To span six weeks, have someone come in weekly to refill the reservoirs ....

If you're already having trouble with Powdery Mildew, don't add to the humidity by putting your plants in plastic ...

I remember an old article in an av mag about filling the bathtub with water, lining the tub with bricks and setting the pots on the bricks. the plants came through just fine. Maybe you could put a fan on a timer to help with the Powdery Mildew.

If you can beat the PM, then sealing them up is the answer. There is a gal on a different AV forum who seals her collection of like 400 up for 4 months at a time!

How do you beat powdery mildew? I've only delt with it on three plants, a few leaves each. How do you make sure it doesn't show up again?

And how does she do it? On wicks or just seals them up? I've never had PM when I have just a plant sealed up... Its only when they are on wicks.

And what about light? Where would she place them? Temp? :D sorry! Just super curious!

Just found this! Awesome info.

https://www.violetbarn.com/miscellaneous-care-tips/care-of-violets-while-on-vacation/

Hi, join the AVbratpack2 proboards forum. Dr.Sylvia has written about, and photographed her amazing feat of automation. I had PM when my collection was big and under lights. I never had PM in my baby houses though... I isolate plants grown from leaves for a LONG time. I keep them in sealed up clear shoe sized boxes under lights on timers. I never had PM on the isolation babies. I cannot explain it. How did I cure PM in my large collection? Fans. And lysol. I sprayed my plants with lysol. Too much will damage the leaves, read about it before you try it. After the lysol with the added fans I never had a problem again. There are fungicides, I think, that you can use. I am gardener on the proboards forum. Good growing and let us know what your solution is.

Amy

Ok... I'll try to join. I've tried before and I think my name was always pending approval until I quit checking. I'm not sure why... Guess I looked suspicious. :\ :P

Join, Sylvia just posted photos of her system. She returned home from an 8 week vacation. She doesn't go away for 4 months, 2 months :)

Wow, all I can say is that I would hate to be in your shoes! Thank goodness for me I am not a traveler! Rosie

OK, they accepted me! I'm in! :D

Rosie, I know it... I'm not either. :] I mean, I enjoy an over night or week long trip here and there, but being gone for SIX WEEKS. Sigh. The problem is that when we come home, we will most likely be moving cross-country, and so I'm agonizing over the thought that maybe I should just re-home everything and start over with leaves. *sniff* Life can be crazy sometimes.

I'm quite attached to my violets, but they aren't THE Most important thing in my life, so it wouldn't KILL me to give them up, but it would be pretty painful.

Ohhhhhhhh no,,,,ohhhhhhhh no! Starting OVER????

It killed me when my furnace took its toll,,,,,,,,,TWICE!

Oh the pain of it all!!!! Ohhhhhh no! sniff sniff.

Oh wait! Are you moving to anywhere near southeast Michigan? Where I am??? Wouldn't that be great!!!!! Rosie

Check to be sure your violets, the ones you really like anyway, are available from multiple sources before you give them away. I regret getting rid of my violets when I did. I had a NOID/wrong ID of maybe "Dolores Sugar Candy" that was wow, never have I seen it again. And Fredette's Daydream. It is not for sale anywhere. Keep only the violets that you don't think that you can start again. As insurance, mail leaves of your rare AVs to multiple people. An AV friend gave me leaves of an old rare Rob's ages ago. I still grow it. Her's died and she posted a "want" in a forum and I saw it and am sending her some leaves so she can start it again.

I never thought of that. Great common sense advice amyalternate! Rosie

Rosie, lol - probably a little closer than I am now, but not by much! We aren't actually sure where yet. Long story. Lol.

Amy - this is excellent advice! I actually was wondering about just taking two leaves from each of my plants I want to keep and just starting over that way... So I don't have to buy anything! I don't know if I can stand to do that with my minis tho... Several of them are really hard to grow. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there!

Who else on here is on the AV Brat forum? I saw Leon... :D

I'm countrygal on the Brat forum. I've been there a long time.

Too bad it won't be closer. sigh. Rosie

I am not sure who from brat's uses this forum. There is another forum, VioletVoice, nice people there as well. I started with the Brat's so I go there the most. I disappear for long stretches, I get all violet saturated, but I always come back. Send me your growlist if you like. If I grow one of your plants I will be happy to send you leaves if you need them again.

i don't even sweat 3-4 weeks any more.

