Here's what's goin' on...

So many plants to report on!  So I'm going shelf by shelf.  This may take a few days!

Shelf 1, right inside the GH doors... H. bhutanica is budding up.  It's in dire need of a good whacking and cleanup.  The soil is SO rock hard.  I'm thinking of getting some worm castings in hopes of rejuvenate the soil.  But at least it's growing, so it's not too unhappy yet.  After I took this photo, I found one open as well...

H. pubicalyx 'Red Buttons' - I started a bunch of cuttings that rooted nicely and now, there are 5 new growth points!  It's taking off like a rocket.  I'm going to move it into a slightly sunnier location to encourage growth.  I put what was left of the mama plant out on the back porch.  I need to whack off the sunburned leaves as I see new growth is coming.  Maybe by fall, I'll sell off the mother plant, keep the refreshed one.  I also took 'Bright One' out as well and hung it in the tree.  I think I'll take some cuttings off of it and do a restart on that one as well.  It's gotten SO large!

H. fungii Splash that I got from Colorado Kathy has two new growth points, and it looks like the new leaves are splashy.  She wasn't sure if this was going to be a stable sport, but I think it might be.  I hope it grows a lot this year as it's not been a good grower for me yet.  This isn't one of the new leaves - just showing the nice splashy contrast that I hope it keeps...

H. acuta - wow, this one is really taking off!  There are four new vines, all coming from the soil line!  So this one is going to look very full after this summer, I'm betting.  Of course, I just found out that acuta is just another verticillata, but the leaves are substantially smaller than my original clone of verticillata.  Here's a comparison - first is acuta...

...and my old clone of verticillata...

 Hopefully, the comparison of my nail illustrates the size difference.  And the texture - acuta has very matte leaves whereas verticillata's leaves are glossy.  Then, of course, there's pallida, which some also think is just another clone of verticillata:

 

Pallida's leaves are very similar in size to acuta, but the veins are much more distinct.  They may all fall into that group, but they are very, very different clones if they are the same species. 

I have the macgillivrayii that Marco sent me last year on the same shelf.  It has not started growing yet, but it's stable.  None of my small ones that are started to be sold have started growing yet, either, but my mother plant is pumping out new growth like crazy!  I think this could be the year it will bloom for me.  I'm hopeful!

Yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and took four nice cuttings off of my macrophylla that was in my bedroom over the winter.  That one has not started growing yet, so I decided to whack at it so that I have rooted plants to sell in the fall.  These are the ones that bring me the most money at the club auction.  The mama plant should also be inspired to start growing now.  The one in the GH, which are the giant leaves I rooted a couple years ago off my main plant, have two new growth points.  And the biggest one in the sunroom has one new vine, down toward the base, and it looks like maybe a couple growth "nubbins" up high, but I can't tell for sure.  I want some of those giant leaves, please!  Here's a photo of the new growth on the one in the GH...

Yesterday, I repotted my 'Krimson Queen' so that I could add the new cuttings that Marco sent me this spring.  They all had fantastic roots on them, and I moved it up to one of those big EA pts (10" I think).  Here's the finished product:

 

Now that's a nice full plant!  I noticed new growth on the old plant, and even some new growth on one of the new cuttings!  I also got several 'Krimson Princess' cuttings from Marco, and one rooted well and is in with the mother plant now, and a few others I put in the humidity dome to help them along.  

Last week, I finally took the australis ssp. australis down from the top shelf, took it out back, hosed it off, and offered cuttings for $1 each again on the forum.  I'm amazed I've only had two takers so far.  I started two pots - one for me and one to take to the auction in the fall.  I'm going to start a third one for Laurie's daughter, and I'll probably start a few others for club raffles and other friends.  I do not plan to bring the mother plant back in this fall.  It's so freakin' huge!

 

 On the bottom shelf, there's my newest clone of kerrii, the splashy one.  I put it in a big, rectangular ceramic pot, and it grew straight up, one vine, which I clipped up the side support as it grew, and it grew pretty much to the top of the GH.  Then a couple years ago, I whacked a piece off in hopes it would branch, and rooted it into the pot with the mama plant.  It rooted, but didn't grow at all.  Now, it's finally got a new leaf forming, so now I'll have a second vine to finally start clipping up as it grows.  And there are growth points along the old vine...

 

Isn't that just the cutest little set of new leaves?  Yay!  Over on the next shelf (to the left in this photo), bottom shelf, is one of my big kerriis.  I think it's hairy kerrii, and both it and the splashy one are budding up.  Here's the big boy...

 

Dolichosparte has finally thrown out a new vine.  That's the one with the nice red leaves...

 

The other leaves have since taken on more red, but I'm sure glad it's actually growing now.  Close by is 97005 - last post (I think) I showed it flowering.  I think I do see a hint of new growth - it's getting a late start! And another one close by is treubiana, one of my favorites.  It has long, shiny leaves that are fairly succulent and it just has a beautiful growth habit.  I've been watching and watching for new growth, and today, I found two little new leaves.  It's about freakin' time, treubiana!

H. clandestina is a really oddball plant.  It's developed peduncles in very weird spots, and it's just like a little mole that sprouts buds, and like macrophylla, they don't all develop or open at the same time:

And then there's the Vanilla Orchid cuttings I just got.  I found someone on eBay selling 3 for $23 - with shipping, they ended up being less than $10/cutting, which is pretty cheap.  And these are big cuttings!  It said to lay them flat on the media, grow them in no more than dappled sun.  I saw a huge one at the Des Moines botanical gardens and fell in love with it, so I'm sooo hoping it will grow for me!  They came with some nice air roots, so I think it will root just fine this time of year...

So it's hot now, so I'm going to talk about what's going on in the sunroom.  Hueschkeliana bloomed a couple weeks ago:

I'm pretty sure this is the second time this year, so it must be happy.  I also have one in the kitchen that has yet to bloom.  It MAY be the yellow flowering one.  I bought one at one time, but I've also taken cuttings of this one and lost one, so I won't know which that one is until it blooms...

H. merridithii x crassicaulis has put on some beautiful leaves, like this one...

That veining knocks my socks off, and then those occasional silver flecks are a grand bonus!  And it's budding up again:

 Maybe I'll actually catch the flowers when they're open this time.  It seems very happy despite the fact that it gets indirect reflected light for the most part. 

My vitellinoides has a nice long new vine, has put on some nice new leaves and has 3 more coming on.  This is one you have to be VERY careful around because the slightest brush is enough to cause a new leaf to abort.  Right now, one of the 4 leaves on this vine is missing:

 This one is in my top 5 favorites for the outstanding leaves.  It's truly beautiful!!

I took off an imperfect leaf several months ago and rooted it, and now it's starting to grow as well.  This is another that will fetch me some big bucks at the club auction!

Well, I think that's enough for today!