Ohhhhh, Groannnnn....You have no idea how jealous I am......A violet "neat freak", and its all documented in photos!

When my wife sees me grab violets and potting stuff and head for the kitchen table, she shifts immediately into panic mode and leaves the vicinity in a cloud of smoak.

Things get said like: how can you possibly make such a big mess with such little plants? I'm sure glad you don't do this any more often than you do.

Now I find myself asking shitzu4su, how can you possibly get so much done, have it look so neat from start to finish, and produce absolutely no mess?

Or, did you not take/post all the photos of everything you did that day....☺?

Oh well, nothing left for me to do but take my "pig pin" self off to the corner, mumbling all the while.......Great job shitzu4su....so neat.....so orderly...... and described in such detail....The system can't do anything but work.....I'm going to have to study this post really hard and see just how much I can learn from it.......

Seriously, thanks so much for showing us how to do the potting thing without making the mess that I thought was soooo necessary.

Bill

Great pics, thanks for sharing! And how exciting! I love your system.

hahahaha! Bill, your post made me laugh. Why? Well, because I felt pretty pleased with myself that THIS ONCE I didn't make a gigantic mess of three rooms of the house! :-P I have had my husband scowl at piles of AV potting mix sitting on the counter.. and sigh as he washed down the sink in the bathroom for me... and shrug as he brushed off the counter in the laundry room! :-D Oh the joys of having violets in four different rooms of the house! I pot where-ever is handy. SO THIS TIME I decided I would be neat and organized about it so I wouldn't get as much soil in the reservoirs, and soil on the floor, and soil in the sink! It didn't work though. I just didn't take a picture of the mess to the right of the picture. :-P

I'd better go wipe down the counter one more time... I still see residue...

Thanks Harawlins! I HOPE it works... I am a bit anxious with these being mother leaves and babies.. I've never tried this before on such little plants! :-]

Thanks for the photos. Let us know if it works. Sometimes the mason twine is unraveled to have just one thread as a wick. I have only used wicks for leaves that have rooted and have started to grow into small plants, when at the small solo cup size. Four days is ok to be away if the leaves are domed. Neatness counts. Great photo of the vintage copper pot. Thanks for the I.d. Melody. On another thread Su, you asked about Manitoba. It is a complex light blue, shimmers like a pearl, with glitter, has a subtle darker eye, looks light periwinkle under fluorescence, more blue by daylight. Single large pansy. Large bright green leaves. I have plenty and will save you a leaf. Nathalie is a flat light purple color star. Typical O olive green leaves. Small, undersized blooms. So far, not a good bloomer. It might improve. Manitoba is understated but classic. Joanne

melody - do you think its a maine? i was leaning toward O.Juliana... but maybe i was wrong.

joanne - Manitoba sounds totally gorgeous!! thanks for the thoughts about wicking too. :)

heres another pic of the copper kettle violet...

Su, It just so happens that Bill just posted a photo of a plant that looks like Manitoba.

As for your copper tea kettle violet, it is very pretty, with even coloration.

O has several light blue two tone pansies that can be hard to tell apart.

There are also copy-cats that do not match anything on the O i.d. page and do not come with O labels. This season, I have seen several versions of blue and white. .

I once ordered Maine directly from Optimara. It did not resemble the photo. It was mostly white.

Just a guess, but it probably is not Julianna.

Joanne

shihtzu4su, does this flower ever turn a really darker purple? I have a NOID that looks like this and darkens deeply in bright sun. I've had it for years and always thought it was a Juliana just from my own looking around. I would love to know if yours reacts like that. I have started quite a few plants from leaves over the years - it's been very prolific ! :-)

hi Pam,

no its never been anything but blue amd white... some blooms are more white than anything.

joanne - i actually picked up what i believe is manitoba!! i was so excited to see it sitting there on sale for $2. ;) and about the copper kettle one... it is actually on its second bloom. first bloom was more semi double wasp looking blooms. it matches the picture of Julianna on the website - so i thought that was a pretty good indicator... but it will always have no id beside the name in my records. :)

the picture below is of its first bloom.

heres a pic of the two i picked up. i gave the "My----------" to my mom. :)

Your suspicion of Julianna is probably correct as you are the one who has the plant and looked at the Optimara photos. THe My_________ is so hard to identify. I got it, squint at it, one day, it is My Joy, another day, My Love ... Yes, the one on the left does look like Manitoba. glad to hear you are shaing with your Mom. My daughter in law aske for some! J