That makes me think of Phalaenopsis Black Butterfly. I bet if you look at one of the big US nurseries you could find the plant you are thinking of. The Orchid House site lists vendors by country.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: The Orchid House

LOVE the Kohleria Monet's Garden! At some point I'm going to have to get a Kohleria!

Thanks for posting!

K. 'Monet's Garden' is very very cute. You really captured the fuzziness well, especially in the first photo. All my Kohlerias have warm red and orange blossoms, so I've often eyed this cultivar, or others like it. But, I don't really know that I have room for more than 3 of these guys. On the other hand, I've never regretted a Kohleria. Somehow, they are just very warm and enthusiastic plants.

Your Sinningia is beautiful, too. I like the compact branching growth habit.

Just reread this after seeing GG's post....2 feet high? Is this normal?!?! Wow! What size pot is it in?

2' tall is not atypical. I have to say mine are a bit shorter, though. Maybe 1.5+? They start blooming before they reach that height.

I tend to repot the babies and give them away, so as to control the horizontal size, so I keep mine in 4" azalea pots and they fit right in amidst my vertically growing Hoyas.

There are some small Kohlerias but this is a very stately plant with big purple leaves and mine is at least two feet tall and just getting going as far as flowering goes. Some Kohlerias are pretty big but often that translates into big flowers so it's worth it. I grow mine in 4" pots but they need water every day or two so they will be potted up into bigger pots once I can move some stuff outside. Getting a Kohleria's foliage wet is a bad idea so I will have to plan placement carefully if they go outside.
I have Kohleria allenii seedlings right now and I am very excited to grow this species. At the other end of the size spectrum is my little Kohleria amabillis with it's beautiful mottled foliage, can you tell I really like these plants? LOL

Thanks GG, I am usually not one for hybrids but I could not resist these Kohlerias. There really is a huge variety of bloom colour and the leaves are often just as nice, your Silver Feather is an amazing one for foliage.
I just potted up about a dozen other Gesneriads and last night and I have double that amount left but I ran out of pots. I wish I could send plants across the boarder because I would love to share these.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohleria allenii

I wish you could send them across the border, too! Who's a good source in the states? Didn't see many on ebay unless they go by another name as well.

GG, can you post another pick of your silver feather?

Mike, do you have a picture of the Monet's Garden's leaves?

Thanks!

Mike I agree you'll have to be careful about their location. They don't seem to mind being misted, though, so I think summer rain will be okay, as long as we avoid a cold spray. I think I'm going to just stick a few of the babies in a pot and experiment with locations. If they get rough looking, I'll just harvest rhizomes and restart them next summer.

I really wish you could send your little dudes across the border, too! For that matter, I wish I could send mine across the border! No one I know IRL seems to know how to respond to a plant offer. Even people who 5 minutes ago were 'complaining' about not having any plants shy away. Apparently everyone thinks a couple houseplants are the equivalent of taking on a Great Pyrenees puppy or a second husband (Editor's note: These are commonly considered synonymous).

Kelly, I don't think I have any pictures of my 'Silver Feather' on Flickr, but this is it.

Another one that I have really enjoyed is 'Bristol's Possibly Bronze', which really does put out quite a few multicolored leaves.

I got mine from Violet Barn and they might be a good place for you to start your search because they have a strong preference for plants with compact growth habits. They usually note which of their cultivars have this quality. They'll send you a plant that's about 4" tall, and it will shoot up a foot in a month. :P

Of course, I have a swarm of baby 'Silver Feathers' if you want me to send you one. ^_^

Another good thing about Kohlerias is that they go dormant in stressful conditions, falling back to their little rhizomes, so if you think you've killed it, just water and be patient, and it will resurrect. You probably gathered that much from the way Mike sticks his in his closet with his flip flops over the winter >_>

Oh! I forgot to mention! (Is that even possible with how long my post was?)

Kohleria allenii looks A MAZ ING! I'm totally jealous, Mike.

Violet Barn is a great source for Gesneriads and they have a good selection of Kohlerias.
I will try to get a photo of some Kohleria leaves and post them here.

Mike

If you're in the mood for something with a similar look, but short and squat, maybe you'd also want to consider an Episcia?

Here's Episcia 'Metallica,' which is blooming now:

Cute plant!

