How funny...I came here to learn about goldfish plants after just seeing some for the first time in years & Lilpanda only yesterday was looking locally for a store that carries them. Home Depot in East Palo Alto (101/University Ave., by IKEA) had about five goldfish plants in stock earlier this week - hanging in the plant section inside the store, on the aisle that's closest to the outside garden center. Listed at $18.99 - which might sound pricy for a houseplant, but this is one that (in addition to being hard to find) is completely foolproof. I got one as a gift 20 or years ago, & it's hardy, healthy & has happily continued on, no matter how little attention it gets. (I think it's actually still in its original pot.) It's understandably a bit branchy - but I now know that's an easy thing to fix. p.s. HD has a 10% price beat guarantee policy, so if you go there by 7/1, bring along an Orchard Supply ad, as they're having a 25% off all plants sale this weekend.

Hi Frank, Don't feel bad about not wanting to repot your plant. No novice wants to repot their plants. I'm assuming that you are a novice. It's a little bit like skydiving. You just have to go for it and know that the parachute will open. Yes you are correct in that you can start a new plant from just stem cuttings. They don't need to have any roots on them to begin with. With this plant stem cuttings root very easily if put into moist soil and then put into a clear plastic bag (not in direct sun light). It's even possible they may root without the plastic bag but why put these plants under that kind of stress. My feeling is do what is going to maximize one's success. Along with starting a new plant you can also try to save the mother plant. Again I gave you those instructions. If anything about saving the mother plant doesn't make sense to you then ask away. I am perfectly happy to explain things in more detail if need be. With a porous soil, goldfish plants should do very well without having to work very hard. Giving the plant a good watering until water comes out the bottom of the pot is the way to do it. This is pretty much true of any plant for that matter. Then let the soil are you heard so you've already too are OK every 5 minutes to do this dry out and stay dry for about a day and then repeat the cycle. I don't think you did anything wrong. I think that problem is with the soil. Many greenhouses plant their plants in very dense soil. I'm not sure why. It may be that they don't have to water the plants as often. But I really don't know. All I know is that it happens and it is a real problem for people when they bring their plants home. The reason I don't think you did anything wrong is because you only watered the plant two times in six weeks. That should've been plenty of time for the plant to have dried out in between waterings. The fact that the soil did not dry out is probably because of two factors. First the plant is not absorbing any water from the soil because of root damage and the soil is so dense that it is holding a tremendous amount of water that will not evaporate very quickly. Goldfish plants are not bog of plants. They need to have some air in the soil for the roots to be healthy. If the soil is too dense then there is no place for air pockets to exist. When this happens the roots basically drown. Goldfish plants are epiphytes or tree dwellers. These epiphytes grow in trees in the rain forests of the Americans and the Caribbean. They basically grow in the area where branches meet the trunks of trees. There's usually a little cavity where decayed leaves and such collect. The goldfish plant seeds germinate there and that is their native habitat. The medium is very airy and not saturated with water. You ask about light. Goldfish plants like to have strong indirect light or direct light that is before 10:00 AM and after 4:00 PM. They can get a little sun burnt if they get direct sunlight in the middle of the day. That's about all I can think of at the moment. Again if you have any other questions don't be afraid to ask. Good luck on your plant propagating. Larry

I can't tell if it is a Columnea or a Nematanthus from the picture. Both are sometimes called Goldfish plants. Nematanthus are also called Flying Dolphin Plants. Puglvr1's plant above is a Nematanthus. The plant in my profile pic is a Columnea (a NOID that I think is a C. gloriosa). It's really easy to tell them apart by the flowers, but you can usually tell by leaves too. I haven't grown Nematanthus if that's what it is, but I do have two Columneas. First, your plant looks very leggy to me. A lack of light would keep it from flowering. I grow mine in a northish corner window (a French door and a floor-to ceiling picture window) that gets a ton of indirect light all year long. I take them outside and hang them on my southeast-facing covered porch when temps are above 50F at night. I also think you're watering too much. In the summer, I keep them damp, but not wet. When they were in a 50/50 Pro-Mix/perlite media, I watered them about once a week or so in the summer. In the winter, I let it dry out completely before watering (about every other week or so), but you have to be careful about that because not all of them like to get that dry. I killed a C. "Aladdin's Lamp" by letting it get too dry. Keep in mind that these are epiphytes in the wild, so they grow on the side of trees. Lots of air around the roots. I use Better-Gro Orchid Plus Fertilizer on mine. I use a TINY bit with each watering (a little less than 1/4 tsp to a gallon) year round. If your gallon of water is blue, it's too much. Can you post a close-up of the leaves?

I've not seen Chocolate Soldier in particular, but I have seen many gesneriads at the local Lowes and Home Depot over the past few years. Columnea 'Light Prince' and C. 'Orange Sherbet,' Aeschynanthus micranthus, A. longicaulis, and A. gracilis, Nematanthus 'Black Gold,' and Alsobia dianthiflora have all shown up relatively recently. I've seen others at small garden centers as well including other Aeschynanthus hybrids and Sinningia speciosa hybrids.