omg ...drool...

You have some beautiful plants. I sure that I looking glass to offer you. Could i interest you in a amorphophallus ???

Hi cjcjmass,

Thanks, but I'm looking for something that might ultimately go to my mom. I'm not sure she likes Amorphophallus that much. She does have a Dracunculus she really likes, but I think in this case one plant of that sort is all she needs.

It's been almost a day and no Begonia 'Looking Glass'. I guess I need to start adding other things.

I'll root a couple small cuttings of Impatiens namcharbawensis.

It's as easy to grow and propagate as any run of the mill Impatiens except it was only discovered in 2003, it has a cool name and it's blue or bluish purple depending on who you talk to or when you see it.

This is the parent plant when small. The cuttings are much smaller. Nothing was done to tweak the colors:

{{gwi:66006}}

Here's a description:

http://www.anniesannuals.com/plants/plant_display.asp?prodid=2599

It looks like I might have B. 'Looking Glass' coming, through an unrelated trade.

However I am still looking for plants with "Alice" in the name, although at this point I'm most interested in those with an Alice in Wonderland related theme, whether or not "Alice" is in the name. For example there are a number of cultivars of various plants called "Queen of Hearts."

All of the cuttings above can be duplicated if necessary and will still be available.

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Since another day has passed, I'll add something else.

Alyogyne hakeifolia, 100 seeds. These were freshly harvested yesterday. I add so many partly because I have a lot, and also because people have had mixed experience germinating these seeds. Some find them easy. I find them moderately difficult although I do get some germination.

Alyogyne hakeifolia was formerly Hibiscus hakeifolia. It's best known relative is Alyogyne huegelii, also known as the "blue Hibiscus". This form has yellow tulip shaped flowers with a red spiral in the center, and striking needle-shaped leaves.

A rooted cutting at first bloom and seedlings of two sizes:

{{gwi:51011}}

A flower on the mother plant seen from above:

{{gwi:51014}}

I've never seen the plant for sale in the U.S., although Kartuz has it "out of stock" in their catalog. They have a beautiful picture:

http://www.kartuz.com/pc/50223/7RFPC/Alyogyne+hakeifolia.html

This is a striking plant that should be grown more in this country. I checked and seeds are available of Ebay.

At this point I'm going to change this post since I haven't gotten any responses related to Alice.

I'll add a couple more plants and make this instead a plants for postage offer for a young gardener in an area where these plants will grow well outside all year. I believe the Passifloras effectively limit this to near the coast and the coastal valleys of Northern California, and near the coast in Southern Calfornia. In other words Sunset zones 15, 16, 17, 23 and 24.

I'd like to give a lot of extra weight to younger growers. I'll let this go until the end of September, since cuttings are still rooting anyway.

In theory someone may have appropriate conditions in a cool greenhouse elsewhere in the country.

More plants. I'll take 2 cuttings each of the red and white forms of Clianthus puniceus. I can't guarantee these will root, although I've succeeded in the past.

Here's the red form:

{{gwi:50982}}
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Passiflora 'Mission Dolores' (parrite x antioquiensis). I'll start 4 cuttings of this. Hopefully they will all root.

This plant has 6-7 inch flowers with 18-24 inch peduncles

In Strybing Arboretum in San Francisco:

{{gwi:36216}}

Don't know if I qualify as 'young' (I'm thirty-eleven LOL) but I am interested in Impatiens namcharbawensis, Passiflora exoniensis and Neomarica caerulea, and I live on the coast between SF and Monterey. I would gladly pay postage for some rooted cuttings :)

Sent you an email, truly amazed by your gorgeous plants.

If it turns out you don't get your begonia Looking Glass,I have a huge one that just took a blue ribbon in the local state fair that will need to be cut back soon or it's gonna start flopping. I don't have Alice but I do have some rooted cuttings of "My Special Angel".

Peggy