Dang. Here I was yesterday in the middle of writing a really witty humorous post, when the boss came and I had to dump it all. Let's see what I can remember... Geez, guys, chill! There's no way I'll take offense at good-natured joking around. My skin is *much* thicker than *that*! Oh, and when I said 'snotty' I was really talking about my running sinuses (not really). And how many of you can say they drove 12 hours in a straight line (not even the entire length of Calif.) and never left the state? Huh? Huh? Yeah, I thought not. ;-) Not to mention Humboldt County has the highest gas prices in the country most of the time; the one single supplier says it's because the fuel has to be barged in, but no one believes them. Can you say 'price gouging'? I knew you could. If I had a good violet source (like Fay [drool]), I'd switch jobs and *move in*! Korina, getting splinters behind the Redwood Curtain

This following information is more about growing plants, flowering and fruiting, rather than growing seedlings. But, whoÂs to say that what affects plants when they are "full grown" doesnÂt affect them when they are baby seedlings This info is from the "Alaska Gardening Guide, Vol. 1" by Ann Roberts: Much of this info is exact quotes from the book. Most plants are not fussy in their requirements for a light-dark cycle; but there are some long-day plants and some short-day plants. A short-day plant is really a long-night plant. It seems that plants carry out some very important chemical reactions at night, and it they don't have enough uninterrupted darkness to complete these, the whole life cycle may be upset. The most striking effect is the disruption of the flowering process. Some plants that require this dark "night time" include poinsettias and chrysanthemums. Most varieties of soybeans bloom much too late to mature beans in central Alaska. Many, but not all, varieties of squash and cucumbers produce only male flowers during the early part of the summer. Only when the nights lengthen in the fall are the female flowers formed, and by then it is too late to produce mature fruit. A few species of veggies that are short-day plants are eggplant, butternut squash, watermelon and true spinach. Eggplants in the interior, for example, will have their large lavender blossoms will fall off without fruiting if there is too much daylight. Most members of some other species such as beets and lettuce are adversely affected by long days but a few adapted varieties of these have been developed.

You episcia is doing well. This time of year they often suffer, so if it is growing then you are already ahead. There is no one way to grow and episcia. But, you can't restart them too often. You can bend the stolons around and pin them to root in bare spots. Suckers are OK if they look good. An old fashioned way to grow episcias not much seen today is to grow them single crown like a violet. This can be fun but they take work, and need to be restarted or repotted often, as they get leggy. The result, however, can be a crown with very large beautiful leaves. Most grow them as multiheaded plants, removing or encouraging crowns according to what looks good. I don't know 'Silver Emblem'--it must be a newer one. Your gesnerias--you can either feed them very weakly or wait. How's that for an unequivocal answer. It depends on what they are sprouting in. If it is a totally inert media like what I am constantly recommending then the little plants will eventually lose color and after a few months will be totally white!! Gentle feeding will encourage them to grow more quickly. Use a small itty bitty little watering can, with a narrow spout. Fill it up all the way as this pours more gently, and be careful. I would go with 1/8 tsp. of fertilizer per gallon for the first few times. They don't need much. Then let their growth and color be your guide. Sinningias need more light than AV's and many get leggy, or naturally have strong tall stems. Good light on a light stand or a bright window. Let them grow for now, feed and build up strength. They may bud up as gawky guys, but you will get to see the flowers. The new shoots will then grow up nice and sturdy. If you have new shoots now, the old growth may shade them, in which case, use your judgement as to whether to leave on or remove. Tampa Bay Beauty has never grown well for me, for some unknown reason. Other members of my local clubs have the same opinion. I get flowers but the leaves never look good. It is unusual in being a tetraploid large growing type sinningia, so selfings should be very much like the original. My theory on this one, is that it does much better in Florida from where it came (Small's Nursery in Tampa). I think the "Raindrops" series of hybrids came from it and they flower very nicely. My favorite sinningias tend to be the larger growing species, of which there are about 65+ in cultivation now. Jon

Mix up some low strength fertilizer in your watering can and water it in. I start out seedlings on 1/8 tsp per gallon of water. To water the tiny plants without disturbing them use a small narrow spouted watering can, like I have advocated about a thousand times, or make sure your regular watering can is completely full, so that the stream of water is very gentle. If you have seedlings in a container without drainage, then use a baster to remove excess water. Your seedlings most likely are starving. It is possible the coir is not completely free of salt, which may inhibit the absorbtion of fertilizer, so keep feeding your seedlings at weekly intervals and watch for greening up of the youngest leaves (a good sign). Gesnerias generally do well in enclosures. Your species is native to Puerto Rico. Jon