Mike

OH, the choices! Saw several on Violet Barn I like! Wonder why there aren't more on ebay? I want Mike's Monet's Garden...Am going to check Googele maps to see how far Ontario is from here!

Do like the silver leaf one as well!

Kelly

Kelly Kohlerias are pretty common on Ebay during the summer or fall. People divide, repot and store the rhizomes and then sell them but this time of year many are just starting to grow. I started my plants from rhizomes last fall so they take a little while to get to the blooming stage.

My plant should be Kohleria Jardin de Monet but I anglicized the name by accident, woops!

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohleria Jardin du Monet Video on Youtube

LOL Their website is kind of hard to navigate, even after they updated it. They have Mike's Kohleria.

Here is a link that might be useful: K. 'Jardin du Monet'

Woo Hoo! I'll be getting one!

This will be the last time I look at a non-hoya thread again....whoops, I started this one, didn't I?

Oh, well....what's one more plant, right?

Hmmmm....just realized I'm totally opposed to paying for shipping for one plant and besides aren't you suppose to buy plants in three's? Or maybe it's your suppose to plant them in threes... Anyhow if anyone has another recommendation or two from the Violet Barn, let me know!

Mike,
Keep forgetting to ask you- I got the fan you recommended. Turns out I'll be converting a 55 gallon aquarium to a terrarium in month or so. Will put the orchid baby I'm getting from quinn in there and the hypolasia which you said likes air movement as well...may move imbricata and the others plants I have in the betta aquarium in there as well. Should I get a couple of more fans? Think 2 or 3 would be sufficient?

Thanks!
Kelly

Petrocosmeas! They take up almost no space, so they don't count, right? They send up a little thicket of flowers on long necks when they bloom. It's like having a fairy circle on your shelf.

And let me tell you about a little Begonia named 'Maid Marion,' which I have killed three times but still want to try again.

She is a hundred shades of pink, purple, and silver, with a jagged star of a leaf whorled into a snail shell spiral, richly furred with pink fuzz and hairy edges and a spectacular display of metallic pink AND silver speckles. When I die, I expect to be diving into a tunnel that looks like the leaves of 'Maid Marion.' And keep in mind that I am not a girlie girl and I don't like pink, and I know it is ridiculous to want a plant to be glittery. And yet this little thing is still irresistible to me.

Do they not do the find-the-corgi-for-a-free-plant thing anymore? Well, you can get a free strep anyway, so don't forget that!

Here is a link that might be useful: Petrocosmeas

Kelly I use two fan in my orchid case that hang in the middle and blow in opposite directions. I think two is sufficient and you might get away with just one as well because you just need gentle air movement.
I am a big fan of Chiritias and if Columnea microphylla was not out of stock I would insist that you get that plant. Gloxinella lindeniana is a great plant,mine is about to burst into bloom and although it turned out to be anything but a mini I love it for the beautiful foliage. I will have to do a photo shoot with that one some time soon.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Gloxinella lindeniana

I love Chiritas too! I went through a phase where I acquired every one VB had (at that time), and now that they are all growing to their full sizes, I don't know what to do. xD Tamiana, Little Dragon and sp. Viet Nam are all cute and small. Except you have to give Tamiana good light or she grows leggy. ALL my other Chiritas grow and bloom in a northern exposure, well back from the window, since that's the only spot I had for them. So, it's a good option if your Hoyas are taking up all the sun.

I don't have C. microphylla, but I do have C. 'Gold Heart' and the picture makes it look a lot larger than it is. Those leaves are about 5mm across. Very very cute and a good grower.

If it wasn't out of stock, I'd also recommend C. orientandina!

I'm doing a little vicarious shopping through you at this point. I HAVE made a VB wish list this year, but I keep telling myself no.

Here is a link that might be useful: C. orientandina

Last time I looked, they were still doing that find the corgi, get a free plant thing. I have noticed that now and again, they don't. Maybe during times that they don't want to give away a plant? This is the about the time of year that people start placing all their orders; I think I've noticed that they take that offer off during the early spring before. Also, it is sometimes super frustrating to find the corgi! Sheer stubbornness is the only thing that made me keep looking, otherwise, I'd have realized that there were better things to do with my time. And that I probably was better off just ordering an extra plant :)

Thanks for the suggestions! This going to be a tough decision. Figure I have another week to wait for when their shipping goes down from express.

