Gesneriaceae - share you photos, thoughts etc.

Pretty much as the title says really - a thread for all matters to do with the Gesneriaceae family of plants.

 

I'll start with my Streptocarpella..................


Mine goes outdoors under the apple/weeping willow trees for the summer. I put it out a few weeks ago and it seems happy enough. Here's a photo from last year..................

 

Saintpaulias starting:
Rufflied Skies


Lituanika (trailing av)


Lovely mini, with no name known.

 

I gave this away after I moved here as it wasn't happy here - Alsobia dianthiflora.................




I have some seeds for it and am tempted to try again with it.

 

Some more that I've grown over the years;

Gloxinia....................


I swapped it for an Agave when I moved here.

Smithiantha "Little One" which is just coming back into growth.....................


Finally, Kohleria "Sunshine"......................


No sign of growth on it yet.

 

I had it for some time too. I don't know why it didn't feel well. It's lovely plant.

How is it then with moving back inside in the autumn? I'm thinking about different insects and mites. Do you spray something on plants?
For all the years I had some problems to struggle with. Thrips coming from onion I kept inder the windowsill. Red spider mites together with shop orchids and cactuses, but these didn't get to streps. The most terrible was broad mite on 2 plants, I can't even imagine from where did I get it. I'm curious, if it could come with fruits, because plants are in the kitchen, I keep fruits near them... Now I'm in stress after I have no miticide in stock, and it's impossible to buy it in garden shops.

 

how about Columnea,

 

@pete - that photo begs the question;
How do you water it?

 

Its in a planter as you can see at the top of the stairs.
The planter has no drainage holes, so I water it very carefully, it doesn't mind being a bit on the dry side.
I added some charcoal when potting up, the kind you use in bottle gardens.

 

Ideally blends in the interior!

 

New in my collection - Falling Stars and Crystal Snow from Dibley. I've specially chosen several varieties with small flowers to vary my collection.

 

One more starter streptocaprus - fragrant Sweet Melys


Couple of variegated foliage african violet kids - sometimes they are completely white in the beginning:

 

More pictures from the past - standard saintpaulias:

 

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