I haven't seen Toni here in a while, but she's been at Houseplants a fair amount.

I'm definitely a fan of Witch Doctor. It's never boring.

Funny you should say that you used to dismiss AVs as too ordinary. I used to think they were pretty boring too, until one January day where I said, "To heck with it! I want something blooming now" and saw this really pretty rose pink bloomed AV. It was not what I had in mind as an African violet, with a ruffled star shape and deep pink color, instead of purple and pansy shaped. A label on it said I could find its name at Optimara, and a few searches later, after seeing all the different kinds of AVs out there, I was hooked, and it all went downhill from there : )

I tend to do everything all the way, when it comes to my hobbies, of course that is only fair, since we are typically talking about living things. I am going to my first African Violet club meeting tomorrow, a mere 5 days after recieving my first violets..lol
I have been reading about growing for show and I think I might considering focusing on a handful or my favorites for showing in the future. I mostly like dark, quilted leaves, with scalloped margins, and plants with deeper colored and gaudy blooms. I enjoy star shapes and doubles, as well as genevas and two toned, and even the occasional fantasy. Some of the more 'contained' varigated varieties are really setting my hoarding heart to flutter.
I am very glad I gave African violets a second look....I mean what more could one ask for? They look nice, require fairly minimal and easily met growing methods, they are nearly always in best form and don't go dormant, leaving you waiting, and they are easy to propogate....best thing though.....they are cheap! You are reading messages from a guy who once dropped $4.5k on a very rare and coveted pair of chameleons, so a $6.50 African violet must have a whole lot going for it to make me interested..lol

I have some questions about what is appropriate for my first meeting.

It will be at someone's home and I assume they will have thier collection of violets there.
I wanted to bring my few plants along and get some comments on a few things I've noted and also to see if I am getting the picture when it comes to symetry for showing the plants in competitions. I am also hoping to share some leaves.
My concern is that these violets are very new and have not been quarentinted or even looked at by someone familiar with common maladys, though they don't appear to have any visible bug problems or disease.
Would be risking the health of the club member's plants by bringing my plants inside her home?
I don't have the information to contact her and ask. I think I may bring them and leave them in the car, since the temps are mild and I have tinted windows, so I don't have to worry about them overheating or freezeing.
I am sure I will find good advice here.

I figured I could also give a run down of how I plan to keep my violets growing and blooming, while I am here and see what everyone has to say.

I am going to use square, plastic, 4'' and 5'' pots for my standards and use the Texas watering method as described on the AVSA site. I plan to use a soiless mix comprised of 1 part peat, 1 part vermiculite, 2 parts perlite(depends on particle size of perlite...larger particles, means less percentage in total mix, so it may be closer to 1 part), with the addition of some dolomite lime and superphosphate, according to PH of the peat. I plan to tray water from below and flush pots of build up every month or so. I will be using a balanced, urea free fertilizer, with trace elements, and every 4th watering use a bloom booster( this may vary for show plants). I will be growing on wire racks with 48'' shoplights and using T12, 40watt fixtures, with Verilux tubes (full spectrum). Lights will be 10''-12'' above the plants and be operable for approx. 12-15 hours daily. I hope to maintaiin humidity at about 50% with the watering trays and an ultrasonic humdifier, if needed, and my growing area has stable temps with a night drop of about 8F. Temps stay between 68F and 76F. I also have ceiling fans to increase air movement, if needed.
I plan to quarentine new plants and use a premptive soak in Nolvosan (chlorohexadine) diluted to about 1 tsp per gallon of water, for 10 mins, on all new plants. Nolvosan is a disenfectant use in the vetrinary and medical field, that is also used for soaking and cleaning wounds and I have experience using it on plants to treat scale and spider mites. It is broad spectrum and kills mostly any fungi, bacteria, viruses, or bugs. I can't gaurentee it's safe use with African violets, but I will be trying it as my preventative regime to start. I would expect it will work fine and kill any cyclamen mites or soil mealies, but dilution rate and soak times may vary to gaurentee effectiveness and plant saftey. I also believe that Nolvosan can be used to soak the soil of infected plants and then rinsed well to kill mealies, with limited harm to the plants. I would be willing to soak any plant with mites, mealies, fungus, or any other external pathogen and expect good results, though repeat treatments may be needed for fungal and heavy infestations. Bloom damage to existing blooms and minor root damage should be expected, but I would disbud any plant getting treated anyway and the roots should recover and no signifigant set-backs to the plant noted. I will have to try soaking some plants of different ages and repost in regards to gaurenteeing safety with African violtes, but Nolvosan has worked on anthuriums, orchids, cirtus, philodendron, and some carnivores =, with no ill affect and eliminated the scale and powdery mildew.
That is pretty much my basic approach to growing them and I welcome feedback.

