<------ Well, here is Celina Elegance. You can see how pretty this plant is; the foliage reminds me a little of lace. It does have a tendency to lose some of the green, but I think this can be attributed to the cooler temperatures of winter. I have two of these, and the other one is grown in a tray on the floor. That plant, with even cooler temps, is even lighter in coloration. |
This is Imp's Christmas Wrap -----> I'm still on the fence with this plant. It's actually shaping up quite nicely, although a little more gappy than I'd like. But when it bloomed, the flowers were so big and bold that they almost covered the foliage. For now, I'm keeping this one. The foliage isn't ideal, since you can see it's not totally symmetrical. I'm afraid this one will always be a little off with symmetry. The young leaf at 6:00 needs to come off, but in doing so, a gap will be created. Some plants have a tendency to always be off like that: no matter how many leaves you take off, gaps will always remain. So, the jury's still out! |
<----- Tiptop This little plant is a trooper, and my, what a bloomer! You can see that it's still a bit off on its symmetry as well. But, it's an older variety, too, which can make a difference in the way judges evaluate it. This plant will need attention when buds begin to come up through the foliage. It tends to bloom in a halo pattern instead of a top-knot, so the bloom stalks will have to be helped through the foliage and repositioned to make a pleasing picture. |
Getting a good start is key. Repotting on time is important, but the more experience you get with your plants and their individual growing habits, the better you will be able to predict how long each variety may need for bloom production. In the past, I’ve tried to keep track of how long it takes certain plants to come into full bloom. If you want to show a few plants really superbly, this is the way to do it. Choose a few to prep for show (even if there isn’t a real show.) Follow a show prep schedule and then make a note of how long it took that plant to come into perfect show condition from the repotting date. Then next time there is a show, you will know pretty accurately when you need to begin.
That's it for now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because at this point that's about all I can do!