 |
| Tolumnia imported from Thailand |
The current threat of the Trump Tariff Tax for Thailand is 36%.
I was too conservative suggesting that 25% would be crippling. If the Trump Tariff Tax on Thailand plants becomes 36%, it will end trade and make an enemy of Thailand, a friend during the Vietnam War.
My hypothetical order of $6,000 would have to pay $2,160 for the Trump Tariff Tax.
No more Orchids.
 |
| Tolumnia imported from Thailand |
A shipment of $6,000 must pay $1,500 import charge for the Trump Tariff Tax.
If the Trump goal is to force me to buy these Orchids in the United States, that idea will fail.
These Orchids will never be grown here because the high cost will prevent them from ever being sold.
Tariffs always work. They raise prices unnecessarily and reduce the growth rate of the economy and my small business.
Tariffs stifle free enterprise and cripple my small business. Very Un-American.
 |
| Tolumnia 'Peppered Sunlight' |
The plants imported from Thailand must pay the Trump Tariff Tax of 10%.
If I buy plants valued at $6,500, I must pay $650.00 at the port of entry for the Trump Tariff Tax
Where do I recover that $650.00?
The only place I get money is from the sale of plants.
 |
| Tolumnia - one fan - two spikes - high bud count |
Flowering is the only thing that matters with houseplants. The more flowers the better. For commercial production, the most flowers for the least cost is ideal.
I've found 10 Tolumnia that have two spikes on one fan out of a population of 10,000. That is one tenth of one percent. You could say that it is rare.
What causes double spikes to occur? It is genetic or culture? These double spike plants are seedlings, meaning that all characteristics segregate undependably. If I find one, should it be cloned, so we get superior plants?
Or is it culture meaning it is capable of double spikes but only if it grows with good culture?
If you know, tell me. Thanks
 |
| Crown of Thorns 'Golden Gem' |
If you search for Gary's Blog, you will find that Gary's Specialty Plants ranks one position higher than Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary V --- The wine guy.
How is that possible? He is world famous.
I am world famous, too, just nobody knows it.
 |
| Thai Resort |
This picture could be on the front of a travel brochure for some exotic place.
Fortunately for me I took this picture, and I stayed in one of these villas in Southwest Thailand.
"I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say"
Flannery O'Connor -- Writer
"If you can't write it down, you don't know what you're talking about"
Gary --- Blog writer for 13 years.
 |
| Sinningia 'Arkansas Empress' -- Single stem How can this not be a successful flowering houseplant? Or better yet, a ubiquitous Spring plant for patio planters? |
 |
| Sinningia 'Arkansas Empress' by Dr Jon Lindstrom |
Sinningia ‘Arkansas Empress’ is a
magnificent flowering plant when grown well.
This salmon flowered Sinningia, an
F1 hybrid by the late Dr Jon Lindstrom of the University of Arkansas, has many
flowers in a terminal cluster. It then
expands into a second whorl of flowers.
This exceptional plant has never been
grown commercially. It’s sterile, so it
makes no seed. Propagation is limited to
side-shoot tip cuttings, unless tissue culture could multiply it.
How could it be sold if quantities
could be had?
It is a stand-alone specimen plant
that could be a premium gift plant for Mother’s Day. If a continuous supply of small plants were
available, it could be flowered at any time of the year.
It’s big enough and showy enough
that it could be sold as a flowering plant in mixed Spring/Summer patio
planters.
Beginning as a plantlet with roots, the Sinningia will form a
tuber under the finished foliage. Although
not many indoor gardeners want to deal with it, the tuber will resprout and the
tuber will grow bigger each year. My
friend, Vicky, has kept hers in a patio planter for years to grow and flower
each Summer.
‘Arkansas Empress’ will be expensive because of the tissue culture
and long crop time, but these salmon flowers will be worth it.
This tissue culture project has started, and results could be
seen next year. Updates as they occur
--- No guarantee.
Sinningia ‘Prudence
Risley’ is a flowering houseplant that deserves to be grown in commercial
quantities.
Like many Gesneriads, it has been
hiding in the hobby world and shows up at Gesneriad Conventions and occasionally
at the Philadelphia Flower Show to be judged.
It’s always judged to be a cheery
plant with its tubular red flowers.
I know how to produce this amazing
plant and have grown small quantities over the years. Being sterile, seed propagation is not possible. Tissue Culture can work, but who’s going to
do it? My method is side shoot, tip
cuttings.
The picture of ‘Prudence Risley’ in
flower is at my West kitchen window in April 2025.
No one is more surprised than I am
that these flowers showed up with only window light. It’s been growing there for a year or more,
no fertilizer, just water.
Celebrate!
 |
| Sinningia 'Prudence Risley' at Windowsill |
 |
| Tolumnia with double spike |
Is the rare double spike on Tolumnia genetic or culture?
I've found 5-6 plants that have two flower spikes on the same fan. That's 5-6 out of 11,000 plants. If it is genetic, we need to select for this trait. If it's just good growing health of the plant, we should learn how to do that.
If anybody out there knows the answer, please tell me.
 |
| Tolumnia 'Peppered Sunlight' Is this the future of Tolumnia Orchids? Eight flower bud count, two spikes per fan. Will tissue culture mericlones duplicate this? |
The last story introduced a Tolumnia with potential for promotion.
Now we have a name that could help --- 'Peppered Sunlight'. The name came from Kerri. I like it. It describes speckled bright yellow.
This plant is a one-in-four thousand find. It has good characteristics. It has vigor and high bud count --- eight flowers per spike.
It is one of those rare double spikes per fan --- three in 11,000. Nobody knows if this double spike is culture or genetic. Nobody knows if the double spike would carry through in the tissue culture process? The flower stem is strong and thick. The flower stem is very tall, but acceptable.
Is this 'Peppered Sunlight' worth entering it into tissue culture?
If I had a thousand of these, would they be valuable?
This Tolumnia has several special traits, but is it pretty enough to be selected for tissue culture production?
Propagation by tissue culture is very expensive and time consuming so only the most promising clones should be selected for this effort.
If this were a named variety and promoted as a very special small flowering houseplant, would customers buy it because it is stunning?