What's the find the corgi-get-a-free-plant deal? At first I thought this was a reference to our previous discussion about trading the lamb for the burmanica (those burmanica pictures COULD have been yours, GG!)!

/Quinn LOL I am extremely stubborn about the corgi. I have a whole system and everything. It does seem that they are most often in the instructional or awards sections, although I've also found them in the Hoya section several times, which makes me feel like Hoyas are considered the rejects of the site.

/Kelly Normally, they hide a picture of their two Welsh Corgis somewhere on the site and if you include the caption that's under the picture in your order form, they'll give you a free plant. You can even request the type (but not the specific plant). There's normally a blurb about it somewhere on the homepage, and I saw it somewhere even after they remodeled the website, but I can't see it now, so I think Quinn's right and they took it down for busy season. However, they DO have a 'weekly free plant' where you have to write a review. It's at the top of the store homepage.

LOL I didn't realize I could get a WHOLE blooming burmanica for the price of one lamb! And here I was all set to trade it for a mere cutting! :P My mom's right! The price of lambs is up this year!

Here is a link that might be useful: (THIS page)

I normally found them in the FAQ section, sometimes in the kohleria section, and other times in the library section, at the bottom of one of their articles or stories. When did they get a cart system? I never saw that before. I haven't ordered from them in a while. I almost literally have African violets coming out my ears. THIS is why you do not start every leaf that you remove from your AVs when grooming them, or the leaves that get knocked off for whatever reason... you soon have more and more to figure out a place for. And when you think you have them all settled in, you realize that your collection consists of standards and they will all triple in size! Yikes. Anyway, yes, I haven't ordered from them in a while, and the last time I did it was still the order form that you emailed to them.

I'll do myself a favor and not check out their site today :)

It was... last fall, I think? I haven't ordered from them since the old form either.

Is it wrong that my head goes:

Voice 1: Let's see if Quinn will send us some of those broken leaves!

Voice 2: Close your head, Doll. You don't have no room, see? We're going to blow those Gessie fellows down once the Liddle deal comes through.

Lacking a DH, my voice of reason is naturally an imaginary Prohibition gangster.

Kelly I thought I would post this for you because your mother was interested in another plant from the genus Ornithogalum. This is Ornothogalum dubium and I was happy to find it available at one of the large local greenhouses. This is the only time of year you really see this plant available so I made sure to get one. I am going to try to get seed from my plant so that I can eventually have a nice pot full of this bulb.

Mike

Thanks, Mike! That's gorgeous! I'll be sure to show her!

Me again with yet another non-Hoya flower. This is Kohleria warszewiczii, just starting to bloom but with many more buds on the way.

Mike

Mike, very pretty.I love purple colored flowers.

Cindy

Mike,
It's beautiful! I waited to order from Violet Barn until after they could something other than expedited shipping and they were sold out of the Monet! Will keep checking back!

Thanks Cindy and Kelly.

Kelly that's too bad that Jardin du Monet was sold out but I think it's worth waiting until it's back in stock. My single growth plant has 22 flowers open right now although some are getting a little withered. The Violet barn has a really nice selection of Kohlerias though so lots to choose from.

Mike

There's some really awesome and unique NON hoya blooms here. So Pretty!

I have one to share that has a really cool bloom. I just recently got this a couple of weeks ago...I love the unusual bloom and the pretty leaves.

{{gwi:931507}}

Is that a Drymonia? It kinda reminds me of an Impatiens sp. as well, pretty neat looking.

Mike

That is a very neat flower! It reminds me of an Impatiens of some sort (or a relative thereof) too.

I have Gesneriads on the brain lately, anyways I think your plant is actually Impatiens morsei. I love it!
I used to have a small collection of epiphytic Impatiens but they all died while I was on a camping trip, many are really unforgiving if they dry out.

Mike

Oops...sorry I forgot to mention the name Yes, Mike and Paul you're both right its Impatiens morsei 'velvet love'...I love the cute little blooms too!

Very pretty. You're right, the leaves are quite striking! ^_^

I love the leaves too GG! It reminds me a little of Poinsettia leaves.

My Kohleria 'Manchu' is blooming for the first time and there's something about the color and spotting that really grabs my eye from across the room, even though it's tucked at the back of the shelf.

This one has very beautiful leaves that are hard to describe. They have this subtle bruised purple that spreads outward from the veining and gives the leaves a dappled look. It is somehow reminiscent of a beautiful antique medical drawings.

