OMG! Leon caught the bug! No more bargain hunting in Lowe's !!!

That's it - it is just the queston of time until every horizontal surface will be covered with plants and will have the light hanging above it...

I.

I've got the leaves down too ... just couldn't pass it up ...

I turned 85 last Feb. so now the question is will I last long enough to see it bloom ?

I intend to !

Leon - you are kidding! I thought you are mid 50s at most! The way how you learn new things - several months - and you know more than some people in 30 years...

I hope I will be half as youthful as you at 85. I still think you are kidding!

I.

I consider myself quite lucky. When my parents were my age they didn't know who I was anymore and needed to be tended to. I'm still able to function living alone.

Well...not quite alone; I've got some growing AV's now.

The Russians seem to be among the main active hybridizers these days.

Any comments on this, Irina? Joanne

And Ukrainians. There is some very interesting stuff coming from Sweden as well - less showy but some unusual plants, cool experiments with wasps.

Russians - as usual - not stable, lots of sports. More of it - people sell sports of sorts, and sorts of sports. You put the leaf down - and you can as well put mixed seeds down - all over the place. Ukrainian hybridizer Svetlana Repkina - nik RS - is my choice for new intruduced standards now. Tis is RS-Annabel

That's really very interesting. How do we tell when a new AV is listed on EBay whether it's been tested for stability ?

Leon - there is no special organization that does the testing. It is - we, the growers. So - do your research. LE - plants - hyb. Lebetskaja - are not that stable. EK - hyb. Korshunova are better - but also can sport.

I bought a Ogennyij Tsvetok in a four inch pot recently. It just started blooming.

I got two leaves, and being planted I don't know whether they've started rooting yet.

I should have gotten the plant like you did. It's quite what I'm hoping for.....eventually.