I purchased this plant in 2018 under an old name, Primulina, but it seems to be Chirita now, so I’m listing it that way here. I ordered my plant off of eBay and have grown it in my TeamChild office from the beginning. The plant was in bloom when it landed as a little start. It has grown well and bloomed well ever since.

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My favorite things about this plant are that it seems easy to please, it blooms prolifically through the warmer months, and I love the way the flowers develop in an alien-looking bud that then splits up to have multiple flowers on long stems.

This plant grows easily from leaf cuttings so I have a few clones of it, as well. Strangely, one of the flowers also was pollinated and set seeds, so I sprinkled the seeds on some soil in a solo cup with a clear solo cup on top. I never thought this would go anywhere, but within a few weeks, I could see tiny seedlings–lots of them. I moved about 15 of them to a solo cup of their own and they are now growing on slowly–they are at about the two-leaf stage now. If all goes well, I expect to have 20 Chirita tamiana plants to share.

For the care of this plant, I give it bright indirect light. It seems happiest going a bit dry between waterings. It is potted in a general organic potting soil. I feed it orchid food and organic fertilizer spikes in the growing season.

Another January 2017 Violet Barn purchase, this is one of my favorite gesneriads! That’s saying a lot since this is probably my favorite plant family. This plant is unusual in that the leaves are very thin and less succulent than most gesneriads. The start I received three years ago was pretty small but once it got settled with the right light (bright indirect) and the right water (self-watering pots to keep it moist work well), it has done very well for me.

Here is a gallery of photos over the years of this plant.

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What I love about this plant is the foliage, which can be stunning when healthy and abundant. I also love the flowers and the plant’s generous display of those. This plant bloomed from about March of 2019 until December 2019, when I decided to cut it back and take cuttings of the clippings. As I type this in February 2020, it has buds showing color again! And the cuttings, which may or may not be rooted at this point, have also been blooming!

The challenges with this plant are that it gets a little lanky and rough mid-to-late season, with the leaves looking sickly and old flower and leaf stems hanging on in shades of brown and tan. I feed it with orchid food and organic fertilizer spikes, and that seems to suit it.

Propagation is also a challenge with this one, as the leaves seem too tender for leaf cuttings to be successful. If the cuttings I took from the pruning I did eventually grow, I think I’ll end up with four plants.

My goals for this plant in 2020 are to grow it well so the pots look great. For the cuttings, I will pot them up and grow them on and give them to family, friends, and coworkers.

This is a newer plant–and one of the fun things about online ordering is that you can look up what you ordered and when. I ordered this on January 10, 2017, so I have had this plant for just over three years. I originally bought if for my Lung Association office in South Lake Union, then moved it with me to the Lung Association office in Georgetown, and finally moved it to my new office at TeamChild, where it has settled in very well and bloomed almost nonstop (as have I!).

There is a lot to like about this clone. The leaves are tiny and perfect, as are the rosettes of leaves. It is also pretty prolific. I’ve been able to take cuttings, both stem, and leaf, so I have about six of these clones now in various stages of growth.

Here is a gallery of photos over the years.

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The major disappointment with this plant is that the flowers only open part-way–they end up being rather cup-shaped. They are a lovely glowing lavender-blue color, though, and so prolific that they quiet my complaints. Below are recent photos of one of my pots of Teeny Bopper.

My goal with these plants is to keep propagating them and give them away to friends, family, and coworkers. I will keep the original plant well-fed and deadheaded.

Another plant originally from brother Tim, this is a nice, compact geranium with lovely leaves and bright, interesting flowers. I’ve had it in my collection for at least 20 years. By taking cuttings every year, I’ve kept it going even when I haven’t always been careful with individual plants.

The plants I’ve had the longest were gifts–mostly from my brother, Tim. “Petals” is no exception. I’ve had this plant in my collection for over 25 years–but not the same plant. I’ve taken dozens of cuttings and so I always have a few of them to tuck into patio pots in the spring or to brighten up the greenhouse any time.

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This cultivar has amazing foliage. The flowers are a nice pink, but it isn’t particularly floriferous for me. It tends to grow very leggy, so I have to pinch ruthlessly to get any kind of shape other than a leafy stick.

My 2020 goals for this plant are to take a few more cuttings, to prune back the plants I have and move them into larger pots with fertile soil. Some of them live in window-box-type pots that I place on the patio and I will topdress those and prune them back hard in the spring.

Abutilons are fun plants to grow from seed. They germinate pretty easily, grow fast, and bloom the first year with impressive blooms. A strain of hybrids called “Bella” came out a decade or so ago and I tried them and ended up with a lovely, large-flowered pink specimen. Later, I purchased more seeds that were not Bella. The results were smaller-flowered, but fun in their own right.

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The two greenhouse plants I have of Abutilon are the two pictured above. I have had a few others, as well, which I planted outside and which come up each year and bloom in the autumn.

Abutilons are very forgiving plants. They have survived overwatering and drought and being extremely underpotted and underfed. The worst challenge they pose for me is that they are tough to grow into a pleasing shape. They want to grow whippy, leggy branches. I’ve tried pinching them but that only helps a little –they still don’t branch much. But they are still beautiful when they bloom.

My 2020 goals for these two plants are to repot them in the spring into larger pots with fertile soil and to prune them down to a great starting shape. Then, I’ll just let them grow and bloom, which is what they do best!