Flower Friday - Colourful Blooms

Why not end your work week with some lovely blooms.  For anyone in Southwestern Ontario, the UWO biology department runs these greenhouses.  They're open to the public during normal working hours, so feel free to drop by.  I'd recommend emailing/calling ahead to get a visitor pass because parking can be a bit of a pain.

African Violet

Ambutilon

Begonia

Dietes

Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe beharensis babies

I took some Kalanchoe plantlets and stuck them in a pot a few months ago.  They've been growing slowly (probably because they are incredibly crowded) and now have plantlets of their own (probably from the stress).  You can see some Lantana started from seed on the right that already has buds forming!

Elephant Ear (Kalanchoe beharensis) Plantlets

I harvested a large number of plantlets from one of the Elephant Ears in the greenhouses.  I then put them in a bag and forgot about them for about three weeks.  By the time I remembered, their roots had all intertwined.  So I just tossed them all in a pot together.  I'll weed out the smallest ones as they grow.  They've been in the pot for about three weeks now and seem to be doing relatively well.

Kalanchoe beharensis (Elephant Ear) Plantlets

Prior to my working in the greenhouses I had no idea that Kalanchoe beharensis (Elephant Ear) existed. I have grown to love the plants and have been looking for an opportunity to get some of my own. A few days ago I noticed that one of the less than stellar specimens had finished flower and was covered with little plantlets.

They fell off very easily when touched so I grabbed several dozen and tossed them in a bag in my back pack. When I got home I left them in the bag for about two days (busy week). I then added water and let them sit for another three days (very busy week). They managed to suck up all of the initial water and I had to add more.

They had little roots when I picked them and they have grown substantially. The plantlets now look stretched with with large leaves on the bottom (which would be on the soil surface) then a thin about 1cm in length stem with two small leaves at the top.