is a really good deal. It insures the meetings and shows, whether they are held in a public meeting place or in a private home. The cost is around $25 for a small chapter or about $1 per member per year. There are no other costs to chapters. Since many public facilities requrire groups to have insurance this really works well.

Finding members can be an issue, but in a large city like Montreal with a world famous botanical garden, that should not be a deterant. Perhaps the botanical garden can even help in some way. Here in San Francisco, we meet at the botanical garden. Our shows and sales are held there as well, in the meeting room building located at the entrance to the garden. This makes it very easy for us to conduct events and get the public to visit. Another way to find members is to contact Arleen for information on local AGGS members, who you can then contact. Notices in the newspapers and local plant society newsletters often brings interested people. Setting up a regular meeting time so as not to conflict with other groups is also important.

Many years ago, the Montreal Botanical Garden was a major center for gesneriad research. As of 1990 they still had many gesneriads in their collection, some on display and others being kept in the back greenhouses.

I would suggest that you contact Arleen via email and introduce yourself and ask questions. She can be reached through her link on the AGGS Officers Page, which I have linked below. As chairperson she has done a terrific job and is really helpful. I was the previous Chapters and Affiliates Chairman so I can also answer questions.

Jon

Well I went to the plant sale this last weekend, Sorry I did not post earlier my life has been in chaos so to speak. Long story I will not bore you with the details.... However I did purchase some plants, although they were not my first choices but here goes. I purchased Episica 'Silver Dust'Silvery green foliage, dark green veins, red-orange blossoms. Episica 'Tricolor' Silver green and white variegated foliage, copper green veins, red-orange blossoms. Compact grower. Streptocarpella saxorum Basket plant from Southern Africa, quickly growing to 8" tall and 12" across. Branches freely. Bright, inderect light. Outdoors in summer; year 'round bloom indoors. Care as for AV's. Also I happened upon a real whole plant (roots and all a pot too!) called Episica 'Kee Wee'?? A very dark green with red netting foliage.(I don't know what color it blooms? but for a $1- I thought that was a very good buy.) Also a Streptocarpus 'Texas Hot Chili' Bright red blossoms, wide yellow throat medium green foliage, compact grower. A streptocarpus seedling that is a lovely royal purple with interesting white speckles on it's "throat" very gorgeous. Last but not least I have been looking for a pineapple sage for the garden for over 2 years now sheez and when I found one I jumped upon it (not literally of course - I simply had to have it!) The rest are all cuttings or leaves. I also purchased a planted seedling of Chirita tamiana. I have read quite a few posts on this unique little plant and am quite interested in it as well. What a lucky find. She is small but all ready has a nice fat blossom forming as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all of them will at least attempt to grow. For the whole lot of plants it cost $10.00 I feel like a burglar in a candy store!! Everything was in my meager budget and I sure hope they all grow! Although, I wish they had more streptocarpus at the plant sale I can still say I am really am excited!! I saw the picture of 'Michelle' that Larry had posted I am in love with that plant shy to say, I even made it a desktop picture for my computer..... now that is what I call addicted! I am going to try and attend some of the local meetings. I discovered them at the plant sale. They have one that meets in the morning, and also one that meets in the evenings. I am sure with my chaotic work schedule that I should be able to make one or the other - yes you can say I am really hooked. Thank You everyone for all your advice and input - I really do appreciate everyone's help and input.

Sincerely,

Barb

Barb,

I'm glad to hear you got so many plants. Our club's plant sale (this weekend, everybody!) also has plants for really cheap. Too cheap, I think, but hey, And I'm doubly glad that you are thinking of joining a group up there. If we can work on getting you super-hooked by July, we might get you go to the AGGS convention in Portland, OR. Then you can go crazy in the salesroom.

Speaking of which, I get in for the early pre-sales, I'm in the first group of 25 to be let in because I was just the 16th to register. Did I beat you, Jon?

