Hi, Stores seem to offer them at Easter. That was when I got my first one that got me hooked, in as Easter basket many moons ago. Congratularions! The Blue one will probably blue quite abundantly for you. Joanne

Hi Joanne! About violets at Easter...In my area the only store that had violets was Meijer! AND they moved them around on the back rack way down low almost out of site! I really had to search for them. They made all kinds of room for tulips, hyacinths, azaleas and all the rest. BUT I FOUND THEM ANYHOW!!!!!! LOL Buried them and the funny thing is,,,,,,I bought the first two new ones just last Sunday! And it was slim pickins! Then when I went back a couple days ago they had an entirely NEW batch and I got the other three!! And that makes the 5 new ones I just got!

Lowes had no violets, and haven't had for several weeks. Don't know what that is all about. They always had violets all thru the winter and now 3 weeks before, up to and including Easter they have none! Just the lilies, tulips,etc.

I do remember when violets had their front row seat for all holidays. Not any more, at least in my area. How sad,,,boo hoo.

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!!!! ,,,,HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!--Rosie

HI, Rosie, I celebrate Easter also, so am happy for your well wishes! I have heard of Meijer, it sounds like a nice store. Yes, you are right, the violets do get moved all around and have to be hunted! You will find the blue one should do great for you, it is one of the best-ever Optimaras. It is a good idea to check the local store frequently that does carry them and select a few from their fresh shipment. The other plants are more or less seasonal and many people don't keep the bulbs over once they stop flowering. Joanne

Oh Joanne,,,,I forgot to say that our Walmart does not usually get violets in at all. I have heard other people say at their Walmart violets are a staple! Well not ours.

But that IS where I got my new Rhipsalidopsis Easter cactus! So I guess going there wasn't a total loss this week!

As far as keeping the flowering bulbs....Oh YES I DO!!!!! I have a very large flower bed to put stuff in and I love daffodils and hyacinths! I bought a reduce hyacinth the other day when I was at Walmart and it is the most beautiful color of purple.......kinda like a deep amethyst. It still had all its blooms but they were falling over they were so heavy. There were 4 bulbs in the pot and I got it for $2.47 !!!! In the fall you cannot purchase bulbs for this price! So in the spring I try to buy them as much as I can! And they smell soooooo nice!

I will plant them as soon as weather permits! And they will be just fine next year!!!! Rosie

Joanne you mentioned the blue Optimara should do well for me,,,,do you know the name of that one? Rosie

I don't recall.

Whenever, I guess, I am always wrong. I thought it was one thing, then Diana was also growing it and told me a better guess ... but with Optimara, one can never know for sure.

However, it is one of those "space violets." I had that one, it bloomed like mad, and grew symmetrically. I got "bored with perfection" and gave it away to a very artistic person to use as her centerpiece. I repotted it, it just grew and grew. It was spectacular. I thought that it was so large, what could she possibly go wrong? All she had to do was water it. Possibly place it inside a fancy cache pot.

I don't recall the details, but she got creative, repotted it, divided it, then there was a sad story of "too much care." Eventually, I stopped asking as I did not want to know!

If I ever see it again, I will grab it! But I have not seen it in stores near me for a couple of years.

You really think it is a space violet? I just jogged over to their site and wow, those are some pretty looking plants, but the only blue one they had was frilled. My blue one is not. But I really do like the softness of the blue color. That is why I bought it. Rosie

Has anyone had success with the 2 part african violet pots that you plant your violet directly in the insert, fill the bottom container with water and let it suck up the water by capillary action?

Just some pics! · More Info

Just some pics! · More Info

The top one is for a normal size and the white one is for miniatures.

Just wondering! (boy I am getting the hang of uploading these pics! Hope you don't mind!) Rosie

Rosie,

Be careful of the self-watering pots. I've heard more bad stuff than good although I have never used them.

Linda

There is a lady in California who makes self watering pots that are glazed n such a way to let the correct amount of water in, she says. But she was taking a break from business for a while. i have not used hers. It would take me a while to find her info again. it might be on the forum.

i used them once years ago, they kept the plants too wet, they died. but i did not really know too much about violet care back then.

I only have one of those pots and I wasn't thrilled with it but I also remember NOT letting the soil dry out some and THEN refilling.

