Gentiana 2.0

Almost exactly a year ago, I went on a hike with my friend Justin up a mountain called Gambo Mtn. Near the top, I saw some really pretty blue flowers that seemed hearty (growing at 17,000 feet) as well as cute (yeah, I said it), so I decided to dig them up to try and transplant them in our dorm room.

The saga of trying to grow the transplanted flowers, called "Gentiana Phyllocalyx," didn't exactly turn out in my favor, though I did manage to keep some dirt watered for the better part of a year. The flowers never bloomed again after I dug them up, so I'm guessing round 1 was a bust.

Update #1

Update #2

Not one to readily admit defeat (I'm going to go with a "Death Before Dishonor" motto for this project), I have been looking to redeem myself - and what do you know, hiking Chongmu Mountain offered me a second chance!

While hiking up on Chongmu, up at roughly the same altitude as I had been on Gambo Mtn, I started seeing the same beautiful blue flowers. "This is my chance," I thought. So I pulled out the aluminum foil from my recently eaten sandwich and cut out two Gentiana flowers and their root clods and brought them back with me.

Gentiana Phyllocalyx in its natural environment, right before I dug it up.

Based on my track record, this might be the last time you see these little guys alive...

Let the transplantation begin...

My two beauties.

Close-up.

Cleaning out the cans I had been using as planters, I decided to put both flowers in the same can (an "all my eggs in one basket" type situation) and focus all my efforts on keeping that can full of flowers alive.

The previous tenants of my growing cans: nothing and weeds.

Like my cans? Cleaned out and ready to go.

The old "2-in-1"

Please don't die, little guys... We could be friends?