Hi Jeff! I've appreciated your posts on here, and the pictures you've shared of your violets!

First, a list is compiled, of those who want to participate. (If it stays simple and sweet, I would be happy to participate!) Someone starts with a box of usually 25 named violets, or gessies, if it's agreed that they can be a mix, and then they send the box to the first person on the list. They can keep any number of items, as long as they replace them with healthy, named leaves or plants. The list is enclosed in the box, so the next person on the list gets a turn, and on until everyone is covered, and the box goes back to the original sender, with hopefully at least 25 healthy things to plant. There are always some babies or leaves that have to be discarded, because they are too long in the mail, so it's best to put in a few extras if you can. I only participated one time, and then the requirements were too strict for my collection, as people requested fancier things, but it was fun the one time I did it! :)

If there is interest, post here, and we'll see what happens! :)
Sue

Yes, that does sound a bit complicated. Perhaps, if it could be done within a group of 3 or 4 it would be less time consuming. If it takes each person 3 days to receive his or her package, make the exchange and send it off to the next person, it conceivably could leave some of those plants in the mail or in others care for several weeks as you said. Couldn't be good for the last guy!

Requirements? Like what? Ok, named plants I get. What else?

I would be good with some sort of lottery where there is a blind exchange, just like at Christmas time. Everybody sends the name they drew in the lottery, some predetermined number of plants and/or leaves. If that would not be of a large enough scale, everybody could draw two names.

An administrator of some sort would probably be necessary but doable.

I don't know any more than what I've read but I can see some potential for a little fun and enjoyment.

interesting....

I have participated in many round robins. Sue explained it quite well; I will add a few fine points. Some robins are for violets only, some for mixed gessies, some for little plants. . . whatever the group decides. The most common is the leaf exchange and as Sue mentioned the organizer begins with at least 25 (number is negotiable) named varieties with each variety labeled. Most people pop them into a snack sized baggie and write the name with a sharpie pen. It is most important that all leaves are sent dry! No wrapped ends, just clip the leaf or two and throw them in the bag. Dry leaves will travel a long time whereas moisture will rot them in a short order.

People are usually very generous and I have often received boxes with 40 or more varieties within! It makes for difficult choosing when space is limited.

The usual restriction is no Optimaras. The reason isn't because they aren't fine violets but that most people can pick them up locally and are looking for more interesting varieties. Again, that is a group or director decision.

Some people worry about picking up pests and diseases via a round robin. With leaves, the chances are reduced and I must say in all my years of round robins, I don't believe I have ever picked up a pest. I can't say as much for ones I purchased at shows though!

Terri

Hopefully, someone will start one in fall.

Ok. Sounds kind of fun. Primarily leaves. Not sure about the dry leaf part. How dry?

It just means not to wrap the stem ends in any kind of moist tissue or plastic wrap. I have a fair idea of which varieties I'm going to include so I just make sure the plant is well hydrated & leaves are firm. Pinch or cut them off and drop them into the bag. Thats sending dry.

Ah hah. I could do that. Who starts them? Or at least, who has started them in the past? I would help but I don't want to take responsibility for starting one. At least, not until I have participated in a few.

I'm like you, I hope somebody starts one!

There was a large group of round robin participants on GW a few years ago. After Houzz acquired GW, we all moved operations to FB. While I have the experience to start a RR, I may not have enough varieties and theres the fact that I don't grow minis and semis. It takes someone with a large and varied collection to begin. I may send a message to the gal who started most of the GW robins in the past. I'm inclined to believe she would start one for us.

Terri

Hmmm. I can see that I have not grasped the totality of the process. Without writing a book, exactly what is the responsibility of the "starter"?

This starter, leader, director, whatever gathers the names and addresses of those participating, plots the route the box will take, types up a list of the names & addresses in the order of that route & puts that along with the leaf packs into the prepared box and sends it off. This leader also keeps an eye on the progress of the box. Each participant sends the box priority mail and lists the conformation number so the box can be tracked.

You can read what happened on past round robins by checking on the Exchange page on GW under African Violets.

I have never picked up a pest from a round robin, I have done many. A round robin can also be semis/minis only or standards only, if there is enough interest. I love round robins, you get to grow plants you might not have ever tried. But, I sometimes find people put in sub-standard leaves AND people sometimes take way to long to send the box back out, that *really* irks me. I know we are all busy, but it's a box of live plant matter, make haste people! Make haste!

Wow, the starter has a lot of responsibilities. I guess the rules would have to be very clear w some sort of guide lines as to what was allowed and what would be considered sub-standard. With the priority mail being what it is and w 15 or 20 folks participating, it could be a couple of months before the last guy gets to see it!

Someone please organize one. I just counted. I have 52 kinds of leaves in soil. Way too many. Some are from broken off leaves or extras I got from sellers. I have no problem come up with 25 rooted I need to give away. Is rooted leaf eligible?

In the future, I need learn to toss the leaves instead of rooting them.

