On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:07:30 +0100, "Ildhund"
wrote:

Sacha wrote...
Steve Wolstenholme wrote:

I don't know what it is but there's one of them in our kitchen.
It's
the only survivor from a basket arrangement present given to my
wife
about ten years ago. It still has a label that says "Rainbow".
That
may have been the name of the whole lot rather than just this
plant.
It is now about three foot high and has grown many stalks. The
stalks
are woody. It has never flowered.


Bingo. Dracaena marginata aka Rainbow tree.

Bless you! Thank you all so much. I was foxed by the lack of
woodiness - her stalk is still a firm, fleshy purple because she's
still so young. I suppose I should consider myself privileged to
have her flowering, then, even if the spectacle is a trifle
underwhelming.

Perhaps that's a difference. The fleshy bits became woody as they
grew. I don't understand the flowers. I can't imagine how any plant
can only flower when young - what would be the point in growing?

Steve

--
Steve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software Ltd

EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks.

http://www.easynn.com

On 28/8/07 14:07, in article ,
"Ildhund" wrote:

Sacha wrote...
Steve Wolstenholme wrote:

I don't know what it is but there's one of them in our kitchen.
It's
the only survivor from a basket arrangement present given to my
wife
about ten years ago. It still has a label that says "Rainbow".
That
may have been the name of the whole lot rather than just this
plant.
It is now about three foot high and has grown many stalks. The
stalks
are woody. It has never flowered.


Bingo. Dracaena marginata aka Rainbow tree.

Bless you! Thank you all so much. I was foxed by the lack of
woodiness - her stalk is still a firm, fleshy purple because she's
still so young. I suppose I should consider myself privileged to
have her flowering, then, even if the spectacle is a trifle
underwhelming.

Glad it worked - it was a leap of memory on my part, I must admit because,
as I say, I'm not greatly into such plants.


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

In article ,
says...
Sacha wrote...
Steve Wolstenholme wrote:

I don't know what it is but there's one of them in our kitchen.
It's
the only survivor from a basket arrangement present given to my
wife
about ten years ago. It still has a label that says "Rainbow".
That
may have been the name of the whole lot rather than just this
plant.
It is now about three foot high and has grown many stalks. The
stalks
are woody. It has never flowered.


Bingo. Dracaena marginata aka Rainbow tree.

Bless you! Thank you all so much. I was foxed by the lack of
woodiness - her stalk is still a firm, fleshy purple because she's
still so young. I suppose I should consider myself privileged to
have her flowering, then, even if the spectacle is a trifle
underwhelming.


I would suggest Tradescantia spathacea if it is not woody and has little
flowers in 'nests' Google for a picture and see what you think.

Gill M
--

addy gill[at]pcservicesreading[dot]co[dot]uk

Gill Matthews wrote...

I would suggest Tradescantia spathacea if it is not woody and has
little
flowers in 'nests' Google for a picture and see what you think.


Well, that settles it. I remarked to an acquaintance yesterday that
the flowers looked like Moses baskets, but decided on nests because
there wasn't just one inhabitant. The picture at
http://tinyurl.com/ynqhsf
convinced me.

Thank you so much. Sacha takes the silver, though!

--
Noel

"Gill Matthews" Try the wrote in message
T...
In article ,
says...
Sacha wrote...
Steve Wolstenholme wrote:

I don't know what it is but there's one of them in our kitchen.
It's
the only survivor from a basket arrangement present given to my
wife
about ten years ago. It still has a label that says "Rainbow".
That
may have been the name of the whole lot rather than just this
plant.
It is now about three foot high and has grown many stalks. The
stalks
are woody. It has never flowered.


Bingo. Dracaena marginata aka Rainbow tree.

Bless you! Thank you all so much. I was foxed by the lack of
woodiness - her stalk is still a firm, fleshy purple because she's
still so young. I suppose I should consider myself privileged to
have her flowering, then, even if the spectacle is a trifle
underwhelming.


I would suggest Tradescantia spathacea if it is not woody and has little
flowers in 'nests' Google for a picture and see what you think.


I'd agree with that, it's also known as Rhoeo spathacea and there is also a
Rhoeo discolor.

someone

"Ildhund" wrote in message
...
A carrier bag of assorted and unidentified cuttings I got from a friend
last Autumn included a tiny (1") two-leaf job, which I've done my best to
mollycoddle and nurture. It has grown into this:
http://tinyurl.com/3bt6vu
Can anyone please tell me what it is, where it originates from and how I
should be looking after it? It started "flowering" a few weeks ago and has
so far produced three little "nests". Every few days, a tiny white
"fledgling" peeps out for a few hours and then retreats again, so far as I
can see to wither away. Is that it?
Thanks,
Noel

Looks like one of the tradescantia's to me. But I'm not sure which one....

Are the leaves 'fleshy' or 'hard'?

Take a look at these:
http://www.nybg.org/bsci/belize/Trad..._spathacea.jpg
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=12771&rendTypeId=4
http://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/..._spathacea.htm

Jenny

http://tinyurl.com/3bt6vu

Having studied myriads of pictures, I remain convinced that it's a
Tradescantia spathacea (with a multitude of delightful 'common
names'). Thanks to everyone for your insight and comments.
--
Noel

On Aug 30, 12:14 pm, "Ildhund" wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/3bt6vu

Having studied myriads of pictures, I remain convinced that it's a
Tradescantia spathacea (with a multitude of delightful 'common
names'). Thanks to everyone for your insight and comments.

There's no doubt that it is Tradescantia spathacea formerly known as
Rhoeo discolor. To cover the 'Rainbow' bit, there was a variegated
form with longitudinal yellow stripes on the upper leaf surfaces,
correctly called 'variegata', but sometimes dubbed 'Rainbow'. Many
moons ago, it was very widely available as a pot plant, but lost
favour due to its tendency to rot if kept too cold and wet.

On 30/8/07 19:12, in article
, "Dave Poole"
wrote:

On Aug 30, 12:14 pm, "Ildhund" wrote:
http://tinyurl.com/3bt6vu

Having studied myriads of pictures, I remain convinced that it's a
Tradescantia spathacea (with a multitude of delightful 'common
names'). Thanks to everyone for your insight and comments.

There's no doubt that it is Tradescantia spathacea formerly known as
Rhoeo discolor. To cover the 'Rainbow' bit, there was a variegated
form with longitudinal yellow stripes on the upper leaf surfaces,
correctly called 'variegata', but sometimes dubbed 'Rainbow'. Many
moons ago, it was very widely available as a pot plant, but lost
favour due to its tendency to rot if kept too cold and wet.

Damn. I still only get the silver. ;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'