Asian Violet with many small flowers

Primulina 'Xuan's Party Dress'

My second ‘Xuan’s Party Dress’ has two small light blue flowers and will have many more.

            This is more subtle that the modern African Violet.  But it is good enough to make you happy.

            This hybrid could be a commercial plant today.  60 years ago, African Violets were modest but dedicated hybridization improved them.

            Be happy for the Asian Violets we have today.

What a difference a day makes.

Primulina 'Xuan's Party Dress' - First Flower

                                         What a difference a day makes.

An Asian Violet, a windowsill, a flower...

Primulina ''Xuan's Party Dress'

There are many casual houseplant lovers.  Maybe they are 95% of the indoor plant owners who have a few plants.  There are 5% who really care and look for the new trendy plants and know their names.  Within that group are .01% who are dedicated hobbyists who support hobby societies and study the plant world.

Commercial growers want to attract the 95% who like the ‘tried and true’ ---- Spider plants, snake plants and Philodendron.  The national mail order brand, The Sill, announced that their top selling houseplant for 2019 was Pothos.  Why?  Because it lives.

What if that ‘sure thing’ list included Asian Violets?  The pictured plants are Primulina ‘Xuan Party Dress’, an interesting new hybrid from China with a very different all silver leaf.  It lives on my kitchen windowsill and has decided to flower.

Seth Godin and others who promote ‘Word of Mouth’ marketing, keep it simple.  You must have something to talk about before it works.  If I were a causal plant grower, I would tell a friend that my Asian Violet is gong to flower, all by itself.

And I have.

What if your houseplant only lasted for five years?

Primulina 'Loki'  - 5 years 

What if your houseplant only lasted for five years?

            My Primulina ‘Loki’ lives at the west kitchen window.  Previous blog stories show that it has been growing there for 4-5 years.

            It gets water and light, never had any fertilizer.  The flower bud count is down to 2, so maybe it’s showing that some fertilizer would help.        

However, it does show that fertilizing houseplants has little to do with success.  Water without drowning and light is what matters.

If you would want to design a flowering houseplant that could live for years and flower occasionally, you would have difficulty.

But, look----we have that plant ---Primulina.

Like an African Violet –but better!

'Silver Glory' String of Hearts

'Silver Glory' - credit web image

‘Silver Glory’

            Who knew?

            I had a reader ask how many kinds of String of Hearts there are?  At the time, I thought it was one and only, Ceropegia woodii, String of Hearts.

            Then a sister plant showed up ---- Ceropegia linearis woodii ---- now called ‘Heartless’ String of Daggers.  The demand for this is endless.

            Luckily, the internet allows new ideas and pictures to flow around the world instantly.  I looked at the right time and found ‘Silver Glory’ String of Hearts.  The heart shaped leaves are solid silver on the outside giving a distinctive look ---- different from the traditional green and silver.

            Assuming that ‘Silver Glory’ will be stable in propagation, this will be a winner.

String of Daggers - The newest Strings of Things

'Heartless'  - top

String of Daggers

            Common plant names add to the hobby world of plants.

            We found Ceropegia linearis woodii and knew that it looked ‘Heartless’

            Continuing logically, my customer, Kaity, sees the sharply pointed leaves as looking like small knives.  She proposes the name – ‘String of Daggers’.

            I’m with Kaity.  Our ‘Heartless’ String of Hearts’ should be called ‘String of Daggers.

Non-disclaimer:  You first learned about the ‘Heartless’ saga of ‘String of Daggers’ here at Gary’s Specialty Plants, today.

Billionaires are not harming me., O. T.

Is this a great country or what?

Billionaires are not harming me.

            I don’t watch any TV news, but I read a lot of internet headline news.

            It seems that politicians and some social manipulators believe that billionaires have an unfair advantage over everyone.  If Jeff’s or Bill’s or Warren’s stock goes up or down, it doesn’t affect me in any way.  They did not take anything from me to make their fortune.

            It is not a zero-sum game.  Billionaires can make or lose their own money same as you or me.  If you and I don’t have excess money, it’s our own fault, not theirs.

            If government taxes would take half or all of billionaires’ money, it would not benefit me in any way. So why are politicians trying to convince everyone it’s a good idea?

            Financial inequality drives the U. S. economy.  If you need more money, try to figure out how to get it.  Create a product or service that people with the money will pay for.

            Billionaires are not preventing anyone from succeeding.