How do I love £ shops? Let me count the ways.

Here is another success from 99pStores. If one gets ahead in the game, and picks out boxes with noticeable things growing out of them, one will be greatly rewarded.

I bought this because it was sold as a “Gloxina” , and I greatly lack in any gesneriads. However I found that it was infact I. delavayi from the Bignoniaceae family, sometimes commonly called “Hardy Gloxina”.

The image on the box in no way did it justice – a flat magenta with no veining or depth.

I’m so glad I actually grew the plant in the box I bought it in (for lack of appropriately sized pots) – it’s a great demonstration of how awesome £ shops can be, and just how silly their packaging is. One should never judge a book by its cover.

Let me explain. These disgustingly cheap shops sell split rootstocks in plastic bags in cardboard. Some of these will do nothing, but some of the time (early in the year) they can be seen to be bursting out of the bag. With some species, greenery is surprising, and must be grabbed immediately.

I had huge success with my Lamprocapnos spectabilis (Bleeding Heart) back in March and April, from a similar box.

Anyway, this “Hardy Gloxina” is as beautiful as any gesneriad… though I want to grow Sinningia and Kohleria soon, though those are expensive. So far I have one Saintpaulia cutting which is doing very well.

Thinking about Gesneraceae ….
…and Bignoniaceae I suppose, as I think this is my only plant from that family.

Photos:
1, 2, 3, 4: Incarvillea delavayi :)
5: My African violet cutting a few weeks ago, since then some of the plantlet leaves have turned darker and hairier like their parent.