Tolumnia 'Peppered Sunlight' --- Is it good enough?

Tolumnia 'Peppered Sunlight'

                        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?

                            

 

Is this pretty enough?

                 

                 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?

Seedling worth watching

Tolumnia with large flower

Seedling worth watching

 

          This Tolumnia flower is bigger than others, so far.  It’s from the hybrid seedlings group imported in September 2024.  There is the chance that it is bigger due to culture as opposed to genetic.

 

          It also happens to be the ‘Double-spike’ plant.

 

          Is this how award-winning Orchids are discovered?  I don’t have any reference as to how this compares to other Tolumnia in the Orchid world.

 

          The plan is to grow for several years and see if it is truly exceptional.

 

          Hide and watch!

 

Imagine if it were true

Tolumnia one fan, two spikes

     Imagine if it were true.

           

If Tolumnia Orchids produced two flowering spikes per fan growth, it would revolutionize small Orchids.

 

            The last story showed that it happened once.

 

            I’ve found another one in the picture… one fan, two spikes.

 

If the ‘Double-spike’ trait is real and can be crossed into the highest awarded hybrids, the plant world will be a better place.

This never happens!

 

Tolumnia with two spikes on one fan

              I’m learning how Tolumnia Orchids flower.

 

Flowering is the only thing that counts in flowering houseplants.

 

A single fan only flowers once, then a side fan must grow to give the next flower.

 

              What if we could get each fan to have two flower spikes?  These pictures show that it can happen --- Two spikes per growth.

 

                  This is a hybrid seedling; therefore, a unique combination of characteristics can occur.  Could it be that this plant has a gene that causes it to have two flower spikes per fan growth?

 

              It will take years of observation to see if this rare flowering ever repeats as a stable characteristic.

When Should a Clone be Singled Out?

A New Clone of Bridal Veil

 

                     When should a clone be singled out?

 

Tahitian Bridal Veil has been around forever as an easy houseplant.  It has narrow, pointy leaves that are dull green and gives small white flowers when mature.

 

            My friend Bob found a plant with very purple leaves.  He had never seen this purple color on Bridal Veil and bought me one.

 

            The definition of a rare plant is one that you’ve never seen before.  This purple color is unique and is distinctively different from the normal green leaves.

 

            Looking around on the internet, you can find this version of an easy houseplant.  So, it’s not rare for those who grow it.  But it is worth noting.

 

            A plant can be singled out for naming if it is distinctive and can be vegetatively propagated.  But who decides?

 

            The botanical name is Gibasis pellucida everywhere in the world.  Cultivated varieties (cv.) are permissible if distinctive.  I say this plant deserves recognition with its own clone name.

 

            Gibasis pellucida cv. ‘Very Purple’

 

            The common name will be Very Purple Tahitian Bridal Veil.  I’ll need to shop this around to see if appropriate.

 

            Will this name catch on?  Only if a grower champions the idea and produces thousands of them.

What to call a plant that is Indestructible?

Peperomia cv.

                              What to call a plant that is indestructible?

 

Peperomia are very easy houseplants that have many colors and forms.  In 2022, the National Garden Bureau picked Peperomia to be the first Houseplant of the Year.

 

            We grow many Peperomia species and sell hundreds every week.  Is there one better than another?

 

            Yogi Berra told us that “You can observe a lot just by watching”.  I had several flats of a trailing, dark leaf, stripped Peperomia that was seriously neglected and underwatered.  It just sat back there on the bench and lived.  This is an extreme trial worth noticing.

 

            Garden center customers often just want a ‘plant I can’t kill’.  I have it.

 

            This durable Peperomia has been hard to identify.  We have several similar clones with uncertain species names ---- quadrangularis, angulata, beetle.

 

            My plant is different from others.  Its leaves are wider than the ones we normally sell.

 

            So, I have a distinctive variety and it’s indestructible.  What should I call it?  I’ve looked for words meaning indestructible without success.

           

            So, for now, I’m calling it Peperomia quadranularis cv. ‘Indestructible’.

 

            cv. = cultivated variety, selected for desirable traits and vegetatively propagated.

 

            This is a legitimate botanical name and can be used for the vegetative propagated pots from the original stock.

 

            Plants need a name and a use to sell.  Being on the list of plants -- ‘I can’t easily kill’ is very valuable.

 

            Peperomia quadrangularis cv. ‘Indestructible’ is worth promoting.