My first Neo, 'Amami Island' !

[Chiru]

Hey there.

So I just received my first Neofinetia Falcata today, of the 'Amami Island' variety(?). Poor girl came in pretty iffy shape with dead roots and about 4 missing leaves from the original ebay listing. (Not too thrilled about that, won't be buying from that guy again)

Oh well. You win some you lose some. Now to pot her up.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

After cleaning her up a bit, she looks quite cute now. I was shocked by the size of this plant. They're even smaller than I expected! I didn't have a pot small enough for her so I'm using a teacup I got from a wedding tote. (LOL) Some proper pots will arrive on Saturday. Figured I'd also have a go at the kokedama potting style because why not and so far so good! I'm pleased with how it turned out. I even used the bottle trick to form it.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
And what's this? Is this what I think it is? Yes. I believe this is a spike! Hopefully she's not too shocked from the journey over here and the repotting to grace me with her flowers.


Here's to hope.

[TamiP]

That's wonderful! Fingers crossed for some blooms!

[Shoreguy]

Chiru,

Congrats.

NOTE: Some people are going to encourage you to cut off the developing spike claiming that it will drain resources from a weak plant.

Do not listen to them. If you clip it off, the plant will spend additional energy in trying to or suceeeding in growing another one. Let the plant abort it if it wants to.

Also, if things don't work out with this first neofinetia, don't let that discourage you from trying again. You will have many failures along the way but the sucessses make it all worth it.

[WaterWitchin]

That's a way cute plant!

[Shoreguy]

Chiru,

Just looked at the second picture. What you see may be a new growth emerging. Initially new growths and spikes are hard to differentiate. In any event, leave it alone, the plant knows better than any of us what is better for it.

Finally the plant appears good sized. I suspect that your idea of size of Neofinetias is way larger than typical.

Regular neos, not bean leaf neos, generally have leaf spreads of mature plants of 2 to 4 or 5 inches with Amami varieties on the high side.

[Chiru]

Originally Posted by Shoreguy

Chiru,

Just looked at the second picture. What you see may be a new growth emerging. Initially new growths and spikes are hard to differentiate. In any event, leave it alone, the plant knows better than any of us what is better for it.

Finally the plant appears good sized. I suspect that your idea of size of Neofinetias is way larger than typical.

Regular neos, not bean leaf neos, generally have leaf spreads of mature plants of 2 to 4 or 5 inches with Amami varieties on the high side.

Wow! 2-4" total width? Or per side? That's amazing. I suppose I don't really have any idea of size, considering it's my first Neo. This one has a 7" full span. Hmm. I figured it would be a spike due to the plant already flowering a few times before I purchased it, but new growths are great too. I've read that in regards to Neofinetia's, new inflorescences grow from in between the leaf axis, while new growths pop up from the base. Am I mistaken?

Regardless, I'm happy it's growing something and will definitely leave it be and let it do its own thing.
Thanks for the follow up.

[Shoreguy]

Chiru,

Leaf spread refers to total span, not just one side.

Being an Amami Island variety with a 7 inch span is good sized and what one might expect from such as they are considered highly robust. Four inches or so are pretty typical for non Amami, non bean leaf neos. Bean leaf neos can be much smaller, below is my bean leaf Neo Bulihwan, under one inch leaf spread.

As far as locations for emerging flower spikes vs new growths, both occur near the bottom, with new growths lower but still generally between leaf axils, with flower spikes generally higher but not too high unless the plant has an abundance of leaves, is mature, and has bloomed many times before.

Only time will tell with yours.

Just one more thing and perhaps the most important comment of all, get it out of the tea cup into a proper plant container with drainage holes ASAP. That means now.

[Chiru]

Originally Posted by Shoreguy

Chiru,

Leaf spread refers to total span, not just one side.

Being an Amami Island variety with a 7 inch span is good sized and what one might expect from such as they are considered highly robust. Four inches or so are pretty typical for non Amami, non bean leaf neos. Bean leaf neos can be much smaller, below is my bean leaf Neo Bulihwan, under one inch leaf spread.

As far as locations for emerging flower spikes vs new growths, both occur near the bottom, with new growths lower but still generally between leaf axils, with flower spikes generally higher but not too high unless the plant has an abundance of leaves, is mature, and has bloomed many times before.

Only time will tell with yours.

Just one more thing and perhaps the most important comment of all, get it out of the tea cup into a proper plant container with drainage holes ASAP. That means now.

Thanks for the heads up. As mentioned in the original post, I didnt have a suitable pot for it, and that it would arrive saturday(today) I've already stuck it in the new pot. . It looks great!

[Shoreguy]

If the new “activity” had four leaves below it before the bottom 2 leaves dropped, that would indicate that it is a developing flower spike and not a new growth.

Does the picture of the plant from the seller show the “activity”?

If it had 2 leaves below it when it developed, it most likely is a flower spike.