Gorgeous color on that. Only downside in my book .... it's not going to be a small plant. (The cursed limitations for us apt dwellers!)

I totally understand - I have a large variety of large and small streps but room is still an issue. For now this plant isn't taking up any more space than my other standard sized streps but I can already tell that it would LIKE to grow larger if I let it. I also cross for small streps in other lines of my hybridizing but there aren't a lot of them out there to work with that I've been able to lay hands to yet. I'd like to get a hold of more of the 'mini' DS streps.

I would love to find mini streps! Years ago in the Thompson Morgan catalog they would advertise miniature streps. I was always sorry I didn't get a pkt of that. Now they won't even send a catalog. They are overseas. Rosie

'Mini' strep is of course a relative term. But there are some that are smaller growers like Heartland's Baby Egrets, Heartland's Aussie Butterflies and probably others of that series. DS Hawaiian Party is a smaller grower for me as well as DS Little Plushy Artic Fox and DS Frippet. Little Kan is smallish for me but I have seen some get fairly good sized - nothing though compared to the huge DS hybrids. The variegated 'Prada' by Nancy Block is another small grower I have. For me a lot of the Dibley's hybrids are smaller growers if you don't let them get a gazillion crowns - Nerys and Caitlyn aren't large for me at all.

I think a lot of it, just like with AV's, has to do with what size pots you use. I keep all of my 'smaller' streps in 3 oz solo cups and rarely bump them up to larger pots unless I want a fine display with multiple crowns. IF something should throw out a few leaves that are longer than I like, I simply trim them shorter. It also encourages more leaves to start growing which in turn will produce more flowers than you'd get with only a few big leaves anyway.

I have heard of but never found a 'true' mini strep. Some people have mentioned them but if they exist out there they seem to be more myth than reality.

Will keep this info in mind. If I can keep them smaller,,,well,,,,I can fit more in! lol You guys know me! Rosie

More photos as more flowers open up on this plant. I am really starting to love it. I can't stop touching the blooms - they lay against my hand so nicely and are velvety soft to the touch.

And a shot of the same flower in a glint of dappled sunlight.

Is this going to be a keeper???? Will you register it??? It sure is a beauty !!!! Rosie

Although it wasn't what I was aiming for with that cross, yes I may keep it. I am still evaluating. I have leaves down and one of them has babies coming up. Yay! Not sure about the other leaves yet. All of the eval takes time. How large will it get? Will it throw more than one or two flowers per stem? How many stems from each leaf? Will it propagate reasonably well and the babies grow and bloom true to the parent?

I'm looking at probably another 6 months to answer those questions but by autumn I should know if it's worthy to keep bothering with. I want to be sure those stems aren't going to be floppy like Neil's Babe's (the pollen parent). If I decide it's good enough then this winter I'll try to make plenty more of them so that by spring I'll have some to share. Others will then need to grow and evaluate it under their own growing conditions to see if it still performs well or not. If so then I can approach someone like the Violet Barn or LLG to see if they want to carry it.

This morning one of my other seedlings has opened! It is a bright red! In another day or two once it's had more time to fluff fully open I'll get some photos of it too. So far it's siblings look like the mother but this bright red one with a white throat caught my eye! (Unrelated cross to Velvet Dragon).

OMGoodness Hyn!!!! How exciting! Keep posting on these,,,, I want to hear about them every step of the way !!! Can't wait to see pix of the bright red/white throat one!!! Good Luck Hyn!!! Rosie

I have GOOD NEWS!! Every leaf piece I put down for Velvet Dragon is making babies! Ooorah! I was worried it might turn out to be difficult making babies like it's mother, DS Africa. I put down leaf pieces of DS Africa at the same time and no babies as usual. I keep trying and once in a while I get lucky with that one but not often. They do best in sphagnum and need to be young baby leaves. Thankfully that is not the case with Velvet Dragon!

Lots more flowers opening. Here Velvet Dragon is shown in a 4 inch wide pot next to DS Africa, the seed mother, in a 3 inch pot. Growing strong with a few more flowers to open and more stems rising.

Holy Crow! That flower is larger than the pot!!!! Lovely!!!! Rosie

Impressive how incredibly dark the Africa flowers are in this photo.

Yep, some of those flowers on VD are 5 inches and others are more around 4. DS Africa is known for being a 'black' strep though in truth it is a super dark red. They are fun. Currently both of them have 4 and 5 flowers at once on some stems, 2 on others. I'm about to leave town on an extended painting trip for several weeks so I'll be disbudding and doming plants before I leave this next week.

That is impressive! Have a nice painting trip!!! Rosie

I like it a lot. I bought my first streptocarpus plants this spring so don't know much about them. Mine grew well outside and bloomed off and on all summer. Do you sell plants to the public?