Thinking that I should try something more difficult to grow hydroponically; I cast around the seed catalogs looking for a candidate. In an obscure seed catalog, I came across calceolaria seeds, and I thought: this would be perfect.
When we were first married we purchased a calceolaria plant from a florist, and it was dead within a very short time. Now, I find that that is what calceolaria do! They are only intended to be enjoyed while flowering, and then discarded. I have not seen one of these plants in decades, however, the unusual shaped flowers make it worth trying. The flowers are shaped like little pocket books.
Calceolarias thrive best in a cool atmosphere with plenty of ventilation, so I thought that my grow chamber, during the winter, would provide ideal conditions.
Although the plant in the photo above does not look like much, it represents about three months of coddling to get it to this stage. The seeds for this plant are the smallest seeds I have ever attempted. One sneeze, and the ballgame would be over, before it even began!
That said, I guess I should be thankful to have even gotten this far.
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