Well, all of the Sansevierias are outside now. I had a slow start this year - usually plants have been outside for a month already. Some of the last to be put out for the summer are a little wrinkled yet, but all of the previous plants have rebounded wonderfully, and most have started to deform their pots with new root and rhizome growth. This is a good thing. I did lose some plants this yeare- thankfully none of the Sansevieria are dead, but some are still suffering. My S. 'Japanese striped white giant' is hurting - I guess I didn't water this one for most of the winter AND the plant sent a growth straight down that lifted the soil out of the pot. So any water that was directed to the pot just ran between the soil and pot, letting the plant stay bone dry all winter. Now I know that I can't leave this plant in a clay pot, and I have to checl ALL of the plants in clay more carefully. I did get a number of seeds (not sansevieria) to sprout in some of my pots. I know that they are not weed seeds, but haven't determined what most are yet.

In my S. masoniana I have a great little Dorstenia species that is starting to form a caudex. In my S. hallii variegated I have at least three Uncarina species started - I don't know what species since I grow two, and both had pods last year. There are a number of what seem to be Euphorbia seedlings started in my S. fischerii pot, and one Amorphophallus konjak plant growing in one of my tightest pots of S. trifasciata. Not bad for a winter that almost claimed some of my plants.

The S. cylindrica pautula I picked up last year are both in bloom right now, with no sigh of any new growth. I don't really expect them to push pups until fall at the earliest - maybe not even until spring of 2006. These plants are really nice, and show a lot of potential to grow into real beauties. Suprisingly, my S. cylindrica cylindrica, which started growing a new pup in mid-winter, has grown a giagantic leaf in the past month - the new leaf is at least 4' tall so far, and still growing. So far, this is the only part of the pup that is visible - no second leaf, no sheath leaves, just this big thick leaf growing out of the pot. This particular pot has three growths in it, an original large plant, the child plant, and now a grandchild. This pot has not been divided, and the plants are getting huge. The parent and grandparent have flowered, and the pup will flower next year (if things continue as they have). I'll have to repot into a larger pot this year so the plants have room to grow - and get bigger still.

My S. fischerii will probably have to be split this year, as the growth is very congested, and I am a bit afraid that too much growth in a large pot is asking for trouble. I have juvinile growth and some small adult growths, but these plants refuse to have ANY space between parent and child.

My S. sulcatta has grown some very nice arial offsets from the arail offsets it already had - I'm trying to let this one go and see how bit it will get. I had most of the plants in this pot flower thsi winter - the whole thing was a white fluffy mass in January - made a mess with dead flowers on everything, but it did smell nice for a week. Hopefully I'll be able to repot this without spearing myself or breaking the runners.

My Sanseveria parva was spectauclar last winter as well - over 30 plants in the pot flowered over the course of two months. This year, all of the pups I've been offering here are being potted up into one bigger pot, and I'll see how great a display I can get next year. I should be able to get over 100 plants to flower next winter if they grow as they have been. I've always been suprised that everyone here is so impressed with the S. trifasciata types like 'Moonglow', or the S. hanii types, but not terribly interested in the species. S. parva is one of the easiest to grow, a dependable bloomer, sends out LONG rhizomes, easy to propagate from leaf cuttings - in short it has everything someone interested in Sansevieria would seem to want. But it doesn't seem to get any interest from anyone here whenever I offered it. Oh well, I'll have a great display in a year.

Joe 'my S. trifasciata "Silver Queen" is growing like gangbusters, too' DeRosa