Put in front of a computer, when I can't sleep and look what happens....I wrote a book...lol

Welcome to the forum! After reading your book (lol) I can see you are well on your way to some good culture habits.

I'm so glad you are attending a meeting of an AV club. You'll meet the nicest people who just love sharing their knowledge with others. As far as taking your plants, I think I would keep them in the car as long as you can do it safely, and sort of feel out the situation. Not only do you consider bringing something in, you can also take something out! Maybe a photo of the plant in question would do.... Anyway, see how your hostess feels about it, and wheter or not they can view your plants in an isolated area.

We'll be curious to see how the Nolvosan works. Keep us posted.

Barbara

Andrew -

there is no money in violets, just for you to know. NONE.

It is a lot of fun though and you will have lots of babies to share and there always plants you need to give away - may be they sported and do not match the description or you have more than one of the same variety - so you will definitely have enough for all your friends and relatives, may be not for all patients, just for ones you like most.

There are always noname violets in King Soopers for $2.83 - that's why there is no money there for you. Cannot beat these prices.

Since you like the variety and challenge - you will progress from AVs to all gesneriads eventually - so - enjoy the ride!

Good luck

Irina

Andrew,
Welcome to the world of AV's. It's been my addiction since 1982. The one thing I always tell a new grower is that the best way to avoid disease is to ISOLATE any new plant or plants that you bring in to your environment for a minimum of a month. Preferably 3 months. As Irina said, "there is no money in African Violets" but there is lots of joy in growing and sharing with other violet growers. I have one correction to make on your list of plants. It's Wrangler's Gaudy Lady not Grangers.
This leads me to telling you something about AVSA. Hopefully, if you haven't already, will join the national society. It's well worth the yearly membership fee. The magazine alone which is published 6 times a year is worth the cost. I would also stress that if you really want something that is helpful and informative that you purchase First Class 2 which is the master variety list on disk. It is updated every two months by Joe Bruns who wrote the program for a nominal fee. If you want a good book to use I would recommend "Growing to Show" by Pauline Bartholomew. It has a lot of good info for experienced and challenged growers. It also is available from AVSA.
I agree with you that Lyons Spectacular is true to it's name. Those 3" blooms are really something else. Over time you will as many of us here have done, find a favorite hybridizer. I myself can't get enough of Maas' hybrids and Ness'. It's a shame that both these two hybridizers have gone now and there are many of us that try to keep their legacy alive. Hopefully you will find someone who meets your requirements and you will become addicted to their hybrids.
I hope you enjoy the forum and will keep posting. If you have any questions I am sure there will be someone here that can clue you in and solve the problem.
Fred in NJ

Irina and Fred, there IS money in African violets. I know, I put it there!! lol

Barbara

Barbara wrote: "Irina and Fred, there IS money in African violets. I know, I put it there!! lol
Barbara"

Let me go get a towel to clean off my computer screen from spewing my coffee everywhere.....LOLOL
Dora

To Fred:
I knew that...lol in regards to it being Wrangler's and not Grangers...I crossed them while looking at pic on AVSA.org.