AND i go for longer then 2mo regularly and leave my AV's on wicks.

i have another 100 non-AV plants on wicks too :).

it's all a matter of finding large enough reservoirs for water and arranging them where they can get proper light. Not too dark not too much sun. Summer is the hardest due to heat - plants use up much more water, but winters are a breeze with 65F. Most tropicals go sort of semi-dormant at 65F and consume much less water. So, it'll depend on your temp during the vacation. You'llhave to measure water consumption ahead of time (i keep very detailed lists for my menagerie).

i don't use lights, but i have fl to ceil windows galore : total over 50 feet :).

so, yah, i live in a conservatory of sorts :), but it's not like a nursery or green house, except for 1 room that is ;).. I arrange them nicely, except for longer absences - then anything goes, of course. I tent most moisture and warmth loving plants, but not AV's.

4" pots fit very well in cut off water bottles (i use large evians 1.5l , but you can use anything that is not wide like soda bottles). i cut off the tops and thread my wicks thru a small button to weigh them (otherwise the yarn might catch on the wall and get out of water). one bottle lasts for 7 weeks and 1 week to dry up a bit - so 2 mo for me is not a problem.

of course, since these are tall bottles you need to secure them, so they don't accidentally topple. cheap red paint buckets from HD can take 3 bottles each.

the only problem - if you have large violets, their leaves are too wide to get the bottles in a bucket. And so i remove the older leaves to keep them smaller in size.

longer then that requires tubs. i flip 6" plastic pots and put AV's on top of them - the storage tubs can hold enormous amts of water. I set up a lot of small violets for 4mo so DH won't have to puzzle whether to water or not, just pour in a few gallons and be done for another 2mo. serious! i still put in liquid 7-7-7 fertilizer in. and drop a penny per gallon and add 2-3 tsp of 3% peroxide per gallon to keep the water sweet and prevent algae growth.

questions :))))?

2-3 tsp of peroxide per gallon helps prevent algae growth???? Having a problem with that as we speak. Can you add the peroxide to the fertilizer water??? Rosie

yes, of course. for a small reservoir peroxide is sufficient, unless it's transparent AND in full sun. it actually oxygenates water and kills bacteria too - fish tank people use it all the time.

I will try it on a couple plants. Thanks! Rosie

A penny?! I never heard of this! I think I'm going to reduce my standard collection to leaves and just find a solution for minis. I like the idea of storage totes with a tiny personal fan mounted to the top to stir the air, a grid in the bottom, and place the violets on the grid and drop the wicks down thru. If I can find a tote the right size anyhow. But I'm paranoid about the water going stagnant with being untouched for 6 weeks. Is that what the penny is for?

I want to know also,,,,what is the penny for? And 1 penny per gallon of water??? And fertilizer and peroxide???????? Rosie

penny is to prevent growth of algae.

peroxide to keep water from rotting (bacterial growth) overtime - we are talking months in reservoir without changing.

there is one problem with tubs - too many violets together. the air in the tub does not circulate fast enough - though the fan should help. but i won't leave anything electric running for weeks without supervision, it's just not safe.

also common water - individual reservoirs are also safer.

this year i did tubs for the first time with wicks - and at 65F my humidity was too high (the shelves too close together! and too chilly at that with evaporation over water in the tub). i got powdery mildew first time EVER indoors. just on a few leaves, but when violets are so close - it spreads, so it's smth to keep in mind.

still i had 2mo , DH added water, then another 1mo. unattended!

where's the applause ;)..:))?

"But I'm paranoid about the water going stagnant with being untouched for 6 weeks."

i've been doing this for sev years now and i never had problems with stagnant water.

and we're not talking 6 weeks here - are you reading? :))))

water going stagnant with being untouched for 6 weeks. Is that what the penny is for?

yep - copper prevents water from going stagnant. learned this here at gardenweb.

tried - worked. i use 2.5 gallon jugs for larger plants - so drop 2 pennies into each.

still have a couple of big ficus lyrata sitting with jugs next to them - no algae, no smell, normal water. filled end of November..so 5 months :))).

I guess I am going to have to pare this down for my individual reservoirs/plants. Probably won't use pennies, but the peroxide sounds interesting in regard to algae. I won't be going anywhere that I have to make this type of long term arrangements. (I hope!) Interesting information!!!! Thanks Petrushka! Rosie

Great info... Thanks. :).

I'm still thinking about my current small individual reservoirs - like Rosie. I want to try your large reservoir method on a few mini plants, to see if it works for me, but I don't have space to do it all the time, unless of course the house is empty. (I have to keep everything out of toddler reach here!)

So one question: What about putting a penny in a gallon jug of water and letting sit for a while and then using that water to fill individual reservoirs... Would it still help keep the water good, or does the penny have to be present in each reservoir?