Nikki, You most certainly did beat Jon. I haven't seen hide nor hair of Jon's registration yet.....LOL.
I was very glad to see you were joining us this year.

Barb, if you would like to try some seed, and don't care if it is a named strep, email me off list margaret99@comcast.net

Hi. I'm usually in the African Violet forum, but I accidentally came across this forum today while doing a search.

I just have to say to Larry B.......Larry, that picture of Strep. Michelle knocked me off my chair! I can't believe how beautiful it is! It looks like an orchid!

Is it being grown in natural or artifical light?

Do streps have the same cultural requirements as AVs? And as far as the multicolor-flowered ones (say white and red, for example), do they have the same temperature restrictions as chimera AVs and fantasy AVs? What I mean by this is I know with fantasy and chimera AVs, the temperature can't be too warm or else the colors will become screwed up. (Sorry, but at the present time, I can't think of a more intelligent way to say "screwed up" lol.)

Thanks much,
Jon K.

AV's come from low elevations in mountains near the equator. There, the temperatures are warm all the time, winter and summer, day and night. Streps come from mountains in the summer rainfall zones of South Africa where there is more of a temperature range, and generally cooler conditions. But, both plants can be grown under lights side by side. Streps do prefer to be grown cooler though. Here in California they thrive in the cool humidity of San Francisco, where they can be grown outdoors all year long. Inland in warmer summer areas streps do well but they prefer the cool humidity of the coastal areas.

Jon

Generally true Jon. Except that Streptocarpus kentanesis grows on sunny rock faces. I find hybrids with this species in its background, like the Crystal series, don't tolerate cool temperatures very well. My Crystal Ice didn't bloom at all in my cool basement. When I moved it to my warm living room, it bloomed within weeks. Same for Mighty Mouse.

Wow, there is a lot of good That has been given to Barbara. I'll throw my 2 cents worth in and that's about all it is worth!

The best red bloomers that I have personally grown is Neil's Strawberry and Dale Marten's Texas Hot Chili.In general all reds seem to be tougher to bloom but these bloom much more than most. I find that Neil's blooms heavy once it becomes root bound and has matured. Texas Hot Chili is another one that blooms it's head off once mature. I had 14 blooms on Neil's and 18 on Texas Hot Chili when they were growing in a 3" pot.

Others that I have grown which are very good bloomers:

David Thompson hybrids
Divine Guidance - blooms it's head off.
Lacy Snowflake - constant blooms.
Batik - constant blooms.
Salmon Sunset - great bloomer. Rather large plant.

Rob's (Robinson)
Bristol's Party Animal - early and constant bloomer.
Bristol's Psychedelic Sun - consistent bloomer.
Bristol's Hey Mei - very heavy bloomer.
Bristol's Mei Lee- very early constant bloomer.
Bristol's Goose Egg - heavy bloomer.
Bristol's Sunset - very heavy bloomer.

Party Hat - very early heavy bloomer.
Paper Moon - matures early, heavy bloomer.
Neil's Ink Spill - very heavy bloomer.
Roulette Cherry - very early and constant bloomer. Rather large grower.

There are many good bloomers out there. These I have personally grown and had have great success with.

You can see many of these in my album in photobucket. Here's the link:

www.photobucket.com/ davioletman_2011.

The one point that can not be stressed enough is that Streps do not tolerate overwatering! This will kill even the largest and healthiest plant.

Good luck with your new addiction! If you would like some leaves to start up plants just contact me either thru the forum or strepmagic@ yahoo.com.

Dave

This thread is rather old but I am looking for newer very fragrant varieties. Does anyone know where I can find them or a good variety to research? Thanks for all the great info!

Hi TH,
There's a more recent post specifically about Scented Streps. It's here:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/gesneriad/msg0708293532267.html?15

Dave's listed several varieties there.

Best,
Judy

I have 2 starter streps--1 I don't know what type, is the one blooming dark pink. The other one is a Bristols Black Light, but it isn't blooming yet so I have no idea what it will look like. Can't wait, but must be patient!

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