Lost the pic - curses! Wish they would fix that!!!

Purple, sorry, can't answer your questions, but your Columnea is the prettiest I've ever seen.

Variegated, to boot.

Where did you find it? I want one. lol.

I've seen 'GREEN,' Columnea, yrs ago, at a green house.
Stems hung a couple/few feet and covered with deep, red flowers.

Yours is much prettier. Toni

G'morning Toni. You have great taste, this IS a pretty little plant. It came from Dothan Nurseries in Dothan, AL. If I can figure out where they get these little plants, I'll let you know so maybe you can find a store in your area that has them too.

...So I have a plant you don't have? No way!

oops, wrong discussion.

This post was edited by purpleinopp on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 10:43

Purple, lol. too funny.

Thanks, but most nurseries/green houses went out of business.

There's always Ebay...:)

I'm certain others will chime in, but after reading your thread, I checked a few plant books.

They read, Columneas are slow-growers and often confused with Aeschynanthus, particularly Lipstick Plant.
Hope this helps.

Hmm... wonder if there's confusion on name-that-plant forum this morning? That's where I got the name... I think you may be onto something, looks a lot like this plant which should be accurately labeled on the Toronto gesneriad society page.

Wonder how one would tell the difference between Columnea and Aeschynanthus?

Purple, I don't know, but the plant in the photo IS gorgeous.

Regarding the Columnea I saw at the green house, 'I trusted their labels.'
Leaves were close-knit. 'Possibly not the correct term.'
Foliage grew side-by-side, close together, and very firm.

Their Columnea was quite large, old. Maybe growth morphs when mature??

Your Columnea looks like "Light Prince." Bright eastern sun (but absolutely no direct afternoon or southern sun) will be great for it. Columneas tend to be slower growers, much slower than most of the previously mentioned Aeschynanthus, and the extreme variegation of "Light Prince" makes it an even slower grower due to the decreased chlorophyll content of the leaves. Pinching will help it fill out, and when you repot take some cuttings to help fill in the spaces. It might take a couple years to get a really amazing basket, but it's very doable as the cuttings root very easily. It is a heavy bloomer, with hooded red and yellow flowers. Below is a photo of mine in bloom last winter.

{{gwi:73858}}

I don't know, Toni, but good input! Thanks.

And thanks, Snappy. It does look like this, and like this. Can't find any pics of Columnea with the pink on the leaves. Asking the gesneriad folks, as suggested on NTP...

I have a variegated leaf trailing african violet and it is the slowest growing plant. Just seems to sit there and do nothing. Just venting.

Canukgirl

Hi Purple,

You have a nice looking plant! It is definitely a columnea and not an aeschynanthus. I would be very surprised if it were not Light Prince as Snappyguy has suggested. His suggestion that it would grow slowly because of the variegation is also right on. Morning sun before 10:00 AM would be beneficial for the plant. Just make sure you slowly acclimate it so that it doesn't get sunburned early on. The pink in the variegation may be due to good light. Does this planet get a goodly amount of light?

Columneas are great plants. I've been growing them for over 25 years. The blooms are spectacular. They need a need little more porous soil than African violets or they can rot. They like to dry out in between waterings. That means dry out not going into drought conditions. And they tolerate a lot more light than African violets do. I think you're really going to enjoy your plant.

Larry

This post was edited by larry_b on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 17:46

Purple. It's ALL your fault. lol
I spent 'almost' the entire afternoon, looking for your plant, then ended up ordering 4 AV's..
BTW, I never found your Columnea.
There's a few with white and beige variegation, but none have pink.

Gin. Maybe your AV is a mini or semi-mini? Does it flower?
How much light is it getting?

So, I've concluded you have a rarity.

Hi Purple,

I did a little investigating and now I'm wondering if maybe your plant isn't Columnea 'Frosty Hills'. What ever, I am pretty sure it's a variegated columnea of some sort.

{{gwi:76831}}

This post was edited by larry_b on Thu, Mar 28, 13 at 18:00

Hey that looks like a match, will look more later, gotta fix dinner, but here's 2 more pics. Thanks & really appreciate effort and great informative reply!! And everyone's effort and appreciation for what I like too!

Lens cap is good for scale.

Hi, Larry. You and I were typing the same time.

Where on earth did you find Purple's Columnea?

Purple, how do you figure?

That looks like a match, and the same cultivar was suggested on NTP. Apparently another plant that likes humidity - OK yeah, I got this!

Larry, thanks again for your efforts! I really appreciate it. When I'm this clueless about a plant, I can't even start an investigation of my own. This plant had no tag whatsoever, not even a generic "plant type" tag - like "succulent" or "medium light."

So, Toni, a rarity - does that mean it will probably die or that it's just a newly introduced cultivar? If *I* had anything to do with ordering those AV's, some would be headed to my doorstep, not just yours! But nice try at rationalization. Good luck with them!

Canukgirl, thanks for your thoughts! It's good to vent, feel free to tell us more about how annoyed you are with your plant. It's one of these Columneas?