Barb: You are quite right about having put money into violets, as I feel the same way about my reptile keeping days.

To everyone: I had a wonderful time at my first African Violet Club meeting. They are gearing up for a show and sale and I will be learning so much. I of course got to see a gorgouse collection, that included Streptocarpus and Episcea. I am already finding it extremely hard to limit myself to just violets and only 50-60 violets at that. I only have a tiny growing space and I am not a fan of most minis, so I have to choose carfully, what plants I aquire.
I enjoy this forum very much and i haved learned so much through lurking here and follwing the links...as you can tell by my book, I have taken it to heart and mad some decisions to grow and grow well. I hope to have some nice pictures to post soon, when I get my new plants growing and with some blooms.

I have all of my bulbs, pots, plant shelf, soil ingredients, wicking material, and so on for my new love of violets. I need some trays for resvoirs and some more vermiculite and then I'll be really cooking!
I repotted everyone today in my new mix and soaked every plant in my Nolvosan solution as a preventative, in case they were carrying anything from before. I tested it on one plant first and then found it was afe and used it on the rest. It couldn't have caused much root burn, since the plants all sucked up the water from the saucers they are in and the soil was not dry after repotting, so it must have been root action that absorbed it. I am glad to find that the product works as I expected and every violet that comes into my house will be getting a repotting, debudding, and a preliminary soak in Nolvosan solution for 10 mins to stave off any mite or mealy problems....I just live in fear of having a beautiful collection become infested and being reduced to an empty shelf *shudders*.
Anyone interested can buy a gallon from kingsnake.com under the bedding and supplies category under reptile classifieds. It's about $60.00 a gallon, but this stuff goes a long way, you only use enough to tint the water a slight blue tint and that's a few teaspoons a sink full of water. It is less caustic for soaking pots in, instead of bleach, and is safer on your skin. It is still a chemical and should be treated as such, but I think its versatility makes it a must have for horticultural and pet care purposes.
I thought myself a strict violet enthusiast, when it came to my light shelf, aside from a few steps, but now that I have seen the dense and downright cuddly rosettes of the petrocosmeas, I just have to have some of them as well...lol I will get back here after the show in May and let everyone know what goodies I have added to my collection and how my repotted ones are growing along. I also have well over a dozen leaves set of several of my violets mentioned and one no id I found growing in the lounge at work that was just irresistable....spade shaped,serrated,quiloted,fuzzy,dark leaves and dark wine colored blossoms with white upper petals in a pansy type bloom....gorgouse!
Hope everyone is well.

Andrew -

Novolsan - Chlorhexidine -is a desinfectant they use in dental rinse - antifungal and antibacterial. You can get it cheaper under the generic name.

I doubt it works against insects, mites and viruses. Even after disbudding the thrips eggs and larvae can be inside the leaves.

Nothing works against virus period. The stuff serious growers use to fight mites cost about $500 a half-pint. Since your collection is in dozens, not in thousands - it is so much cheaper to isolate your new purchase for 3 months - just keep them in another room - kitchen window - and trash the infected plants - if they are not growing and looking healthy - trash bin is much cheaper than anything else.

Believe me- all of us went through it. Even after you dunk your plants in dental wash - there is a good chance some passengers are still there.

Irina

I have some rotten news. I think I may lose most of my first violets. I think the last several days of being cool and hazy(I am not able to set-up my light stand yet), after reotting has not allowed the plants to adjust well to being repotted. The bone meal in the soil mix seems to have gone sour, as the soil already has turned a color indicative of aged and deteriorated conditions and it has an odor. I am waiting for some sunny days to come and warm them up a bit and see if they perk up. I have since added more peat, vermiculite, perlite, and some charcol to my mix to disperse the bone meal into smaller amounts.
I also wonder if it is delayed effects of using the Nolvosan. I used Nolvosan to treat scale, aphids, mealies, and nemotodes on orchids,anthuriums, other tropicals and some robust carnivorous plants, but maybe it is not safe for violtes after all.I will try it again of some rooted plantlets and allow a month after soaking to confirm it is either safe or unsafe.

