Neofinetia falcata - or not!

[WaterWitchin]

I've never grown a Neo until quite recently... was gifted a start by a friend. The prices are beyond my reach for the most part. That Tosashinko... Wow. I'm in love. It is absolutely exquisite.

Okay, off topic for a moment, but still semi-relevant...All this discussion about the difference between the sought after characteristics of the Japanese grower vs. the western grower reminds me of koi. I sold a ton of them at the store prior to retirement. I never knew much about koi, other than they were a necessary part of the retail water garden business.

I had a list of folks who always wanted to be called whenever a new shipment came in. On that list were a couple of Japanese guys from a large city nearby. The others on the list were just steady customers looking for something new and pretty. I always called the two Japanese guys first, just handed them the nets, and stood back to listen.

They were looking for something completely different than the western eye. And really knew their koi lingo. It was fascinating to listen to them banter. Especially about the butterfly vs. traditional koi we always brought in. What a delight it was to have them in my store.