African Violet or Saintpaulia

Almost any plant can be a house plant if you want it to be even a tree if it’s grown as a bonsai. Although in growing houseplants the limitation are the space and light available but the plant choices are almost infinite. If you have patience for one little houseplant, this might be perfect one. It blooms almost all the time, eve in winter. It’s a tidy and compact, with pretty, oval, fuzzy leaves surrounding the flowers, which grow up in the center, making the plant look like a bouquet. Sometimes the leaves are bronzed or variegated. Hybridizers have produced thousands of varieties whose flower colors range from a wonderful intense blue, to purple, magenta, lavender, pink, coral and white but no real red as yet.

The flowers are normally about an inch wide, some are ruffled or fringed and some bicolored. All have bright yellow stamens in the center. Standard sized plants grow up to a foot tall, and semiminiature are 6 to 8 inches, as are the true miniatures, which have tiny flowers. There are also trailing varieties. The Optimara, Ballet and Rhapsodie series all contain excellent varieties. If your interest is sparked you may want to investigate the wider world of African violets. If you do not have much light and your rooms are on the cool side, you won’t have good luck with them unless you grow some of the newer varieties bred for low light and cooler temperature. Consult the African violet society for further information.

If you want to grow African Violet, then do best in a warm room where it is at least 70 degrees during the day and no colder than 60 degrees at night. Light should be bright but not direct sun; fluorescent lights and growing lights designed for plants seem custom made for African violet, and may enthusiasts use these alone. The plants prefer quite humid air especially the trailing ones and soil that is kept evenly moist, though it is all right for the soil to dry out for a day if the plants are not actively growing. They respond very poorly to overwatering and poor drainage. Use water that is at room temperature and try to keep the leaves dry to avoid leaf spot diseases.

Moreover, the easiest way to give African violets the soil they like is to buy a bag of commercial “African violet soil”, or you can make your own mix using one part peat or leaf mold for organic matter and one part sand or perlite for good drainage. Thus, feed about once a month with “African violet food” or a standard houseplant fertilizer one that is not too high in nitrogen or you will get lots of beautiful fuzzy leaves and no flowers. Over feeding is also a grave error, causing the leaves to turn gray and the leaf stems to rot. Flush out excess fertilizer salts regularly.

Further, use fairly small, shallow pots, keeping the plants a bit root bound, and turn and potted plants from time to time if most light comes from one side otherwise your flower display will be lopsided. Crowns can be derived, but leaf cutting are the best way to propagate African violets. Use a medium sized leaf and dip the stem in rooting powder. African violets don’t last forever; after they become woody the often decline that’s the time to take leaf cuttings.

Night Sky Petunia

If you gaze Petunia at distant you don’t have a strong enough telescope? Then don’t worry, because we have got the flawless solution. So, all you need to do is to buy yourself some Night Sky Petunias, because as you can see, their petals look like they’re hiding secret little universes inside of them. With their many different patterns, colors, shapes, and sizes, it's not unusual to gaze upon an unusual plant and realize that it reminds you of something totally different. Because, one flower that has taken this spectacle to the next level is the Night Sky Petunia. The Petunia is an appealing purple bloom that will have you seeing stars literally. The scientifically known as “Petunia cultivars”.

This cosmic flower features exclusive markings reminiscent of a starry sky. The each distinctive plant features clusters of purple flowers speckled with glowing white dots that look like celestial bodies. This hypnotic characteristic has made Night Sky Petunias, which can reach an average height of 16 inches and bloom during the spring and summer.  The Petunia is a mainly popular plant among gardeners and flower enthusiasts. So, what causes these ethereal patterns? A large variance between day and night temperatures will cause temporary white coloring to form on the flowers.” Thus, to guarantee that your Night Sky Petunias are always shining, you should aim to keep them toasty warm during the day and cool at night. If you'd like to grow your own galaxy-in-a-pot, you can pick up a packet of Night Sky Petunia seeds from

Amazon.

Source: CP

The Butterfly Orchid

This is not a butterfly taking a rest on a piece of shrubbery. This is a “Psychopsis papilio” much known as the butterfly orchid, has petals of an incredible length, look like antennae and its speckled brown and yellow sepals look like outspread wings. It was formerly included in the massively paraphyletic "wastebin genus" Oncidium. The genus as a whole is commonly called butterfly orchids, but some species of other orchid genera are also called thus.  Currently the World Checklist of Monocotyledons recognizes four species: Psychopsis: papilio, krameriana, sanderae versteegii. Psychopsis with 38 chromosomes and two pollinia grow epiphytically in wet rainforest and also dry upland forest. It will flower for up to ten years and with each flower the stem gets that little bit longer.  However, they can bend with the wind, resisting gusts of over 40 miles per hour.  The pseudobulbs are tightly clustered, oval, oblong and almost round, and very compressed, wrinkled, often dull red. The flower leaves are solitary and erect and inflorescences are typically solitary per bulb, jointed and arched, arising from the base out of a sheath, producing a succession of flowers which last approx.  The butterfly orchid can also withstand extreme watering as well as accidental drying out with some ease. The four variant species of Psychopsis originate from the West Indies, Peru and Costa Rica.  In the wild the orchid clings to the branches and trunks of trees.  When it flowers in its natural habitat it must look like a host of butterflies have chosen to rest in the same place at the same time. It took 10 days, variable in color and size from inflorescence to inflorescence and from blooming to blooming. Never cut the inflorescence until it is clearly spent as old inflorescences will continue to produce flowers for many years.

The butterfly orchid is rumored to have started the European "Orchidmania" of the 19th century. The narrow, upright attenuated dorsal sepal and petals are dull to vibrant red-brown often with a narrow yellow picotee or with a few yellow transverse stripes. The broad, often down swept lateral sepals are canary yellow heavily marked with uneven transverse red-brown bars. The large lip is three-lobed with a large canary yellow center, bordered by a red-brown band. In addition to the normally pigmented forms, pure yellow forms devoid of the red pigment also exist. Flowering occurs at intervals throughout the entire year and well grown plants will have many inflorescences with more than one flower per inflorescence. In their native habitat Psychopsis have a preference the trunks and branches of trees where they dry out quickly though they do not like to dry out completely and do not need a rest period. The Psychopsis are intolerant of stale conditions at their roots and benefit from annual repotting, especially in bark mixes. The roots of these plants are fine and subject to salt burn if the potting medium is not frequently flushed with pure water. Because of their fat pseudobulbs, cultural problems can go undetected until noteworthy damage has been done.