Looks very nice! Rosie

Primulinas bloom in spring!

i am growing one from leaf.

it's slow, but getting there :).

it's about a year since i put down a leaf. any idea when it would bloom?

When it so desires... Primulinas are notorious ... sometimes it will set the buds... and they will sit put for 9 months.

They like fresh soil - and when you repot it - add a little pinch of dolomite to the soil.

I.

m-m dolomite...is what i am missing ;) in my plant-life..

so they prefer less acidic soil then AV's?

i experimented with cutting peat with half coirpeat for AV's (and perlite of course, since i'm wicking) and they didn't like it - grew poorly. i wonder if a can add some coir-peat to primulina mix instead of dolomite? it should raise the PH a bit.

or is it to add extra Ca? i have Magi-Cal supplement for Ca and Mg.

Dolomite has both calcium and magnesium -and it buffers the acidity.

Most of Primulinas originate in South East China where they grow on the northern side of limestone hills, at the entrances of the caves where they can have a bright indirect light.

Some of them are more tolerant, some need an alkaline soil. So - geographicaly they are quite far from Saintpaulias - and they do thrive in a different geology as well.

Coir can be bad or very bad. So - do not mess with it at all. When coir disintegrates- it produces phenol - and in wet warm soil we use for gessies it disintegrates fast. And phenol is bad for any life, plant and animal. Probably the natural herbicide of the coconut palm. The best use for coir - outside - pots and baskets with annuals. The season will be over before it becomes a problem.

>>Coir can be bad or very bad

i use it in my jungle mix routinely at perhaps 15% of the mix for indoors for years for all tropicals and my plants are doing great - don't have a problem. and i grow them rather warm too - at 75F for half a year.

the only plants that didn't like it were AV's. i have Hawortias in 100% coir chips - rooted in it astonshingly well and growing like this for sev years.

Good luck, I hear horror stories about gessies and orchids all the time.

Since Haworthia is a succulent - you probably do not keep soil as wet as we keep gesneriads - and as long as it is a high quality coir with no salt - it probably stays stable for much much longer - and does its good job aerating the mix.

yes, i agree, it's not for gessies or orchids.

but i converted all my other tropicals to wicking, since i found out how here for my AV's. I make sure to add 40% perlite to mix for all and some bark and some coco-chips - so it's all drainable and rewettable and i line the pot with thin layer of coco-matting (like for flower baskets) too..

in any case that's how i grow my 200 smth plants indoors and travel too :). not chained to my garden ;).

i had Primulina 'Loki' for a few years. it bloomed sev times and then got a crown rot while it still was in a tiniest of pots. and it grows so-o slow...it was in AV soil cut with good amt of perlite as usual. now i am wondering, if it grows on lime soils, std AV mix even with perlite is not the way to go. and i've never put dolomite into my AV soil-mixes. perhaps cactus soil is better, even though it also has peat in it, but may be less then AV soil?

Hard to say until you try. Every type of soil is serving certain type of plants - probably imitating their natural habitat.

There is no peat where Primulinas grow in nature - they grow in soil that is a product of deterioration of limestone hills, the soil is loose, high in pH and poor in nutrients, the light is relatively low. Since most of them are very adaptable - neutral or slightly acidic soil is good too, but when peat deteriorates and produces humic acid - they start to suffer.

My good friend in FL replaced peat based soil with a mix of rockwool cubes, vermiculite and perlite - and for warm and humid Tampa - this is a much better mix - because peat deteriorates really fast - and he grows super Primulinas in very shallow pots using this mix.

http://www.gesneriads.info/genera/primulina-dryas-naine-argente/

For the show - he top dressed the surface with milled sphagnum.

h-mm, perhaps scoria with perlite and vermiculite (or at least seedling mix with vermiculite) will do? i'll try.

scoria absorbs moisture very well and very slowly releases it, it can be used in hydro too, so wicks somewhat. but vermiculite deteriorates way too fast being moist all the time when wicked, so will necessitate freq. re-potting...donnow...too much trouble ;)..i'm tired of re-potting AV's - they outgrow their pots and get necky too fast on me.

back long time ago there was a post from hong kong - growing AV's in pure perlite in heat and humidity. i suppose i can grow primulina's in pure perlite too...it wicks weakly too, but dries out very fast in shallow pots...but can be tented.

the stuff in AV soil cut with 40% perlite can only be tented on sides, with open top, otherwise plants rot (verified ;)).

i propagate begonias from leaves in perlite with long fiber NZ sphag 1/2" on top of perlite, to keep it moister on the surface. and with a wick! it's WICKED! AND works with tenting, but with 1-2" crack all around in the middle for aeration...2-3 weeks absence possible :)!!! not more though, but i'm working on that ...may be scoria is the answer..

where most cacti grow there's very little or no soil at all too, and no peat for sure, yet cactus soil contains peat usually, but...they are not grown on wicks...though my succulents are on wicks too (top wick inserted on the perimeter 1/2 - 1" below surface, circling the pot half-way or all the way, depending on the plant). jades, aloes sansivierias...all do well like this for months...hidden on the window sills, unreachable from the room, but in good light. impossible to water otherwise. i practice extreme indoor gardening ;), especially in winter!

You will never know until you try.

But AVs will grow necks no mater what - because they grow stems...

been 3 days and i looked at my 'Rachel' (same one in the above pic) and it has 2 flower stalks going :), really tiny. had 3 but one dried up.

i have another from leaf a little smaller and that one has 2 also. they are both still in pure perlite on wicks with liquid feed, of course. :) :) :) ...

they are both in West window about 1' from the glass - i keep them slightly shaded by other plants, but they do get some dappled direct sun.

the slightly larger one is barely 4" in diameter in a tiny cup.

You see - you just needed to ask nicely - and in 2 days - you have buds ;-)).

now the watch is on: will they make it and when? and i'll let it sit in perlite until then..afraid to move..

I do not think that perlite is a best medium - but repotting can blast the buds. Enjoy!

it bloomed with 2 flowers in succession, the other 2 buds shriveled up.

but i am pleased anyway - it's such a tiny plant!

it's sitting in espesso cup ;).

So tiny!!! So cute!!! Rosie

It looks very happy!!!