Hi Komi,

You are very welcome! Congratulations! I had wondered how your columnea was doing. I'm glad that it has bloomed for you. It looks like there are several flower buds forming. You should be having lots of blooms in a few weeks.

Larry

Hi Larry,
It's doing very well - this is its third round of blooms, I think. I need to repot it into something more water retentive, though, as it is not getting enough water. (I tend to underwater everything anyway.) I'm hoping to take some cuttings so I have a bushier pot.
Ki

For years I wanted to get back the sibling of 'Early Bird' called 'Joy'. I thought it was extinct--and it was a popular and famous columnea back in its day. But, then at one of the two local gesneriad clubs, which meets at members' homes, I discovered that one of our older members had a little plant growing by his kitchen sink. I was so happy when he gave me a cutting. I took it home, rooted it, grew it, propagated it, wrote about it, gave plants or cuttings of it, then lost it. Then a couple of months ago we met at his house again, and luckily he was still growing it, still a small plant by his sink. I begged another cutting and now have it rooted and very happy under lights. (phew!). So, as I like to say, "I got my 'Joy' back!". Anyway, I don't have enough to propagate for the AGGS convention but am happy to say it is still in cultivation. It differs from 'Early Bird' only in that its flowers are all red, rather than red and yellow. It has the same small leaves and cascading stems. I do think that popular as EB is, it hasn't been used all that much in hybridizing. I have wondered why? I think it would be a nice plant to make a new generation of smaller growing columneas. If my plants all come back and get into bloom, I plan to make some crosses with it or 'Joy' and smaller growers like 'Maryann', 'Sylvia', verrucunda (dwarf variety), mortonii, microphylla (love those tiny leaves), and others that I come upon. I don't have all these that I just mentioned now, but I know they are not too hard to find.

Jon

Hi Jon,

Speaking of small columneas, I once saw a small columnea with small white flowers. Do you know the name of that one?

Larry