I Love the Whole World... I Love Gesneriads! Annual Gesneriad Flower Show at Sherway Gardens March 27, 2009

The Toronto Gesneriad Society celebrates their 32nd anniversary with I Love The Whole World…I Love Gesneriads, their annual gesneriad flower show, at Sherway Gardens (Hwy 427 and the QEW) on Saturday, March 28 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Sunday, March 29 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm in Sherway Square. The FREE show offers the public an opportunity to see many rare and unusual plants and learn some growing tips from the experts. Call 416-621-1070 for more information or visit www.sherwaygardens.ca or www.torontogesneriadsociety.org.

“I Love The Whole World…I Love Gesneriads, is the annual judged show of the Toronto Gesneriad Society,” states Beverley Williams, Entries Chairman, Toronto Gesneriad Society. “Toronto Gesneriad Society members will be at the show to help new growers and answer any questions they may have about growing gesneriads. It is a great opportunity to purchase some plants that have been propagated and grown by members.”

Some rare and exotic gesneriads, seldom seen in florist shops or garden centres, and only available from other growers and gesneriad societies, will be on display in Sherway Square.

The Gesneriad family of plants – pronounced either "jez-NARE-ee ad" or "guess-NARE-ee-ad" is named for Swiss botanist Konrad Gesner. Native to the tropics and sub-tropics, these are "miracle houseplants" with many that thrive in home growing conditions. While the name "gesneriad" may not be familiar, many of the most popular houseplants are in fact gesneriads. There is a wide variety of plant sizes, shapes, flowers and colours.

Gesneriads provide blooming plants throughout the year and vary in size from that of the miniature Sinningia pusilla, the blossom of which is seldom larger than a shirt button, to that of the trailing Columnea, which if left to grow unchecked, could reach a length of 5 meters. Most of them are of a manageable size and are known to the home grower as African Violet (Saintpaulia), Florist Gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa), Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus), Goldfish Plant (Nematanthus), Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus) and Flame Violet (Episcia).

“It is always best to first determine how the plant is to be grown, whether as a hanging basket, a potted plant, or as a terrarium or dish garden subject; then select a gesneriad which is suited for the particular effect,” adds Beverley Williams.

I Love The Whole World…I Love Gesneriads features four divisions:
• The Horticultural Division features individual plants in flower, or grown for foliage.
• The Artistic Division showcases arrangements of cut plant materials, growing plants, terrariums, and other artistic plantings.
• The Art Division features art, crafts, and photography featuring Gesneriads.
• The Educational Division includes information about Gesneriads.

Growers select their show entries based on what they have been growing this year and what is blooming at showtime.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT GESNERIAD FOR YOU

The gesneriad family is extremely wide and varied with plants coming from many regions of the world.

For those who live in warm apartments, there are some gesneriads that thrive in that environment. Try growing African Violets, these popular houseplants are part of the gesneriad family and will tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Looking for something different? Columnea, Aeschynanthus (Lipstick Plant), or Nematanthus (Goldfish Plant), are all trailing plants that would look magnificent hanging in a window. They have bright yellow, orange or red flowers and bloom all year round. Originally from South America, these plants enjoy being warmer.

Even though most gesneriads are very adaptable and are well suited to warm heated homes, some actually come from cooler areas of the world. Alpine gesneriads for example, are very adaptable to cooler homes. A cool, windowsill is an ideal place to grow Streptocarpus, Chitias or Petrocosmea, and other cooler growing gesneriads. Streptocarpus commonly called ‘Cape Primrose’ and native to Africa can even be grown outside in your garden and are sometimes available in your local garden centre. They have very showy blooms, which come in a wide range of colours and patterns, and are held high on long stems over lush green foliage. Chiritas from China, on the other hand tend to have more fleshy foliage, which is sometimes marked with patterns and lavender, blue, pink or yellow flowers.

Don’t forget to feed gesneriads with a balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 or 15-30-15 every time you water. Make sure to dilute it to avoid burning the roots, as most fertilizers recommendations are too strong for gesneriads.

The annual Toronto Gesneriad Show, is the largest gesneriad show in Canada and the second largest in the world (second only to the International Show of The Gesneriad Society). Plants and other exhibits are entered by the society's members from across Canada and the U.S. The show's reputation for the variety and quality of its exhibits regularly attracts visitors from across Canada, the U.S., and overseas. Visit www.torontogesneriadsociety.org.

The Toronto Gesneriad Society, now in its 32nd year, is an affiliate of The Gesneriad Society. It has an international membership, with about two-thirds of its members from Toronto and the GTA and others from across Canada and New York State. Members from the Toronto Gesneriad Society will be attending the annual Gesneriad Society convention on June 30th to July 4th, 2009 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Official Website: http://www.sherwaygardens.ca