I am not overly disappointed, b/c I have leaves down from everything and they aren't a total loss yet, just letting them off the wicks and hoping for sun....sun and warmth cure a lot of ails.
I am going to the show/sale this weekend and moving into my own place, where I can set up my light stand in a couple of weeks, so I will add some more goodies and repot one at a time to be sure my mix isn't causing any more trouble. I also have some petrocosmeas coming in the mail, which I understand can be a challenge, but I think I have ideal conditions for them in the form of an unheated basement that stays in the low 50sF in winter and the 70sF in the dog days of summer. I also understand they resent frequent repotting and like additional lime in thier mix. I hope to be more successful with my violets and have good luck with the pets.

I'll be back after the show!!!

The show had some spectacular violets and a chirita sininsis I thought was just stunning. I also toured a small, but very unique orchid nursey and had a reasonably good time. I only bought a few plants at the show and they were just streps, one of which isn't released yet, but one of the club members dates a grower or so I understand. I did get my box of 8 petrocosmeas and they are soooo darned cute...just want to cuddle them, but I resist the urge.

I have so far lost private dancer to either sour soil mix or my Nolvosan soak. I potted some new violets in the old mix after diluting it with more peat and perlite, but the bone meal still has turned the mix sour. I think the sunless and cool days have made it difficult for the violets to recover from repotting, but I am holding out hope that they will recover and I will repot them in bone meal free mix as soon as my vermiculite gets here.

I have learned that soil mixes are better kept simple with just your perlite, vermiculite, and peat. Dolomite lime or charcoal is safe, but may not really needed for violets, depending on your situation.
Superphosphate and bone meal don't supply anything that can't be supplied via proper fertilzing and as I have learned, bone meal makes for a sour and smelly mix, when kept moist as for violets. I will no longer be using anything, but the perlite, vermiculite, peat, and lime for my violets and fertilizing via dilute liquid feeding through wicking. I enjoy creating mixes and playing with new ratios, ingredients, and ideas, but this did not work out very well and it was actually a recipe I found in several places on the web, so back to the drawing board as they say.
I still can't comment on the Nolvosan soak having caused harm to the plants vs the sour mix, because the unsoaked plants and soaked plants both responded poorly to the sour mixture and the soaked plants may have taken things harder, if they experienced root burn from the soak, but most are still hanging in there, although looking poor.I get my vermiculite today and will pot everyone up in a fresh mix and should be able to get them on the light stand this week.
I'm still researching the pets and streps, before moving forward with repotting, though there is not a surplus of suggestions for growing them. There is plenty of things to experiment with here, such as a winter rest, oyster shell to the pets media, varied watering methods and amounts for different seasons....I can't wait to get everyone on a light shelf, in my cool, humid basement...I think I will be far more successful.

After you are done experimenting, please post a picture of the wheel.lol

I would encourage you to pick up a copy of "Growing to Show' by Pauline Bartholomew. It really is the bible of AV growing, and has such comprehensive information in it.

Good luck.

Barbara

I think I led you to believe I was experimenting with soil mixes for the violets, but actually I was following a recipe found on the web, my experiment was with the Nolvosan. I did say I enjoy experimenting with mixes, but usually with orchids, carnivores, or things I have had long term experience with. As you indicated, I don't need to reinvent the wheel, when it comes to the violets...simple and tried and true is all I will be using from this point on.
BTW, I have that book on my list of things to get for my violets...I am keeping my open for it at a library or someone who has a copy to lend me.

Well it seems my poor little violets, that have lingered on death's door, are coming around...one even has tiny flowerbuds in the center of the crown! I won't allow any of them to flower, until they all have a nice set of healthy foliage and are potted in a fresher mix. I am relieved and I think repotting them, giving them a couple of weeks and then a light feed, will have them back up to snuff in no time. I am very happy my Lyon's 'Spectacular' made it through....it's blooms are out of this world!
I'll keep everyone posted and I did get my vermiculite, so it's repotting today for me.

