I live for this--seeing more people discover gesneriads! Its almost like a "cause". Why? well, because they are such neat plants and because so few people grow them compared to the variety of gesneriads out there needing to be grown. Aeschynanthus are great plants and it sounds like your basic instincts are not too far off the mark. Epiphytes of the gesneriad family all grow in the same type of mixes. Depending on your watering style and other conditions they like anywhere from a "light mix" to a barky epiphyte mix. The first, would be like my standard mix for all gesneriads--three parts Canadian peat moss, two parts perlite and one to one and a half parts vermiculite. I am always changing these ratios and many use a 1-1-1 mix of these ingredients. But, you can also use a mix like this, with up to about 50% of a good potting mix. My friend Alan, who religiously believes in simplicity, uses straight Supersoil, and does pretty well. Aeschynanthus don't like to dry out excessively but will do well with light drying out between waterings. They generally like to be kept lightly moist and lightly fed all the time when in growth (warm season) with a little more dryness in their drought season (winter). So, I, who underwaters, use larger pots and still I sometimes dry them out too much. I use a lot of deep 6" plastic pots or regular "azalea" pots. Smaller plants go in 4 to 5 1/2 inch pots. Aeschynanthus come from Asia, whereas xmas cacti come from the mountains of coastal Brazil. So, aeschynanthus have widely varying needs for minimum temperatures. The most popular of the commercial varieties are somewhat more tender, coming from Bali. These would be lobbianus, pulcher, 'Pullobia', radicans. But, other species come from cooler mountain areas and grow very well all year outdoors. The most hardy are garrettii, gracilis, parasiticus, x 'splendidus', with all the other species and hybrids inbetween. Up here in cooler SF bay area, I grow mostly indoors but have the hardy ones outside, where they tolerate dips to slightly below 32. Garrettii can take even our big freezes. I really like nematanthus (the "goldfish plant") which comes in many varieties. They are native to mountains of coastal Brazil, and really do well for me as outdoor plants. And, they are not as water-needy as fuchsias, by a long shot. They have beautiful glossy small leaves and wonderful flowers shaped like little fishes. Nematanthus are epiphytes too, so do not generally do well planted out in the garden but make wonderful outdoor hanging basket and potted plants for bright shade. A few columneas are also hardy enough for all year growing outdoors (erythrophaea, schiediana, and 'Sundowner'). I am being a bit conservative in these recommendations. I have known people even in my area who grew many other examples of these genera outdoors all year long, with great results. You can also grow streptocarpus, chirita, petrocosmea, sinningia and quite a few other gesneriads outdoors. Its a big family. for sources, check out the "Suppliers" page on the AGGS web site. You will find links there to Lyndon Lyon, Lauray of Salisbury, Kartuz, and other specialists in gesneriads. Kartuz in located in Vista, so could be a nice excursion for you (call in advance). Also, check out the Gesneriad Reference Web for over 1500 photos of gesneriads. I will post the link below. Jon Dixon Here is a link that might be useful: Gesneriad Reference Web

TT, I hear that you are hurting. I suppose I'm comfortable sharing something about myself, since you asked. About two months ago, my husband shared with me that his ex fiancee had contacted him via facebook. He told me what she wrote and then told me what he'd written back. ! I was "not" okay with the fact that he had written her back, and said as much. This was a two hour discussion, stop and go. I was clear internally and externally how I felt about it, and also what I thought about it. He didn't agree with what I thought, but could NOT argue how I felt, because my feelings are my own, as are his. I wanted to know more about what he wanted from this exchange, and learned that he is curious about her and didn't want to be rude by not responding. Makes sense. My take was, this facebook business is so new to our society that we have not had the experience or time on our sides to put up boundaries around what is healthy and what is not. Now, if the same woman were to drive into town, look up our address, and walk into our house yelling "Hey there, what's up???" ....we all would clearly say, "Not appropriate." There are RULES for propriety, such as you must KNOCK, and if you werent' born in a barn you would know you should probably call first to see if it would be an intrusion. This facebook stuff is a mess. It creates all sorts of havoc, and most people don't see it when it's happening. After the two hours of discussion, I made it clear to my husband that it was anxious making for me for the two of them to continue exchanging messages, and gave the comparison of the person coming in the house, and he then agreed to stop communication with her. My part is to trust it and continue to be in tune with our relationship. Beyond that, I would be controlling and manipulative, and I choose not to live that lifestyle. Very small, insignificant story, but if you knew all of my story you would know that YES i know what it feels like to be betrayed, and YES I know what it takes to repair that. It is a long, humbling road, and many choose not to take it, and I understand why. However, there is a tremendous amount of self awareness that comes from being willing to look inward and to stop the defenses of blame, control, manipulation, and passive aggressive entrapment game playing. You could do it if you chose to - i'm here to tell you it is an option, and a good one at that. It sounds like you are saying, "I don't have any choice but this." That is not true - to paint yourself into such a box will give you an identity of "victim" for the rest of your life until you can start to challenge it. It takes guts, and it takes all you've got to lay aside those defense mechanisms. I've said this before and I'll say it again - I'm sorry you are hurting.

I'm blessed in the fact that the area I live in is home to where many of the hosta "greats" lived. I met Clarence Owens and Jim Wilkins at Rosewind Gardens (The nursery I was just up to that is run by a truly wonderful couple, Steve and Sue Kovacs.) I met our famous Ken (or is that infamous - crikey!) and he was able to get me an invite to see Jim Wilkin's garden as well as his own. Clarence Owens also had me over to his wonderful collection. I'm not far from Hallson's and have met both Chris and Brian and attend the Michigan hybridizer meetings in Ann Arbor in which I get to learn from Dave and Bev Stegeman, Doug Beilstein and a host of others (Don Dean will be our speaker in November) The late great Herb Benedict lived just North of me, so you see see, there's very little chance for recovery......

Tundra Finish Works LLC, I hired what was supposed to be a professional Armstrong LVT installation company. What I got was a subcontractor that clearly was not skilled enough to perform that installation. Yes, my installation is under full warranty - I have that in writing. And it WILL be fixed, on THEIR dime. My "once again" is a reflection of HOW OFTEN many supposedly "quality" companies, perform a POOR job. Each "screw up" I have experienced, has been addressed and resolved, eventually. But in several cases, had I not been informed enough to know there was a problem, it would not have been fixed until there was a problem down the road. THIS is what I have an issue with. The homeowner has to know how to do the work...before he hires someone to do the work. THAT is a fact today.