Friday, January 13, 2012

Streptocarpus! By Neil's Streps and Others!

 WOW!!!!!!!

Here's a post for everyone needing a little color in January!

My first entry is a soothing blue flower called Inky Frills. The center throat lines are nearly black and the contrast is amazing.
 This is one from Neil's Streps. It's Neil's Maverick. It's personally one of my favorites with the really fuchsia coloration in the lower three petals and the veining and the ruffles in the upper petals.

It was a very happy hybridizer's day when this one bloomed for the first time! An excellent plant and great color.

 Another offering from Neil's Streps. This is Neil's Darkest Night. It appears a bit light in this photo but when you are looking at this picture the bottom flower shows a more representative look at what the flowers look like in general. Very velvety and dark.
 This is Silvia! For the longest time it was quite rare to see yellow in a strep flower. This one has a dynamic contrast between the bright, sunshine yellow and the upper purple petals. It makes a very good show plant!
 This is Neil's Requiem.

Another bright fantasy bloom with good color contrast and large blooms.
 This is Neil's Blizzard. As I'm typing this this morning, I'm seeing it snowing and slowly covering the neighbor's yard. Not quite a blizzard, but I like looking at this much better!

A very lovely flower with a soft blend of pastel colors.
Ok, WAKE UP NOW!

This is Hot Time Tonight! There isn't much more to day except WOW.

A very bright and cheerful fuchsia, another one of my favorites.
This is Azure Giant. The flowers are FOUR inches across and wildly huge. It's a Dave Thompson offering. The photos don't give you a notion of the size of the flower until you scroll down a little further and check out this next one.........
 Which is Azure Giant next to one of Dale Martens' recent introductions called Heartland's Baby Starfish. The size difference is startling to say the least.
 This is my personal favorite flower amongst all the lovely flowers. This is Stroke of Luck. This flower has an incredible dusty purple/blue veining that simply jumps off of the bright white background. The hint of yellow at the center sets off the colors even more. This one is a must have in my humble opinion!!!!!

And finally, here's Neil's Plum Puddin. A very pretty plum color plant that produces a heavy bloom count.

All of our day-brightening blooms come from our friend Sharon - who is the lucky one. She gets to see all these incredible plants every day.

Streps like the cooler weather and sometimes bloom their best when kept slightly cooler than normal house temps.

Thanks again, to Sharon for sharing these lovely blooms!