Its a combination of things, Larry. First of all, alsobias are somewhat dormant in winter. At least when grown in greenhouses they stop growing and flowering. Its been a while since I grew them under lights so I am not sure about how they do there during this time of year. Some plants know what season it is and others when grown underlights are oblivious. The second thing is that dianthiflora is a shy bloomer for many. Often times a large and full plant will only have a few flowers open at a time. But, the plant makes up for this with beautiful foliage. The other alsobia, punctata is rarely grown. It is much coarser in foliage and has long internodes, but it flowers much better. The other alsobias are mostly the hybrids between these two--'Cygnet', 'San Miguel', 'Iris August' and one that is probably lost, called 'Jean Packso'. They have better foliage than punctata but not as delicate and beautiful as dianthiflora, but have very pretty spotted flowers that flower as profusely as punctata. Then there is the one without stolons called sp. 'Chiapas', which is quite dormant now but flowers up a storm all summer long.

So, I guess what I am saying is: be patient and your wait shall be rewarded.

Jon

Jon,

You are right about the foliage. It is nice and soft and pleasant to look at. I would grow it just for its foliage. After seeing pictures of its blooms though I can't help but want to see at least one bloom on it sometime. I won't give up hope it maybe dianthiflora will come through.

Larry

Larry,
I bet you will have flowers this summer. They are well worth the wait. Though I love spotted or patterned flowers I think the pure white frilly flowers of this one are too perfect to be anything else.

Hi, they do have one that grows upwards,, instead of the vining type, if you are interested, email me, as I know where you can get one.

I had one for a few years and it rarely ever bloomed, and when it did it only had a few flowers. The up side is that there easy to care for and the foleage is lovely.

Did you have any luck with getting this plant to flower??

I have had one for a few years now and it flowered the first summer when it was really small. But I have had nothing since.

It has been growing non-stop and is now practically all the way down my bookcase. It is in the same room as before, so I can't see it being the light. I only water it when necessary. I suppose I could feed it more regularly during growing season.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Swiss

Hi Swiss,

My goodness! This thread had been dormant for two years. Yes, my alsobia finally bloomed that summer. It was getting to be the size of a basketball, but like Jon said, dianthiflora is very stingy with the blooms and it was rare to have two or three blooms at once. Usually it was a single bloom.

I think the time of year really does make a difference. I started some new ones last summer. They were tiny, but they bloomed for me immediately and continued to bloom until winter when they stopped. Even though I have my alsobia under fluorescent lights, the plant seems to know that it is winter. It may have more to do with temperature than anything else. Anyway I am curious to see if it starts getting blooms now that summer is approaching.

I would definitely fertilize your alsobia. I treat my alsobias like I do my African violets and use the same fertilizer. I wick water my alsobias just like my violets too. So they get a small dose of fertilizer at every watering. They seemed to be doing just fine.

I hope this helps,

Larry

I have an alsobia, don't know what kind. It gets white frilly flowers, the edges look torn. I like it because it is different but it only blooms for me in the spring. Throught the year there will be one or two bloom. It has a trailing habbit, filling a hanging basket and soft velvety leaves, the plantlets are small. If it were not so pretty when it does bloom, I would have given it away cause I like plants that will bloom more often, like my violets. tish

Well, I got A. dianthiflora just a couple of weeks ago and in my totally amateur hands, it seems to be putting out one flower after the next....

Here is a link that might be useful: Still a little frazzled....

Hi bsimpson,

Your plant looks great. Congrats on the blooms!

Larry

I have the "Cygnet," and it is now starting to flower. It gets a bit of morning sun and a touch of evening sun. I've had mine for a couple of years, and it flowers for me regularly. Don't keep it sopping wet, but don't let it dry out completely for too long either, and it will be happy. I have mine near a south-facing window. The flowers are so neat!