My neo collection

[jeremiah.chua]

Originally Posted by syspila

Got it...can the plant flip back as it gets older and builds more chlorophyl?

No, it shouldn't revert back as it ages. And to answer your question/concern about the lack of chlorophyl, that's actually the main thing that kills 'Manazuru'. It was advised to me, by Satomi, that I should avoid separating it from the cluster. Apparently, the main problem growers in Japan have with this mutation is that it quickly goes on a decline when it doesn't have a "host" plant. 'Manazuru' itself does not produce a lot of food, due to the obvious lack of chlorophyl. With that being said, it needs a host to feed it. Regular 'Nishidemiyako' plays the role of that host. I don't plan on EVER splitting this cluster up and am quite happy that there are two 'Nishidemiyako' plants and one 'Manazuru' on this certain individual cluster. I think a good ratio is 2 hosts for one "parasite", don't you think?
Aesthetically, I think it is more beautiful when you have that one bright yellow oddball next to the beautiful dark green coloring. It kind of makes it glow more, in my eyes. So in the end, for me, it's a win-win situation.

Also, the plant behind/next to it, is my 'Gojo-fukurin'. I tried taking pics of it earlier today, when I was snapping shots of my 'Nishi/Mana' but it didn't come out very good and I was limited on time to even bother. I can attempt to snap some pics of it, if you'd like. It has growna tad since I received it a few months ago. It bloomed beautifully as well. It's another one of my prized Fukurin-type neos. Much larger, compared to my Nishidemiyako/Manazuru plant.

---------- Post added at 06:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:48 PM ----------

Originally Posted by LinhT

Wonderful shape, symmetry and variegation on this plant, Jeremiah! You should take this one to the next Fuukiran Judging event.

Aw wow, thanks Tracy! It means a lot to hear that from you!

I would love to take it to a show but it feels so wrong since I bought it like this. The only thing that has changed about it is probably more leaf growth. Hard to take credit for anything else, haha. I'm gonna see if I can make it to any of these judging events. It'd be awesome to attend one.

[syspila]

Jeremia,Regarding the chlorophyl issue, I wondered how the plant would survive. You hate to use the term, "parasite" but it is...being new to this, I did not realize this is very common on these. Nevertheless your plant in this form looks so good! I agree in that I would not divide it ever! I also agree with Tracy, with the way you have your plants sculpted and their husbandry I think you should enter it! It may have come to you as it is but through your ability you have made it show quality...no one else had forethought and entered it. My 2 cents.--Ted

[rangiku]

jeremiah, listen to Tracy and sys: bring it to the next Fukiran judging.

[jeremiah.chua]

Hahaha, alright alright, I'll try if time allows
I'll probably start looking for a nice pot that compliments it better. While I really like the pot's design, I'm a little hesitant to say that it really compliments the colors on this plant. But eh, a judging contest won't happen any time soon. I've got time to spare

Thanks everyone!

[Red Orchid]

I concur you have grown a beautiful Neo it is a winner.

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by jeremiah.chua

Woke up today and was like, I should share some pics of my neo collection. From one addict to another, here's my windowsill collection of neos. (Obviously my windowsill is not big enough. Need... more... room...

Excuse the bad lighting. My neos receive morning sun and this shot was taken not too long ago, while the sun was still shining on them from the outside. So... poor lighting for camera work.



Attachment 80718
Whole windowsill

Attachment 80719
(From right to left)
Furan, Houmeiden, Manjushage, Hisui, Kuro Shinju, Ryokuhou

Attachment 80720
(From right to left)
Aojiku-Yorodoishi, Hougyoku, Benikanzashi, Senzai, Seikai

Attachment 80721
(From right to left)
Raikoumaru, Kara-nishiki, Kogane-nishiki, Takara-nishiki, Shutennou

Attachment 80722
(From right to left)
Gojo-fukurin, Benisuzume, Shirai-to-nishiki, Amami-furan

Attachment 80723
(From right to left)
Same Amami-furan, Suikaden, Benisuzume (another), Shutennou (another), Neostylis Lou Sneary 'Blue Bird'


For a closer view on each individual plant, check out my flickr set. Click Here

Just read this this morning. Oohhhh, you've got it bad. I think you'll have to get a second job.

