Hi SeaOtter,

Hanging Strep? I guess it can be Streptocarpella. Normally it is a weed and really hard to kill. Seems to me you are doing all right. If you will see that it is wilting - cut it off, soak it in water until it gets turgid again and try to root it in a light soil just slightly wet. you can put in a plastic bag.

But for now - let it be, try not to drown and as soon as it is long enough - start snapping and rerooting the tips. It looks better when the pot has bunch of them.

This thing is much easier than regular streps.

Cheers

Irina

Thanks for the tips Irina. I've seen pots of these in full bloom and they look stunning. Hopefully my single cutting now makes it that far.

SeaOtter -

I think they will be beautiful outside - inside these dainty flowers create mess on the floor. It is just too dry for us to keep gesneriads outside.

Irina

Maybe in the summer I could keep the plant outside. I'm up in zone 2 where we can get temperatures down to -47F. Even our summers are pretty cool, there weren't many days last year where we went above 70F.

Wow - looks like you are in a tundra zone.

I think if you take them home when the night temperatures will go down 50F, you will be OK. Just in case - keep a couple of cuttings at home.

May be somebody knows the streptocarpella's lowest temperature tolerance? It could be higher than streps.

Irina

IF you see this other cutting start to go the same way as the first (and I certainly hope you don't) it means that the base of the stem/roots are rotting. Cut it off above the part that's rotting (i.e., be sure you have healthy material at the bottom) and try re-rooting the end in some light medium - a little cup with some moist-not-wet perlite or vermiculite, enclosed loosly in a plastic bag open to the side usually works great. This will give you a second chance on it.

For whatever reason, I often find that propogating a piece off of something that isn't doing well for me often results in a plant that does better. Whether this is because the newly created plant is somehow better adapted to my conditions or just that some root disease gets left behind, I can't say, but it often helps.
southernwood