Julie, rooted leaves would be great for individual trading. I am not sure how long a rooted leaf would last, in a baggie. (Does anyone have any ideas?) You should do an experiment, put a few rooted leaves in a few baggies and see how long they last before they rot! It is not a simulation of a RR, because the temperature swings around quite a bit in the RR box. Speaking of temperature, the RR I have participated in always used a little styrofoam cooler to mail the leaves. The cooler is very light and shipping is less that using a box. One time I was near the end (I am always near the end because I am located in SoCal) and there was so much accumulated tape on the box I decided to see how much money I would save on shipping if I took all the tape off, I saved $1.80. ( Assuming the cost of priority mailing would be the same to the next person as it was to mail the box to me.)

A RR can have 8 or 9 people, you don't need 15 or 20. The organizer sometimes gets many more leaves than they start with, some people put in many leaves but only take a few. I know that to prepare for my RR I put the leaves I plan to donate in baggies the night before so that I can turn the box around the same day. One time I took only 3 leaves but put in 10.

If a person selects 5 leaves all different out of the box, and now they must replace with at least 5 leaves, can they replace with a leaf or two of a named variety that is already in the box to make up their obligation? Is that a no no? Rosie

Round Robins are great fun! It can be torture to be on the tail end of the list, watching the thread, reading posts on where the box is at the moment and what varieties each person in turn has kept (what is left IN the box is more fun kept secret!) It may take 3 days here, 4 days there, or maybe 5 days over a weekend - while you (impatiently) await your turn. Then the box arrives and you open it to find - Who HOO! Treasure! It's the next best thing to being a kid on Christmas morning, going through the baggies and looking up plant photos on line in order to make your decision on what to keep. Then you bag up your own contributions, feeling good all the while about someone else's eyes lighting up when they see what you tucked into the box. It's (relatively) cheap entertainment since the only monetary outlay is the cost of shipping the box back out via USPS - and it's a great way to acquire unusual varieties. Like Amy, I've been in many RR's and I've never gotten any pests from RR leaves but you can always wash a leaf (gently) in soap and running water if you're worried. Yes, sometimes leaves will be beyond saving if the weather is too hot or too cold or they just took too long finding a home. Just part of the game. Take them out and replace with more if you're able. One more thing the starter of a RR is responsible for: if the box goes astray/missing (and believe me, it does happen!) the starter has to scramble to put together another box and get it back on the road to the next person in line so the rest of the people on the list don't lose out.

I felt badly when the group who had been doing RR's here on GW pulled out for FB...sigh. It would be nice to get a GW RR going before real cold weather hits and I just might be able to pull off a starter box with a decent mix of varieties and types if there was interest (and if the person I'm thinking you have in mind isn't inclined to do it for us, Terrilou, not having seen her here in ages - although it would terrific if you could convince her to do it!) I've never run a RR before, but I have a basic grasp of how it's done. We could do one with leaves only, or one that allows leaves, rooted leaves and/or baby plantlets - that would be up to the group. And I think 8 or 9 participants is a good size group to shoot for; more than that would take longer than a month to travel the rounds - too long to wait, IMO.

Julie, I don't know how rooted leaves should travel. I did get one in an "anything goes" Round Robin one year - it was shipped in a baggie with potting mix in it. What a mess!! The poor leaf was coated in peat and vermiculite. Oddly enough, I remember that clearly enough; I just don't remember if it was one I kept or put back in the box to continue on. Maybe someone has had experience in sending rooted leaves can address this??

Anne

Rosie you posted while I was composing my novel, LOL.

While technically not illegal, it wouldn't be quite fair to the next person receiving the box, (unless of course there were already more than 25 different varieties in there, in which case probably no one would grumble.) :-)

Anne

Just trying to cover all the bases. You know me,,,question, question, question!!! You're right,,,I do see it a little more clearly now. Thanks! Rosie

PS. Your novel was excellent reading!!!!

Are any of the rest of you interested in a Round Robin? We have a willing organizer. Please let her know if you are!

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4808375/round-robin-2017-fall

I signed up. It will be my first. Im kind of excited! Not sure I will do it again but wanted to do it once just to say I did it.

Jeff, Jeff, Jeff!!! You signed up, but you have not given Deb your address via a private message. You need to do that ASAP or you'll be left out. :-( Deb is ready to start the Round Robin box out next week.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/4808375/round-robin-2017-fall?n=30

(I would have PM'd you, but you don't have messaging turned on in your profile.)

Anne

All this complicated stuff. I didn't know I didn't have messaging turned on. At any rate, I sent Deb my mailing address. Hopefully I have covered my bases this time.

Such beautiful AV photos you all have been posting. I'm sooo wishing I could have participated. Maybe next year? How soon are you expecting to receive your leaves? Would love to know the names of leaves you all plan to put into the box.

In a Round Robin, we don't tell what varieties we put into a box as we want it to be a surprise for each participant. Kinda like Christmas! But we do tell what we took out so check the exchange page.

Okay, I'll keep checking in on the Exchange page.