There's a new Frosted Jade in town...

Primulina yungfuensis - Original Frosted Jade

There is much interest in the species Primulina yungfuensis, first shown and distributed by Jim Roberts.  It has distinctive variegated foliage and I’ve proposed a marketing common name of ‘Frosted Jade’.

            Once I got stock established, I have propagated hundreds.  Its only weakness is brittleness --- its leaves want to snap off.  I think that it could be a stand-alone plant, promoted as Frosted Jade.

            Awhile back, I noticed a different leaf pattern----a mutation in the population of yungfuensis.  It has much more silver and is distinctively different from the original clone.

            I’ve propagated these leaves to prove that it is stable.  Once I have a group to test, I can decide about naming and possible release.

            A new Frosted Jade…

Primulina yungfuensis- New clone from vegetative mutation

The Watched Pot...

Primulina yungfuensis-Propagation - 8 weeks

  The watched pot never boils. 

         From three leaves to twenty plants to a hundred small leaves, I’ve been trying to propagate Frosted Jade as fast as possible.  I used small leaves because that’s all I had.  They rooted but I was unsure if any plantlets would come up.  So I looked at them every day.  Nothing --- until I was away and didn’t look at them for days.

            Almost all the small leaves have babies coming up.  It’s almost too good to be true.  This species of Primulina has everything good going for it --- distinctive, stunning variegated foliage on a vigorous plant.  And now, one more feature --- rapid and easy propagation.

            By Fall, I’ll have several hundred salable plants.  And most likely, I’ll have small plants for the July Gesneriad convention in Wilmington DE. 

            You must have one of these Frosted Jade plants.  Prove to yourself that this is an amazing find.  From a weed in China to successful houseplant.

Full circle with Frosted Jade

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Drew Norris.

            We have come full circle with my blog story about Frosted Jade (Primulina yungfuensis) in Gleanings - April 2016.

            Gleanings is a free monthly e-newsletter from the Gesneriad Society edited by Mel Grice.  Sign up – there is always interesting news.

What's New?

Primulina 'Rachel' grown by Karyn Cichocki

            The most common question I got over the years when talking to Garden Center buyers is “What’s new?”

            New plants keep gardeners interested and help sales.  Of course, “New” is relative to what you’ve seen before.  And there is a lag between what the Garden Center buyer decides is new and what the final consumers see as different.

            This helps explain how managers in the plant industry think that Fairy Gardening has peaked while the facts show  that people are just now learning about it.  We forget that the subjects we think about daily are only casually observed by consumers --- sometimes for only 5 minutes per year.

            Asian Violets are new and will be for years.  Only hard core hobbyists know about Primulina.  Casual observers have not been exposed to them.

            The main issue has simply been --- no supply.

            I have P. ‘Loki’, P. ‘Rachel’, P. ‘Piccolo’ and P. ‘Betty’ in production and for sale.  By 2017, Frosted Jade (P. yungfuensis) will be available.

            ‘New’ plants are here now.

Frosted Jade

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Bill Price

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Drew Norris

            Common names and marketing names are a part of Horticulture.  They evolve and there is no stopping them.

            Primulina yungfuensis has tremendous potential as a commercial plant, but we need a better name if it will be talked about.

            Several names have been proposed to me and the consensus is that Frosted Jade should be the one. Jade has a Chinese connection and the leaf has a dark green color.  If you look at yungfuensis with the sun shining on it, the silver variegation on the dark green jade sparkles like frost looks on grass.

Hybrids get nice English word names that have some significance to the hybridizer who usually gets to name his selected new releases.

Species have Latin names but can be designated with a cultivar name, if there is variability in the collected specimens.  Sometimes, a geographical name will be added to a species name to distinguish it from other clones of that species.  Occasionally, some named species cultivars are determined, by taxonomist, to be different enough to be named a different species.

            While all of this is going on, common names and marketing names are valuable to keep the plant world turning and the horticulture trade moving.

            Through a technicality, the botanical name cannot be Primulina yungfuensis ‘Frosted Jade’.  By adding the cultivar name, it implies that there are other different clones of the yungfuensis species.  Since at this time there is only one known clone of yungfuensis in North America, there cannot be any distinction.

            By announcing my marketing name of Frosted Jade, I hope that it becomes the common name for Primulina yungfuensis.

            In casual conversation it will be much easier to ask:  “How’s your Frosted Jade doing?” then saying: “How’s your Primulina yungfuensis doing?”

            Will Frosted Jade gain acceptance? --- The market will decide.

Primulinas have longevity

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Bill Price

            Since I’ve been trying to build the case that Primulina will become a common foliage houseplant, it is nice to see this picture of an old plant getting ready to flower again.  This is Primulina yungfuensis grown by Bill Price which is now 10” in diameter.

            Asian Violets survive drought without harm, take sun or shade and can tolerate hot or cold.

            Now we can say that they can live for years and will flower when big and old.

Who needs flowers?

Primulina yungfuensis grown by Drew Norris, Picture by Jim Roberts

Who needs flowers?

            Primulina yungfuensis is a distinctively different Asian Violet.  It has patterned variegation that makes it stand out.  So far it has only been shown in Gesneriad flower shows by hobbyists who are lucky enough to have one.

            I had speculated that it should be spread far and wide even before I had one.  I have about 20 small plants now from leaves shared by Arlene Dewell, Jim Roberts and Drew Norris.

            The leaves rooted quickly and produced multiple plantlets.  The patterned foliage shows immediately making interesting leaves at any size.

            This Primulina species could be a commercial foliage plant, unless it has some fatal flaw that is not apparent yet.

            From the show plants, we know that it can be grown as a specimen with many leaves before it flowers.  It can be a houseplant for your windowsill equivalent to Calathea, Agleonema or Dieffenbachia which are grown for their foliage. Maybe a more believable comparison is to the decorative foliage of a mini Cyclamen before it is covered by flowers.   Asian Violets survive drought without harm, take sun or shade and can tolerate hot or cold.

            We will need a variety name for this species if there is any hope of it being talked about.  Primulina yungfuensis will never flow off your tongue.  What should it be?

            Eventually the blue flowers will show up.  But we don’t need them for Primulina yungfuensis to be a successful indoor plant.