What's Blooming . . .
It's 31 degrees this morning. I guess it's finally time for my winter coat. It's still beautiful in my house, however. Here's a look at some of what's blooming here at the moment :-)
With the violets - it's purples and blues and with the other stuff, a lot of reds and pinks.
This first one is Wisdom. This is the fist bloom on it for me. I wait until they bloom before they get potted on. That way I know they are blooming true to their description before I spend time and care on them. This is a plant from one of my favorite hybridizers, Kent Stork. This blossom is what's called a single/semidouble pansy. That little tiny "extra" petal in the center makes this one a semi-double. This plant is a standard - the size of the ones you generally see at a florist or in a big box store.
This is Paula's PB and J. Also a standard, tt was hybridized by a wonderful grower and friend from the East Coast, Paula Bal. Her plants are gorgeous - I'm growing another of hers at the moment, too - Paula's Fidgety Frankie. It's still a baby, so no blossoms yet on that one. This is also a single/semidouble, and because there are multiple blossoms here, you can see one that's a single, and two that are semidoubles. The shape of this blossom is called a star. This is also what is called a fantasy blossom. A fantasy has speckles and/or streaks of another color - in this case pink/coral. The fantasy is not pronounced on my plant but it's still blooming true to its description. I'm not usually big on fantasy blossoms, but I love Paula's.
This is a semiminiature trailing violet called Cajun's McKenna Trail. This one is hybridized by my friend Belinda Thibodeaux. This is a double blossom, also a star. Isn't is cute? :-) Known for her huge variegated standards, this semimini is a gorgeous departure for her.
Did you know that African violets came in different sizes and colors with such varied blossoms? Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg where that is concerned!
This is what in the African violet world is called an "other gesneriad." Other gesneriads are cousins to the African violet. This is Columnea 'Firebird.' Of all of the other gesneriads (and there are a LOT), I think that columneas are my favorite :-) The blossoms look kind of like flying fish!
And finally, my Christmas cacti seem to be Thanksgiving cacti, because they are ALL in bloom at the moment and they are really, really pretty. In the past I haven't had a good track record with these plants, but I've done pretty well with the group of four that I have at the moment - most of them are more than a decade old. In fact, one of them is much older - it's a white one and it was my mom's. I really didn't want to lose it, so I worked hard not to croak it. These all grow in windows with southern exposures in my sunroom. My mom had hers in a south window, so I followed her example. I'll have to take some photos so you can see all the different blossom colors - they are a riot of blossoms at the moment. I give them a shot of the African violet food in August/September and they seem to like it :-D
With the violets - it's purples and blues and with the other stuff, a lot of reds and pinks.
This first one is Wisdom. This is the fist bloom on it for me. I wait until they bloom before they get potted on. That way I know they are blooming true to their description before I spend time and care on them. This is a plant from one of my favorite hybridizers, Kent Stork. This blossom is what's called a single/semidouble pansy. That little tiny "extra" petal in the center makes this one a semi-double. This plant is a standard - the size of the ones you generally see at a florist or in a big box store.
This is Paula's PB and J. Also a standard, tt was hybridized by a wonderful grower and friend from the East Coast, Paula Bal. Her plants are gorgeous - I'm growing another of hers at the moment, too - Paula's Fidgety Frankie. It's still a baby, so no blossoms yet on that one. This is also a single/semidouble, and because there are multiple blossoms here, you can see one that's a single, and two that are semidoubles. The shape of this blossom is called a star. This is also what is called a fantasy blossom. A fantasy has speckles and/or streaks of another color - in this case pink/coral. The fantasy is not pronounced on my plant but it's still blooming true to its description. I'm not usually big on fantasy blossoms, but I love Paula's.
This is a semiminiature trailing violet called Cajun's McKenna Trail. This one is hybridized by my friend Belinda Thibodeaux. This is a double blossom, also a star. Isn't is cute? :-) Known for her huge variegated standards, this semimini is a gorgeous departure for her.
Did you know that African violets came in different sizes and colors with such varied blossoms? Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg where that is concerned!
This is what in the African violet world is called an "other gesneriad." Other gesneriads are cousins to the African violet. This is Columnea 'Firebird.' Of all of the other gesneriads (and there are a LOT), I think that columneas are my favorite :-) The blossoms look kind of like flying fish!
And finally, my Christmas cacti seem to be Thanksgiving cacti, because they are ALL in bloom at the moment and they are really, really pretty. In the past I haven't had a good track record with these plants, but I've done pretty well with the group of four that I have at the moment - most of them are more than a decade old. In fact, one of them is much older - it's a white one and it was my mom's. I really didn't want to lose it, so I worked hard not to croak it. These all grow in windows with southern exposures in my sunroom. My mom had hers in a south window, so I followed her example. I'll have to take some photos so you can see all the different blossom colors - they are a riot of blossoms at the moment. I give them a shot of the African violet food in August/September and they seem to like it :-D
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