What's Blooming This Morning

Streptocarpus 'Party Girl" and Kohleria 'Marquis de Sade' are blooming on a -15 degree below zero January morning.

When looking through the plants this morning to see if any needed water, there was some powdery mildew on a couple of the violet's leaves. It's a good time of year to check your collection for problems or pests and take action right away to prevent any further problems.

Fertilizer is important this time of year too... some of the plants that winter indoors and summer outside are looking a little "light green" in the leaves. Remember to feed them so they are in great shape to go back outside when spring finally comes.

Gesneriad Field Trip

The Gesneriad Club went to the Como Conservatory this past weekend to see the annual poinsettia show. There were thousands of blooming poinsettias featuring the Famous Artists varieties. The tropical rain forest room is the newest feature with displays that allow you to get a close-up view of various fish, turtles, birds, insects and animals. The main conservatory dome has the palm display which has over a hundred varieties of palm plants. The most interesting room though, in my opinion, is the agriculturally useful room. This has various plants that are grown for harvest including chocolate, star fruit, black pepper, coffee, fig, papaya, sugar cane and many more. What a fabulous way to get out of the cold and get the feeling of summer right here in MN in January.