I may try it again if I get a duplicate plant, don't want to sacrifice. AND it has been about 10 years since I used it. I have the ceramic mold for it so if I like what happens I can make some.

You would call me nuts (if you haven't already!) if you saw how I wick water now. I will try to post a pic tomorrow.

My only dilemma is what to use for wicks. I don't like Tshirt material or cotton. A lot of strings just rot. I am using wicking for candles now. Seems to work ok. Keeping an eye on how damp the soil is staying.---Rosie

That is true, the pots have to be glazed but the insert pot where the violet is planted is only glazed 1/2 way from the top of the insert to the rim where it meets the outer pot. You leave the the rest of it, which will be the bottom part that sits in the water, unglazed (bisque) because it is that part that acts as the "wick" to get the water to the plant in the insert.

Hmmmm maybe I will try it again. Maybe I will start a leaf in it and see how that works. I don't have a duplicate violet to sacrifice at this time. Rosie

Rosie, Here ya go, this is from the woman who makes the self-watering pots. She has a website, if you google the name, you might be able to find it. This is from a year ago, so I don't know if it is still valid. She is in Calif.

On Wednesday, April 23, 2014 10:56 AM, violetpotlady <violetpotlady@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi. Glad you found the website. The pots are all self watering pots, but they work by osmosis rather than wicking. I control the porosity of the insert by proper firing. Most pots from the Orient are overfired, making them less porous. Every time I have tried wicking my soil got too swampy. Viki

Yep, she is right. It isn't wicking,,,,,that is why I put it in parentheses. Osmosis is probably the proper word.

When the clay is fired to bisque it does remain porous where it isn't glazed, absorbs the water and transfers it to the plant soil inside of it.

Honestly I am not sure if my pot was from China or if it was "home made"! I think I will try it again. Will update when I do!!!! Rosie

Wait,,,I just re read my posts. When I spoke of wicking material I was not talking about using the AV pot. That is an entirely different thing. It doesn't use a wick at all.

I will post a pic of the wick system I have a few plants on now. Later when I get that little pot going, I will send another pic about that! Rosie

Hi all !!! Ok I have a pix of my wick system. As you can see it is pretty simplistic.

This is one of the plants that is recovering from the furnace out this winter. I think it looks pretty good considering.

I also use a 16 oz cottage cheese container & lid. I cut out a circle so the pot sits about 1/2 inch down into it. For sturdiness.

I use a lot of variations depending on what materials I have on hand.

Also here are the two new violets I bought at Walmart. Funny thing about that. There hasn't been a violet in Walmart for I don't know how long. Didn't I say that in a previous post????? And I was in there several times before this Easter and all I could get was the Easter cactus and a clearance pot of Hyacinth.

So when I posted I had to groc shop on Friday,,,the first places I stopped was Walmart and Lowes.

Walmart had 4 violets!!!! A week AFTER Easter !!!! Glory Be !!!!!I bought 2 of them. They are both Optimara's, labels are stuck on both orange pots. Yes,,,,I know they are Optimara NOIDs. That's ok with me I think they are beautiful. And,,,the violets at Walmart cost MORE than the violets at Lowes or Meijer.

Then I went to Lowe's. Remember I said they hadn't had violets for a very long time? Nothing since November. Well, they got in about 10. AND they also had 6 of them in the six inch pots! Nothing I didn't already have so I left with nothing.

Now I go to Meijer (groc shop) but first I went all the way over to the other side of the store to see the violets and they still had the same ones they had before Easter. So I got nothing.

Well,,,That is my latest violet saga!

Been keeping track of the round robin and I can't wait to hear about all of the different violets every one is getting. How nice! Rosie

Looks like MyDelight and Trinidad II. I've been wanting Trinidad II, good score!

Melody Rose I just got thru looking at the Optimara site for identification and I came to the same conclusion! Wow !!! I think both of these are beautiful !!! Rosie

Hi Rosie, How are these all doing now?This year, that blue one on top is still being offered in my area. I just got a bunch of them. Joanne

That blue one is really stubborn about blooming. But I will wait! Haven't seen a blue one since. Rosie

They are doing great! And yes they are Trinidad ll & MyDelight. Haven't been to Walmart in a few months,,,,,maybe another trip? I will let you know if I score! Rosie