Do you have any miniatures? If so, Have you been able to gauge how much water a miniature takes up in two months time?

Make sure it's an older model penny. The new ones have no copper in them.

you can get a copper strip in HD and cut it up, but i don't bother. i don't use pennies with new design. the others are ok.

the penny corrodes slowly and causes some release of ions ...the concentration is weak, from what i read - so plants are not harmed. but i do check if plants are ok with copper. bromeliads are sensitive to copper, so i don't put pennies in their tubs, but they are the only ones of my plants like that.

so, yah, the penny has to be there continuously. i don't remember exactly, but i figured if there is at least a gallon of water - it's ok. and i still put peroxide into the solution anyway, since i add fertilizer too (vigoro or AV liquid or mirAcid..).

i have to note here that we have extremely hard water here in NJ, the copper pipes corrode very fast ;). mine just popped like a cardboard from a little pressure (acids in the kitchen super said makes it go fast..) - you should see my pennies after 3 mo...will take a pic for you. but then if you put a nail in coca-cola you'll be surprised what happens to it too - and ev drinks the stuff by the gallon :)).

it's easy to try it with a shoe box - turn some old pots upside down and put av pots on them - depending on av size it can take 4-6 of them and it'll take 3 qts of water, so ok to drop a penny in.

for huge violets (like 10") yellow sugar tubs are great - one for each with deli tub upside down to support or some small old pot that fits. sugar tub will take 1.5 qt to top. that's enough for 6-8 weeks depending on temp.

exact consumption of water you'll need to test yourself at least approx. at low temp it's lower, at high temp it's higher. humidity matters too. my humidity never drops below 65% even with heat in winter. so over my low tubs with av's just clearing the sides of the tub (not INSIDE the tub) it still was prolly around 75%. so with 65F constant for months..that's the cause of PM. i was lucky it was just starting after 3mo..

the year before i set up a tub on a cofee table in the middle of the room - just in front of air-take / circulation grids for heat/ac...so the air movement was good and no PM!

but DH does not like to stare at tubs while watching TV :))))...and i had 2 tubs this time aorund. i have about 25 Av's.

i went and measured exactly: so 1 cut off evian takes 1qt, i add 1.5 tsp 3% peroxide to it. but usually i load my watering can with 3 qts of water and add 2 white cap-fulls (=3 tsp) of 3% peroxide, using white cap from the 1qt brown bottle.

large yogurt containers are great - opaque + set in either a pint or half-pint deli tub with hole cut-out. fits perfectly and holds the AV pot inside securely. with pint deli-tub it'll take 2 cups of water. you can set it up and wait to see how long it takes for the violet to take it all up. then easy to calculate how much you need for longer period.

here's a pic of my cut-off evian bottle with AV pot and 2 ply acrylic yarn wick (the thickness of the wick determines how much water it'll suck up - so affects consumption). notice a red button strung thru the yarn - to keep the wick floating away from sides, all the way to the bottom.

Impressive! Rosie

it's my water-tower ;)))

I love the button idea!!

teehee,,,chuckle,,,oh my if you think my violets are out of control you ought to see my button collection! lololololololol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rosie

on my first try with tall container the wick or two got stuck on the wall with 2-3" of water still in the bottom - so a couple of my violest were super dry when i got back - but they recovered. they were big though, so they had many leaves to use up to keep them going. i think they can go for sev weeks dry when big.

oh, then may be you can make it a feature - a little treasure dangling at the end of the line in a see-thru pretty glass container? some buttons are made to look like flowers or little figures. i actually have quite a few too :).

Oh my, this could be elevated to an art form! Picture the wick, and about every 3/8 inch or so there is another pretty button! hahahahaha I LOVE IT!!!!! Rosie

PS Just don't make it so heavy that it pulls the wick out of the pot!

Joyfulsu- I just read the part about you may have to be moving across country. I've done this four times, and I still miss certain plants that I couldn't take with me. Each time I moved, I gave plants to friends, and they still send me photos when they bloom! I've also learned taking plants or cuttings in the car when your are moving that far is possible, yet it takes a toll on the plant.

One thing I would recommend is taking all of your decorative pots. It took a while to prep before the move, because I had to transfer the plants to plastic before giving them to friends, but it was worth it. Brings good memories!

Interestingly, I had been searching for a cactus that I had left in CA, and just found it at a local nursery the other day.....4 years later! And I also have many fun different plants that I did not have previously, that I now treasure.

Moral of the story: you never know what life will bring. Plan as much as you can, then just roll with it. And if you look, you will find happiness in different ways at your new place.