Cailin,

This seedling could be from seeds hybridized by two parents. The seedling will not look like the parents. It won't have a name except for "MotherXfather" and the date. It should not be named unless it has been grown through three generations and it has kept it's color and form and it has a distinctness that no other strep has. Then and only then is it given a name and registered.

On the otherhand, some species streps produce seeds that are exactly like the mother. In that case, the grower should have written the name of the speciesXself.

You might ask the member who gave it to you about its name. When you give a leaf away for reproduction, do not give it with a name because this causes problems at registration.

It's better not to name the plant unless you just want to name it for yourself.

Nancy

Thanks for your thoughts, Nancy. I hadn't considered that the plant might be a new cross. I wasn't sure if the plant was labelled "Seedling" because it was actually grown from seed, or if it was just a baby plant that had been propagated via leaf cutting. I sort of assumed it was the latter, since I don't know of anyone in the local group who is hybridizing their own plants. I asked for an ID at the time of sale, but the grower was not present, and no one else had any information on the plant. I am no longer a member of the group, so I will likely not have the opportunity to speak to the grower any time soon. Therefore, "Hey You" it is, at least for the time being. Thanks, again, for responding!

There are a lot of seedlings in circulation because there are a few hybridizers who have been selling them at shows. They may have been culled just because the plants weren't what they were looking for.

While yours may have been propagated by leaf, the mother plant could have been a seedling. It could be that someone in your club picked up the seedling at a convention or traded for it.

You can name it anything you like. If you think it is interesting enough, you could even register it. Just because a hybridizer culled it doesn't necessarily mean that it is not a worthy plant.

Hi, Maureen. It's a worthy plant, indeed, to me...simply because I haven't managed to kill it ;-) I grow lots of plants, but Streps don't usually like me (or my growing conditions...or both). This one is very pretty, very healthy, and it's blooming like mad. NOID or not, it's a keeper for me. Thanks for your response.

There is not the rule for the streps that there is for the AV's. Three generation rule does not apply. The catch is with all gesneriads other than av's is if they bloom true from a cutting,.

There are many strep seedlings being grown because streps set seed very easily. If I have a selfing of a hybrid, I call the seedlings by the name of the parent with "x self" added. That part is very important, as the seedlings are not the same as the named parent, even if one of them flowers and looks very close. Some hybrids when selfed make seedlings that look much like the parent but with variations, while others will produce seedlings with a great variation from plant to plant, both in color, shape, and size. Streps are also very easy to cross, and then you get seedlings with even more variability. Raising strep seedlings is a fascinating hobby as the new plants often look just a good or better than the parents. At least that was true twenty years ago. Today we have so many great named varieties that it is less true, but still true.

Go ahead and give it your name and if it gets distributed at least it will have your name attached. If you can find out the parentage it will help but that isn't necessary. What usually happens is that many named streps just disappear with time. The ones that survive are often the best or just the ones that got the best distribution.

Jon