Also, as long as we're on very small triumphs my Streptocarpus 'Bristol's Sixth Sense' is blooming. It's not a very impressive display for a Strep, but since I killed almost all of my Streps in my move last Aug, I'm beside myself every time one blooms.

Thanks for looking. ^_^

Oh! I meant to post this too. I found this Kohleria 'Manchu' hummingbird feeder while I was looking up other people's pictures of this plant. I thought you'd be amused, Mike, since you've been tinkering with your plot to lure hummingbirds with Kohleria (among other plants) lately.

Those are both beautiful but I am partial to the Kohleria, then again you probably already knew that would be the case. I am bidding on a Kohleria Manchu rhizome right now so hopefully I will win it.

I did see those hummingbird feeders on Etsy but they are $$$$ so I will just admire the craftsmanship. Hopefully the hummers like the real thing just as well and the wind does not leave me with a bunch of tattered Gesneriads. LOL

Mike

I LOVE those blooms GG...very pretty!!

It's Kohleria time once again! This is Kohleria SnakeSkin blooming. This is a nice compact grower with foliage that develop some silver accents.

A flower bud from the same plant.

This is another photo of Kohleria Peridots Potlatch that I really like. I think this photo shows the fuzzy flowers well.

Mike

Oh Mike! Great bud photo. I don't know why I never thought to photograph these, but your picture is just the best!!

I also like the way you're letting Snakeskin grow as it will - it looks pretty cool that way. I never know what to do with Kohleria, other than to roll them when they get too gangly, so I usually stake mine.

That Peridots Potlatch photo is great too. I think if anyone ever asks me "Why Kohleria?" I will just show them that exact image.

GG I just could not resist photographing that bud. I find it so cool that the flower seem to start out completely inside out and then slowly unfurl.
I like the compact growers but I do have my share of sprawlers that need some taming. I wonder how some of the weak stemmed growers would look in a hanging basket?

Mike

Love the description of them starting inside out. Exactly so.

That's a great idea. I hadn't thought to do that, but apparently people do. Here's hirsuta. Apparently 'Dark Velvet' is a favorite for baskets, too, which is interesting since I was considering adding this to an order I'm putting together.

Here is a link that might be useful: K. hirsuta

I like the look of the more compact growers when they are allowed to just do their thing. Plantings like the one in that photo really allow the plants to develop multiple flowering growths and they make more of an impact that way.

I have decided that I am going to try at least one tall growing Kohleria in a big 12" or larger pot for the summer. I am torn between my Kohleria spicata when it arrives or Kohleria Trinidad because I think the hummingbirds would probably appreciate both. I can only imagine how many rhizomes I could harvest after allowing a Kohleria that much room to grow for a summer.

Mike

I really like that look, too. I'm going to have to follow that philosophy with my compact growers.

I was looking up spicata vs Trinidad and have you seen this flickr account? Too fun.

I stuck my original pot of 'Silver Feather' out on the balcony and since it's a mass of rhizomes at this point, it must have 20+ baby plants popping up... so far. I think I'll need to transplant it into a bigger pot soon, but I think it will be crazy by the end of the summer. I totally agree that you are going to have a lot of rhizomes on your hands.

Incidentally, I got this order of Episcias (and a couple Streps) in from Out of Africa, and I had to post pictures, because only we Hoya people, who spend hundreds of dollars on a cereal box full of survival-challenged unrooted cuttings... only WE could appreciate how truly deeply and utterly spoiled Gesneriad people are.

Doesn't it look like I'm about to have a baby shower here?

lol... and I didn't even have to find a Corgi to get a free plant! You should have seen me shaking my head in baffled amazement.

My first Hoya order of the year seems to have been lost in the mail so I have very little hope in seeing anything green when that package finally arrives. I can hardly believe that Gesneriad order though, so neat and tidy and the plants are big and healthy. My Hoyas are going to start getting jealous if I keep on this Gesneriad kick. LOL

I believe that Kohleria Trinidad was once though to be Kohleria hirsuta but now you see it listed as just Kohleria Trinidad. Many people believe that it is a naturally occurring hybrid which is very common wherever Kohlerias sp rages overlap.

Even though people think Kohleria spicata is a weed I just love that plant for some reason and I have not even grown it yet. Thanks for that Flickr photostream.

Mike