April 30, 2012

upcoming DC/Baltimore gesneriad events

Our next meeting is May 12, 2012 (Saturday), at 10:00 a.m., at the U.S National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.  Topic: The Gesneriad Society's slide presentation, "Gesneriads in the Wild", with recorded narration by Ron Myhr.

Also on that weekend is the Baltimore African Violet Club’s annual Mothers’ Day Weekend show and sale. Location: The Shops at Kenilworth, 800 Kenilworth Drive, Towson, MD 21204.
Friday May 11: Show 1:00 a.m. - 5:00p.m.
Friday May 11: Sale 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Saturday May 12: Show and Sale 9:00 a.m. - 05:00 p.m.

Sp Tiniki

April 12, 2012

Azaleas and Saturday at the Arboretum

The U.S. National Arboretum's azaleas are expected to be in peak bloom this weekend, reports Harold Belcher.  Here are a couple of photos he sent in, taken yesterday:



The Arboretum also has an Azalea Watch page, tracking the blooms weekly.

And another reason to visit the Arboretum this Saturday?  The DC area chapter of The Gesneriad Society (that's us) will be holding its meeting on Saturday afternoon:

April 14, 2012
Location: U.S. National Arboretum temporary trailer
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Set up and plant raffle
2:00 p.m. - Presentation by Michael Riley.

You can read about Michael's indoor epiphyte walls in Horticulture.

April 8, 2012

Epiphytes in the Concrete Jungle

The next meeting of the National Capital Area Chapter of The Gesneriad Society is Saturday April 14, 2012. Time: 1:00 p.m. (note the unusual afternoon time). Location: U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

We are pleased to welcome Michael Riley as our guest speaker. He will be speaking about growing epiphytes in the city.

Many gesneriads are epiphytes, and others can be grown similarly, such as some lithophytes and species that grow in pockets of moss on rocks.

Some examples of epiphytes in Brazil can be seen at brazilplants.com, where Mauro Pexioto includes in situ information. Check out, for example, Codonanthe crassifolia.

I’ll leave you with some photographs of epiphyte walls at Atagawa, an alligator park and botanic garden about 2 hours down the coast from Tokyo. If your eyes are good, you might spot some Columnea, Episcia, Streptocarpus (Streptocarpella) and Sinningia.

another view of the wall

more episcias and sinningia

gesneriads and bromeliads