Andrew -

I use bone meal/superphosphate in my mix plus worm castings. Miniscule amounts. Let's say a teaspoon per gallon. It doesn't stink.

There are 2 things that can be detrimental in my opinion. You mentioned cool days after you repotted. Cool days plus wet soil - bad. Cool days and barely moist soil - passable.

Second thing - too much TLC. Whatever you do - let the plants recuperate, rebuild root system - before you do something else. Repotting is a shock, dental wash dunking - is a shock, rerepotting will do them in.

Next time you are trying something new - try on 1 plant and use very small amounts of additives.

And - definitely - continue trying. Otherwise the wheel would never be invented, we would still be hiding in caves and eating raw rabbits.

Irina

Well, I agree with you Irina. I think my biggest mistake was to immerse the bottoms of the pots in water, after repotting, to moisten. This saturated the soil and then it was very cool and rainy here for several days and continues to be cool. After setting up my light shelf and wicking resevoir, I repotted everything in new, lighter mix and allowed the wick to moisten the soil this time. All of the roots on every plant, Nolvosan soak or not, were dead, due to the wet, cool soil, and since I had run out od vermiculite, the perlite was not enough to aerate it, it was just too dense and too wet. I am very sure all of them can survive, they all have nice, healthy stumps to reroot from. They are all in 2'' pots now, even the larger ones, since they have no root mass. With being in a lighter mix and having stable temps and lighting, they should look beautiful again within a couple of months, I am sure.

My questions are:
After reptotting, do you water the plant in or let the wick work to moisten the soil to barely damp?

This is what I have done this time, but if the wick isn't enough, I will know today and top water lightly.

Also, since all of my violets are now essentially suckers, with no roots, will they root just being potted in normal mix, kept barely moist and wicked?
I don't have any means of covering them all and keeping them well lit at the moment, but if getting them covered or bagged is really important to saving them, I will figure something out.

Thanks everyone.

Hi Andrew.

All I do after I repot is to prime the wick. I use a little plastic flexible dropper thing that I got with a nearly worthless PH kit. I might sqirt some water up into the perlite just to make sure. Within a couple of hour the mix is damp on top.

I'm fairly new to this, but I found that if I wicked wet soil it stayed wet.

Just thought I should throw in my two cents worth. This has been a fun thread.

Thom

I wicked them and they got very moist, so I removed the wicks from the water and covered them all with a plastic sterlite container. They all look very good and seem to be perking up. I hope to see them putting down root growth within the next 2 weeks or so. How long should I wait to fertilize after new growth starts?

Andrew -

I think you figured it out.

I actually do the same as you - after repotting I place the plants with dry wicks in a tray and add a bit of water to let them start. Not too much and not for long. I usually use my fertilized water - and then place them either under the domes- or in transparent sterlite container. You do not want to keep them in sterlite way too long because the light is not enough there. I would say in a couple of weeks you can take them out.

I do not think your violets will grow really well if your room temperature is under 68F. If you prefer it cooler - than Chiritas, Petrocosmeas, Columneas and Streptocarpus would thrive in your place. Try to find a warmer corner for your AVs.

Good luck

Irina

Thanks so much Irina, for you reply.

As far as temps go, I plan to to have 2 shelves eventually, one for cooler loving gesneriads, like pets and streps, and one warmer for the violets. I can achieve this by keeping the violets downstairs with the streps and pets to keep them cool during the hot summer, then moving them upstairs in winter, when the others are cooling down some. I am trying to eliminate using heaters and a/c for my hobby, as the lights are enough, with the cost of electric these days. I am glad I seem to be on the right track. I also remove the wicks from the water on pets and streps, until they are almost bone dry to prevent them being overwatered. I thing the violets would do well drying out some, even when they have established roots, just not as much as the pets and streps. I also have my eye on Chirita sinensis...ooo la la...but I must crawl, before I walk...that is why I have left repotting the pets for a nother day, when I have turned my violets around and gotten a better feel.

