Smithjm

The only way to be sure is to wait until your plant blooms and put it side by side with a definite AL.

The photo shows almost black leaves - and even if AL has quite dark green leaves, they are not THAT dark. Which is possible is just the way the photo turned out.

I would recommend you to check with a local club members - both AVSA and The Gesneriad Society - if you do not belong to the club - please consider - it is fun, great people and lots of exchanges - knowledge and cuttings both.

It can be AL or some other hybrid columnea. Looks like a healthy plant you got. Provided with a good light AL will bloom for months and months with HUGE medium red flowers. It self pollinates easily and you will get cherry size white berries - quite attractive too. It is one of the best columneas. the other one which is really everbloomer for me is an Early Bird.

Cheers

Irina

Hi smithjm,

I bought one of those at Home Depot about 10 years ago. It might be the same one/kind. It is always hard to tell with pictures though. Different lighting and flash can make the same plant look totally different. Mine has red blooms on it and yes it does produce cherry like white berries.

Here is a picture of mine:

Wow! that's a beuty. I hope mine looks just as good. I don't think they're the same, mine has smaller, darker pointy leaves. But pictures can play tricks on our eyes.

It can be it. The AL has these pronounced veins on the leaves and the color of the leaves is just right. The flowers are close to mine, I think mine have wider tubular part of the corolla - but there is always some difference between the flowers on the same plant.

Irina

I just want y'all to know, bad influences that your are--you were the last straw in my wish to send a plant order and knowing I shouldn't until everything else was in order. The tipping point was 'Aladdin's Lamp', which I've had before and lost. Order came today and it--and the rest of them--are beautiful.

It started dropping leaves like 5 days ago. I keep it moist never let it dryout completley and it gets bright light, no direct sun. Other than that, it looks healthy and it's getting alot of new growth so i'm not sure why it's dropping its leaves. I'm just afraid that if it keeps on like this, I won't have a bushy plant anymore.

smithjm -

In my experience it is OK with drying out. If your soil is not loose enough - like 1:1:1 mix - you need to let it dry a bit before watering.

If your plant is getting bare stems - you can restart it with cuttings. Make cuttings with 3-4 nodes - not necessary only tips, remove leaves from the lower node and stick into the pot with loose and humid soil.Cover with a baggie. They will restart beautifully.

It is a necessary procedure - because that's happens with every plant eventually - they grow and the older part of the stem becomes bare.

Hard to say what caused the leaf drop - some culture break I presume - but just in case - do it - so you won't loose it if the mother plant won't recover.

Good Luck

Irina

my plant's looking great. It dropped some leaves but it quickly got followed by new growth everywhere from bottom to top. It even looks much fuller now. I did do some pinching, back when I first purchased it.