Look at this one....Salmon Sunset. I wish my camera was better but I can not afford another camera just now.

I opened a board for the streptocarpus on Pinterest.com today.

Really pretty JB!!

I don't know when I got so much enjoyment from a specific plant. Jasmine were always my favorite but this is entirely different, and each one is different. I wanted to ask you. Do the stems get long and seem to hang or are they getting too much sun or what. I would like to see a picture of an adult plant. Can you please send me one please so I know what to expect? This one for example troubled me because it is so limpy but beautiful. The flowers are heavy I am sure for the tiny stems.

Velveteena - I forgot to say hello to you!!! You have a good point that these are not long lived plants.
So taking leaves (and starting babies of ones you like) is a good idea
JB - any plants that have larger blooms can get heavy, if you don't like the droopy look, you can stake them - I staked several of mine! And I would let some droop and stake (in the same pot and that made them look very cool!)
I no longer have adult plants except 2 and they don't look so great right now...I moved them outside so they should be looking better soon! For these guys, sometimes watering only once a week when they're blooming, isn't enough
From my limited experience (2.5 years) of growing these, I found that planting them in larger pots they could grow several main leaves and therefor bloom more and keep alive longer.
I didn't have to start babies (and sadly all my attempts failed, don't know why??
Sometimes it'd be too damp and get moldy and other times they'd dry out, or when I transplanted them I didn't water as often as they needed??)
I did have several start on their own, from leaves that had fallen into the pot and I covered it will soil and just watered regularly, these ones did great - and that is one of the ones you received JB
I'll look in my old photos to see if I have a photo of any adult plants

You can't tell from this photo but this is a 12inch pot
There were 2 different types of streps in this pot, the extremely large leafed one, which had a scented bloom!! And then the pink double bloomed one.


The leaf kept growing and growing and eventually was 2 feet long! My friends who got me into this plant came over and took photos because they were so impressed! Sadly the plant died off and I didn't get babies
Cheers

Velveteena, forgive me for being so rude. I get so involved in my plants I just have tunnel vision and I missed your post. Please do not think I am that way all the time, just when a new baby blooms.
Welcome and please post again. I am sorry I missed your first one. Had to go back to see who Greg was talking to.

Hi all!

Yes JB, the flowers on some streps can get very heavy and many varieties do not have strong enough peduncles (stems) to hold them up. This is something that the Ukrainian and Polish hybridizers continue to work on. I rarely ever stake mine, but I have many that the blooms fall over. Like Greg said, if it has a lot of blooms, with some falling and new ones coming in, it can look OK.

All of your plants look very pretty! I love the blooms on Sashenka!

Karen

I think I might have to have a couple of these. Recommended source for plants?

I got mine at www.violetbarn.com and am very happy with the quality of their plants. The price is very reasonable considering what you get. I just got these plants in May and they are already blooming. All the plants i got from them are now budding or blooming. I am too new at Streps to know of very many outlets. I am sure these people can help you with that. You will not be sorry ......they are so much fun and so easy to care for.

Thank you so much for the information Jacquie. Yours are so healthy and the blooms are beautiful.

Hi Dave - welcome to ATP! (belatedly!) yes I got some of mine at violet barn also, and then if you look up your local Gesnariad society they may have meetings near you, in which case there are always folks happy to share either their own hybrids which can be fun, or leaves for you to start babies with - which everyone says is really easy...mine start but then die out, mostly (the babies not the plants!) Gesnariads include african violets, Streps, sinningia and other plants as well (fuzzy plants with blooms!)
Here is the website for National Gesnariad society http://gesneriadsociety.org/
Cheers

Thanks for the welcome and the link Greg.

You are welcome TDave, as opposed to "the Dave" These plants do require regular watering, I had them on pea gravel on a tray of water for that extra moisture. They do like to be hydrated!
I'll be curious to see photos if you do get some.
What else have you grown, or what do you grow, in terms of ornamentals??

Greg I grow all sorts of stuff...lilies, fig trees, blueberry, peonies, dahlias, hydrangeas, all sorts of perennials, philodendrons, calatheas, and my latest obsession is the big elephant ear colocasias. We do a lot of cottage gardening at our place and have yet to me meet a plant or flower that we don't enjoy.

my type of gardener!!

Hi Dave,

I too order from Rob's a lot...

but another sources is eBay, and I would recommend Neil's Streps by Dennis Miller.
All of his are "Buy It Now" and he has a good selection. Prices are good and the plants are healthy.
http://stores.ebay.com/neils-s...

Be careful! Streps are addictive! I got back into them last March and I have over 70 varieties now!
Karen

Karen, you should not have shown me that eBay store. Oh My Goodness. I am in deep trouble now. Oh dear, I may have to build an extra room on to the house. I do not want to put them where I can not see them so I guess something else is going to have to grow. Nothing is easy. 70?????How do you keep that many in the house? Need Ideas before i go shopping. I can't wait to go back to eBay.

Wow Rose! Thanks for that link. Those are impressive!

Karen I remember when you posted about getting a "few" streps again Well you are a person of your word I see!

I too have bought from Neil's streps, very healthy plants!
I have the good fortune of knowing the person who grows these here in Seattle Vmee - I wasn't going to post this, just let folks find them on their own, but its just too pretty a bloom!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Strept...
He too has very healthy plants
Even though my 4 streps are now outdoors for the summer, and I plan to get rid of them before autumn, so I don't have to bring them back in, I do enjoy hearing about what others are growing! Keep posting photos of blooms!
Cheers