Sunday, June 22, 2008

Doc's Mystery Plant

What is this? A year or so ago I got a cutting from a plant in my vet's office. I babied it and kept breaking off stems to root more plants. Then I set the hanging pot outside this summer on our covered porch. It must like this location as it's finally covered in buds. I thought it very fitting that I noticed the buds when Doc came out to give shots to my horse. I asked Doc what the plant was but she couldn't remember so I'm hoping one of you will recognize it.

This is a quickie watercolor of the first open bloom. If it's unidentifiable by my painting, I'll post photos (then go get some w/c lessons!) but I really think this looks very much like the plant. The leaves and stems are fleshy and fuzzy. The blooms are sort of dainty and a violet blue color with lighter lavender pink on the tube part of the flower up to where it attaches to this long, almost wire-like thing (I don't know what it's called!) that extends from a new growth leaf cluster. This wire-like thing is a dark maroon color and the stems of the plant range from this maroon to a light greenish color. The stems are long and drooping so it looks very good in a hanging pot.

So, if you know what it is, please let me know! I've tried to search the internet for it as I've been caring for it in a rather hit or miss fashion that it didn't seem to appreciate. I'd like to know what it is so I can care for it the way it needs to be cared for.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's streptocarpus, subgenus streptocarpella, probably a hybrid derived from Streptocarpus saxorum.
Carol

Jan said...

Thank you, Carol, it's nice to have my findings verified (& also nice that you could recognize it from the painting!)

Thanks for responding.