Nice collection. It'll look and smell awesome when they bloom.

Cheers.
Jim

[jeremiah.chua]

Yeah, it's pretty bad. My collection grew rapidly within a few months.
Blooming season has passed for me, it occurred early through mid summer. I miss their flowers A little disappointed they don't last for very long. From bloom till death, the flowers only run for about 3 weeks for me. But realistically, it's only about 7 days that they look picture perfect with the entire spike in full bloom and are NOT showing a decline (yet).

I still see some small buds forming that I strongly believe will turn into spikes, but I don't know if anything will happen with those till next year. Fall is approaching, dormancy looms near...

[jeremiah.chua]

Been meaning to do a post about this topic for a while now but never had the free time to really write down everything I wanted to go over till now, so... here it goes.

Topic: Leaf spotting, "Sun damaged" and/or seen as purple/black pigmentation that derive from direct sunlight exposure

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but when you leave certain Neofinetias out in direct sunlight, they start developing purple/black pigmentation on their leaves. Not ALL Neofinetias seem to have this ability, only a select few in my experience. Variegated leaf Neos and most bean-leaf types don't seem to get this problem. However, some striped neos certainly do and colored flower types do as well. Probably a few others do too and I just haven't seen it yet. Of course, I do not believe my statements are 100% accurate, but I am speaking from my own personal experience. Hopefully others can chime in on their own experiences as well.

Anyway, backstory time: Check out this Neofinetia.
I received this Neofinetia 'Shirai-to-nishiki' on 4-17-13. It had sun damage, a leaf was practically burnt and other leaves had heavy black/purple pigmentation. It was NOT attractive to me. This type is supposed to get the "Purple" pigmentation when exposed to strong light, but I think it was exposed a little too much!
Picture of the BEFORE:

It was obvious that it did not need anymore sunlight to me. So I kept it away from direct afternoon light and only gave morning sun to reduce intensity. Check it out now 7-30-13:


Notice the improvement in color. The severely burnt leaf on the left fell off a month ago. A severely burnt leaf at the very bottom right (seen in the first pic) also fell off. Those were obvious goners as the entire leaf almost turned black. However, take a look at the very bottom leaf on the left side. Look at the first photo, now look at the AFTER photo.
Also, take note on the leaf behind the first plant you see in the center. There's actually a second plant there too. In the first photo, you see it has the purple/black spotting. In the second picture, it no longer has it. Huge difference in color!
I actually prefer it looking like the one in the second pic, over the first pic. I'm not sure if the purple pigmentation this variant is supposed to have refers to those black spotting or not. I am pretty sure it's supposed to be a cleaner magenta/purple coloration. So in my point of view, this plant recovered, in a sense, from overdosing of sun exposure. What do you folks think/prefer? First pic or second?

Furthermore, while I don't have photographic evidence, I had other plants that experienced this overexposure to the sun spotting. I had a Shutennou leaf that had gone almost completely black on the underside of the leaf. But ever since I removed it from direct sunlight, it has reverted back to green. A Raikoumaru leaf that was pitch black, is now green again (slightly yellow tint, very very subtle though).

Conclusion? If you find your plants getting the purple/black spotting and don't like it? Get it out of the sun! It CAN heal. I know other folks have asked about these sun spots before and asked if it was permanent or not. I hope this post helps others out because the answer is NO, it is NOT permanent. It can go away if you take it out of direct sun exposure.

Have a great day y'all!

[rangiku]

Wow, the transformation is amazing. Thanks for posting this, jeremiah.

[Red Orchid]

Originally Posted by rangiku

Wow, the transformation is amazing. Thanks for posting this, jeremiah.

Yes truly amazing....great info Jeremiah.