I love "baby pics!" Thanks for sharing. Hope they really take off now!

The resilience of these miniscule Sinningia pusilla seedlings is incredible!

So that day, March 4, I separated and ever so daintily attempted to "plant" them. (Yeah, you try planting seedlings that are a sixteenth of an inch tall and no discernible roots!) Didn't dare mist them, as they would have lost themselves in the soil; so, I bottom watered, and put little domes over the "pots". The tweezers are there for size comparison. Mama is on the left.


And they have already grown! No hint of true leaves on March 4, but now, March 8, see here:

(That paper with the millimeter squares is the same tiny white rectangle in the first pic.)


Edited for taxonomy correction

critterologist said: Diana, I completely understand! When I was in Chicago (and I am NOT a city mouse), I had an actual ginko tree on my kitchen table. AND a pair of windowboxes, and for a couple of years also a 10 gallon terrarium with coastal GA flora. I also had two saltwater aquariums (55 and 20 gal).

I got raided by the police one evening, pounding on my door, "CHICAGO POLICE, open up!!" They looked over my shoulder and immediately changed demeanor to "sorry to disturb you." Then they explained it was all the lights and the occasional whiff of incense (and probably my boho clothing), somebody had "turned me in." Wasn't sure whether to or

Jill, I can't even imagine being raided by the police... Even after reading this a few days ago, I keep going back to read it again, it sounds like another planet.

Of course, I live in a tiny little hamlet (population: 148... that's people, not houses) in northern, very quiet mountains. My grow room has plenty of lights on timers, so it's lit up like Christmas even on the days when I'm at work long shifts... I leave a little after 6 am, get home at late as 10:30 pm (depending which day, I work as long as 15-hr shifts).

My closest neigbbors have a key for emergencies and love gifts of cherry tomatoes in the middle of winter. No one would ever suspect me of anything more than being the crazy plant lady.

Kohleria 'Rattlesnake', way overgrown in a tiny 3 inch square pot. The above ground part is 15.5 inches high. It has wilted so many times that even though it is perfectly healthy, the leaves are permanently drooped. So I couldn't wait any longer to transplant, as it doesn't seem to want to do any resting....

You can see the rhizomes in the soil. Funny cause I kept taking more photos, try to get them in focus. Then I discovered that all the pics were in focus.... the rhizomes themselves are fuzzy!




And now in the bigger pot:

I love the flowers and leaves. The e fuzzy rhizomes are so cute too

Why do little projects always turn into big ones for me?

So I read that in yesteryear, Alsobias and Episcias were both in the Episcia genus. They later were seperated and one of the differences is that in general, Episcias are terrestrial and Alsobias are epiphytic. We all know tha Alsobia dianthiflora is a shy bloomer, and I wondered if it were in more epiphytic "soil", it might bloom better. So today I repotted: one in 1:1 sieved perlite and Miracle-gro potting mix, and one about 2:1 sieved perlite and Mircle-gro potting mix.

But when I went to repot, I discovered an unripe pod.

Having experience with Siningia seed pods that were blushed brown that still contained green seed, surely, I thought this one was unripe. But I didn't have anything to loose as that particular piece had already been severed from the main plant, so I cut it open. And to my surprise the seeds were black, normally indicating maturity. Close inspection seems to verify:

So put the camera stuff away and finish repotting.....

And then what's this? A shriveled old seed pod? Why yes it is. So set up the camera again...


I can't think of any reason to grow Alsobia dianthiflora from seed except for curiosity, but I guess I will try seeds from them both.

Excited to hear how that goes!

Looks like a whole lotta "good" seeds to me!

Sinningia pusilla (and a quarter)

Adorable!

Yes, it is so cute!

Flowers are really lasting a long time, probably because they are not pollinated?
The first flower opened 2+ weeks ago and is still there.

Seedling update
24 March


17 April

They're really doing well!

May I ask for advice on how to save my Primulina 'Aiko' plant? Its root base rotted and I have it drying out a bit. The leaves look turgid and healthy so I am optimistic for survival. How best should I proceed?

if it were me: with the stem, I would root it in sphagnum moss, and I would certainly take a couple leaf cuttings. In my experience with 5 different primulinas, they all rooted at least as easily as African violets.

Leftwood said: if it were me: with the stem, I would root it in sphagnum moss, and I would certainly take a couple leaf cuttings. In my experience with 5 different primulinas, they all rooted at least as easily as African violets.

Thank you, I will give it a go.

Leaf cuttings sounds good to me, too.

DraDiana said: Leaf cuttings sounds good to me, too.

Thank you