So now that we're pretty sure what it is, what do I do with it? If it's a slow-grower, it can go in my mini garden. Would it like morning sun? Don't want to lose those pretty pink edges...

Morning, Everyone,

Purple. I didn't think you'd be online today, but glad you have time to spend with us.

NO, you won't kill your Col. Yes, it's rare.
After Larry posted the name, I found one at a nursery, but it's OUT OF STOCK.

I think it's a semi-new cultivar.

Well, when dh gets my cc statement, I could say, 'it's Purple's fault.'

Thanks, Toni! Being true to my nature, I'm putting off getting ready until later. It's too cold out to clean up the car yet. Unbelievable!

Blame me? Someone without the first AV, hmmm... I'm not sure you can convince the jury I had anything to do with that!

Well I'm even more glad I brought this little cutie home. The more I look at it, the more it grows on me. Need more "more shade" plants for the shadier end of my mini garden. I know people could name some, but I only buy in person, but thanks anyway!

Purple..What's the temp there?

I do everything the last minute, too..dh teases, 'you procastinate no matter how early you wake.' lol.
I honestly believe GW has a lot to do with putting things off.

I might not fool a jury, but dh might buy the story.
Purple, Purple, Purple. Who's Purple. What's Purple. Why is it Purple's fault?

Do you like AV's?
When I saw this guy, I had to order.
It's called, Jolly Jubilee. If you have time, Google or check Violet Barn.
The only other AV I want is Happy Harold...Of course it was out of stock.

In the first pic, your Columnea leaves look glossy. In the next photo, foliage looks fuzzy.
My eyesight is getting worse, so it's hard to be certain.
Which is it..glossy or fuzzy?

Will you summer your Col outdoors then bring inside during winter?
If you bring indoors, will your Col be placed in shade, bright light or direct sun?

Purple, how long will you be in NO's? Do you have someone to water plants while you're gone?

It was about 40 when we got up, but it's about 70 now. I guess it's spring for real this time, who knows. Frost 3 times this week, messed some stuff up.

More on the other questions later, but will only be gone 4 days, the plants should be OK. Just watered about everything.

Only leaving a few of the brand new plants outside while I'm gone. Don't know them well enough yet, and most are small enough to blow away. This particular plant will spend 'vacation' on east windowsill.

Hi Purple,

Morning sun before 10:00 am will be good for it. No it will not lose its pink color. It might even enhance it.

Have a nice trip!

Larry

Thanks! We did have a super time!! After being gone 4 days, this plant was leaning toward the window quite distinctly. Guess it's got plenty of energy!

I'm wondering what it will do when I trim a tip - side shoots or basal growth? Looks like big plants are sprawling, leaning things. I want to keep a compact little clump in a mini garden. What about rhizomes or stolons from the roots. Does it do anything like that?

An updated pic on this plant. I decided since it was a leaner, it would lean well with a Thanksgiving cactus. Removed a few of the oldest leaves and it's started to make some side tips. Wonderful pink color, seems to like morning sun. I like this plant a lot!

I've removed most of the leaves along the main stems. It's making a ton of new tops. For some reason it doesn't look that great in this pic, but in person it's really changed. Lovin' it.

Purple..up above you said you wanted more shade plants..not in those words.

Is your Columnea a shade or sun plant?

I have cuttings of a similar plant. Don't know if it's Columnea or Aeschynanthus. Or neither.

Also, you asked, 'above,' since I said your plant is rare if that meant it will die.
Don't think I replied.

The answer is no. We all have, one, two or twenty rare plants, but they continue growing. Some might look as good as the day they were shipped from Fl, but they're thriving. Others are beautiful. Toni

I thought I'd posted an answer to your question, Toni, sorry, it's not here. I guess it's a mostly shade plant. Where it's hanging, the light (which would be sunshine if the sun ever came back out) hits it for 2-3 hours in the morning. How's your cutting doing?

This plant is filling in well after the defoliating I did earlier in the year.

Morning,

Purple, my cuttings look like cr$p. lol.
I'm not sure they're rooted. 4-5 stems are in soil/medium.
The pot is before a west window, on a medium-lower shelf, behind taller plants. So, it gets a little afternoon sun, whenever the sun decides to shine, but I wouldn't call it direct.
One more thing, the room is HOT.
So, what do you think? Too much/little light. Temp too high?

Is your Gesneriad outside?

Purple, why did you defoliate? You might have discussed the reason in the past. I can't recall.

Did you place the entire plant in the hanging basket, with other plants?
Also, after defoliating, did you root cuttings? Toni

I did put the whole plant in, scooped out a hole next to the Thanksgiving cactus. The leaves were removed to encourage side branches to form. I haven't taken any cuttings yet, it's such a tiny thing.

You should take a pic of your struggling cuttings and start a discussion, get them ID'd so you'll know what you're dealing with. Where did you get them?

What the heck is the weather doing this year? It's not supposed to be hotter in OH and IL than AL. Just had to put on a warmer shirt, the wind is chilly this morning. What?! It should be 90 degrees by now, after 10 AM on a July morning. I didn't know it was possible to have a solid month of rain here, or NOT need the A/C every night in July.