Hi Sheila, glad to know you, neighbor! I hope I'm not disappointing you but I have found AVs do not bloom in warm temperature. I have two homes, one in Saigon which is hot (30-35 C) all the year round, and one in Dalat which is cool (15-25 C) all the year round. I have so far been unable to grow AVs in my Saigon home. All my AVs are in Dalat. Maybe you can keep your AVs healthy and bloom for you inside air-con room? Xuan

No, my understanding is that it should bloom regardless of type. And several years is long enough to mature. There are certain kinds of AVs that will not bloom true from a leaf cutting, but they all bloom. That being said, I have had AVs (1-3 plants at a time) for the last 25 years and they never bloomed. Never, that is, until I suddenly found myself in a house that has the right light. For a year my AVs bloomed their little heads off. Right up until they developed an aphid problem (which I won't go into here). Of course, I had never invested in lights of any kind. My guess is that it is a light problem. AVs can be huge, healthy plants and never produce a bloom if they don't get the right kind of light. There are lots of resources for info on lighting. If you want to use natural lighting you'll have to experiment a bit. AVs want bright, indirect light, but can take a little direct sun if it's not too hot or too long. Mine bloom beautifully in a blocked southern exposure. My Mom's bloom in an unblocked eastern exposure, about a metre back from the window. For info on artificial lighting, check out the FAQ section of this forum, or try Rachel's, or both. Best of luck, Feegle ~You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets. - Nora Ephron Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's Reflections

Yes, Ann, there're four blooms on this one stalk. The first seedling had only two blooms on one stalk. The 3rd one of your seedlings is about to open its bloom any moment now. Will share photos when it does. Oh, so you call that little white edge Picotee? And that is very special? If you didn't have any of this trace in your plants at the time of the cross, then maybe this one could have come from Cindee's seeds. Oh, I wonder where Cindee has been all this time. I hope she and her husband Dennis are well. Xuan

My apologies for being so slow to respond. My life is in quite a busy state right now. Your seedling (and it is yours because you grew it) is beautiful and quite special. Thank you for sharing it with me. Hans-Werner, I am including the link to the bloom and I hope that someone will reply to the latest question about recessive doubles... Thank you, Hans-Werner for coming back to post. You have taught me so much, and all is appreciated! Ann Here is a link that might be useful: Here she is - the immigrant from Florida...