When I had one, I found it to be thirstier and hungrier than other sans but they also like a lighter mix. It was very fast growing for me..

Thanks, good to know. I'm going to try to get this one going.

If all your other plants are doing fine, I would inspect the roots. The roots might be rotting away. It happens. If there is insufficient healthy roots, the plant will wither. Also, if you have ever had problems with mealy bugs, they can survive nicely attached to the roots, sucking out moisture. Make sure it is out of any draft. Winter is the pits.

I agree, I'm ready for spring. I'll have a look at the roots. I think I have been keeping it too dry though. I don't know. My other parvas look fine. My house is kept at 72 degrees, plants in smaller pots dry out pretty fast. Hmmm.

Mike knows a lot better than I do. I would listen to his advice. It's been a while since I've had a parva.

I'm taking advice from the both of you. Lots of knowledge in those two heads.

I had a look at the roots, happy to say no bugs in there. A rather small root system, but alive. So I think I will gradually increase the water and give it some Osmocote a little closer to spring. Thanks!

I think that will work for you Barb. As stated above parba seems to like a bit more water than the other Sans!

Thanks for the encouragement. One other question. As parvas grow, they make many leaves and get so tall that they start to fall over. I have been propping up my white parva, but I would like to cut it back and re-root the top in the spring. What do you all think about that?

You do realize that parva is one of my favorite sans because of its grassy look? It is one of three on my must have list. Why I don't have one is probably because they are so hard to find in specimen sizes. I also like to see the plants I buy before I do. Online shopping takes the fun of looking for an extra leaf or a hidden pup in a tray of plants. The thought of somebody cutting it up. *cringe* I'm not sure I've ever heard of somebody rooting the leaves as they pup pretty readily.

Barb Yes you can chop (sorry Mentha LOL!) it in half and root the top. My yellow variegated was better variegated at the top than bottom, surprisingly. I kept getting solid colored reversions from the bottom so I cut it in half and rerooted the top. Both the top and bottom eventually produced offsets and I did get better variegated from the top.

Woodnative,

I thought I remembered you cutting it up. My white one is getting pretty tall and wobbly. I would hope that it will put out offsets this year anyway, but cutting the top should speed that along. The yellow one has grown and kept it's variegation. Now if I can get the Gilt edge to do as well.

Mentha,

Yes it is much more fun to pick your plants in person, but not always possible for some of us. Reminds me of fabric shopping, always better to feel the hand of the fabric, but I have learned to shop on line with the lack of fabric stores these days. There are not so many nurseries that carry unusual plants these days either. You are lucky to have Stanley's in Knoxville. Do they carry many sansevierias?

Mentha, what are the three on your must have list?

Unfortunately Stanley's doesn't have much of a selection of Sans, but their plants are pretty good sized and nicely leaved. They have mostly trifasciata hybrids and an odd cylindrica. Last year they had braided ones. I am so glad they don't anymore because they looked so cheap and un-natural.

My top three would be a nice blue ping, parva, and ballyll. There are some more on my list but I like the smaller species.

O.M.G. Now that's what I want mine to do. Wow!

So here is where the parvas, ballyiis, hahniis sit all winter. The temp is 72' double pane windows. I don't have a drafty house. The shelves aren't that close to the window. There is a paddle fan that runs 24/7 up near the ceiling. The air is pretty dry in the winter, so I am thinking dryness is the main problem.

I have been thinking about getting one of those heat mats.

Very nice Mike! I didn't see gilt edge when I was at your house. Speaking of your house, is it snowing on that side of town too?

A heat mat would be excellent. Get a seedling mat not a reptile mat. Reptile mats are too warm. Another thing to try is a radiant heat mat, it attaches to the wall or you can set plants on top of them. You buy them for sick birds or cold. I used to love mine. They are a little more pricy but they are much more sturdy than the seedling mats and look nicer too.

Mentha,

I could send you some ballyii in the spring.

Thank you Barb! I would appreciate that.

This one has done well for me.

I was looking through some old pictures and I found these.

This is in March of 2009

This is in August of the same year.

As you can see it can grow very fast.

Hi Mentha,

I just had a closer look at your parva. I can see 2 or three runners jumping out from the pot. Was yours all green? I think the variegated ones are slower than the all green. Still, not as slow as my gilt edge though. I wish you still had it!

No, it was gilt edge with a very poor variegation.