I am sad to have set the violets back and lost one ( I do have a leaf down), but I am glad to have been able to use my resources, intuition, and the advice from this forum, to problem solve and correct things. I like learning new things and going back to basics.

Andrew -

be positive - in the very beginning we all lost tons of them.
Still happens.

The only thing for me that needs to go dry dry before watering - it is streps. I have the wicks on them - but I keep them on a tray and flood when they just start getting droopy. The rest- I would say benefits from consistent watering. You stress violets - they will show break in culture - a row of smallish leaves for example.
You stress pets - they will start suckering and you wouldn't achieve this perfect rosette.
To prevent overwatering - try to select skinnier wicks, I go to HD and buy a roll of mason twine #18 and keep to 1 wick per pot unless it is 4" pot or more. If it is too cold - you do not need to remove wick - you just need to move your plants to dry trays till the warmer times.

Have a nice weekend

irina

Yes, I do know that violets have sensitive, hair-like roots that die when allowed to dry out too much. I thought I had read that they still enjoyed being off the wicks every few weeks to allow the roots to get air and to keep the mix aerated and fresh. The pets I wasn't sure about, as some sources state that they should be treated almost like succulents, exspecially during cool periods. I have not let them dry out, like I do the streps, but I don't keep the wicks in the water either. I have been leaving the wicks out for 3-4 days, until the top layers of soil are dryish to the touch and then reinsert the wicks into the water. I haven't repotted them either, the pets or the streps, b/c they don't seem to need it immediatley and I want to get as much information on the pets as possible, before making any decisions on soil mix, soil ph, pot size, feeding, cool periods, watering schedules, and so on. I did put some leaves down, when I removed the asymetrical ones from the outer most edge of the plants.

I always enjoy reading your replies and hope your weekend is more fun than mine....work....who ever thought of such a nasty concept and on the weekend at that...lol

I took you advice Irinia and moved my violets upstairs. It gets to about 75F witht he lights on and stays around 68-70F when they are not on. I left the pets and strps down in the basement that stays 53F in the dead of winter, with a window cracked and now heat, so I am sure thay arte just right, this time of year, but I will get a thermometer down there, when things are calmer. I still think some of my violets are touch and go, but I checked my leaves and most give resistence, when lightly tugged, so they are rooted. I have everything represented in leaves, if they all root, but I only had one leaf from a couple, so I have my fingers crossed. I feel I got the idea, I just may have been to late to save the ones that lost thier roots, due to the cool damp conditions persiting for so long and my impulse to buy them, before having my lights and eqiptment ready. I will keep everyone posted and I have some new beauties coming in the mail and my new streps and pets are doing very well. I also have 'Growing for Show' coming this week as well.

Andrew -

you are all set up for success.

For giving air to the roots (you sure take it seriously!!!) -
when the water in your reservoir is all out - you let it stay without water for a couple of days - and then refill.

I am sure that your leaves and violets will all perk up and start rooting as soon as they are out from 53F basement.

Do not worry - and enjoy. In no time you would have so many of them - all your friends and family would be preaching - you need to cut on your violets.

Good luck
Irina

Oh no, only in winter is that cool in the basement! It is probably lower 60sF now, but still cooler than rooting violets appreciate. I was thinking the heat from so many lights would provide ideal and not too warm conditions and it still may, later in the summer. For now they are warm and toasty, just have to watch the temps in the summer, but I do run the lights at night, so it should be just fine. Thanks for the encouragement.

On another note, my carnivorous plants are in thier new bog as of today. I buried a preformed patio pond and filled with peat and sand, planted my pitchers, trumpets, venus flytraps, sundews, butterworts, and some bog orchids and cranberry....should be a stunner this summer and early fall!