Oh Hyn I sincerely hope you "made" some mini streps! I think little ones would look so cute! Keep us posted on progress!!! Rosie

The odds are good that some of them will be minis but no telling if I'll get any with flowers that are different enough from other minis and compact streps already out there. So we'll see. But HBE's has a good track record of throwing some small offspring sometimes.

Good luck to ya!!!! Rosie

How does one transplant them at such a small stage? Would expect attrition due to root and stem damage could be high.

Oh no, Paul. While /some/ kinds of seedlings really resent being disturbed, gesneriads aren't in that class at all. The seedlings thrive on being transplanted - even if you break the entire tiny root off, they'll often survive and just make more tiny roots very quickly. They grow at a much accelerated rate if you disturb them gently but often.

As for how I transplant them, I simply use the pointy tip of a bamboo kabob skewer or a toothpick. It's really very easy and with a little practice you get good fast. Prick them right underneath and lift them out - the dampness helps them stick. Make a tiny hole in the new soil and tuck them in and presto! Move onto the next one. I've transplanted thousands of itty-bitty gesneriad seedlings with leaves ranging from the size of a straight pin's head up to the size of my pinkie fingernail with no problems. Seedling loss is extremely low in transplants assuming you do keep them domed or otherwise sealed so they don't dry out.

If you are on Pinterest, look at my corytoplectus cutucuensis folder here. You can see me lifting and transplanting the tiny seedlings with a kabob skewer at a few stages of growth. For /really/ tiny seedlings I use a single skewer tip or toothpick, and for a bit larger I will often use two - held like chop sticks. Either method works fine.

https://www.pinterest.com/ornerypony/corytoplectus-cutucuensis/