Thanks very much. I'll be poking around. :)

Joan

Hi All, Bloomlovers is in Canada, I think somewhere near Montreal. I know that covers a lot of ground. Tina does ship to the US.

Just saying what I know.

Yolanda

Wow, Fancy Bloomers seems to have no current inventory. Lyon's has reduced their inventory. Bloomlovers usually has a waiting list. I personally have never been able to order from her.

Well, do look into P.J.'s on Ebay.

Lyndon Lyon and P.J. are my favorites . But this virus has caused a lot of business damage.

Most growers operate on a shoe-string and some want to retire but stay in the business mostly as a courtesy to their long-time growing clients.

Believe it or not, your casual Walmart purchase lead you into a cult of sorts. Did you hear the door slam shut behind you, locking you inside, as you ventured into AV land? There is no way out. Happens to the best of us.

We won't even tell you about the ebay vendors ... However, do ask. We know many of them.

Joanne

Fancy Bloomers updated inventory early in the week. The popular items can sell out fast! Bloomlovers has stopped shipping to the US until the border reopens.

Joanne, HAH! 😁 Well, we'll see, re that door slam. I have only 8 board feet of ideal window space for natural light. It's shared between phal orchids, violets, and, during late January through early March, amaryllis. (I don't give a rabbit's cottontail anymore about foliage plants: if it doesn't bloom it presents no challenges/commensurate rewards, and gets no countenance.) My experience is that it's best not to rely upon one fancy only. Species diversity is key, both in the forest and in the house. That's just me, of course. I have done the whole lights/seedlings/misting/automated greenhouse gig. It was TOTALLY fun and wonderfully successful! But life changes, and right now I'm all about doing the best I can while consuming the fewest resources. It's also rewarding to figure out what is and is not possible, working with my present environment.

Loved your answer! So literary! I love to read gardening books. Especially some British authors. Or books on the history of rose horticulture.

Joanne

"Hah" again, Joanne. :) In just five extremely short sentences (a skill in itself) you've both said and implied a lot.

Do I really "sound" British? I would be flattered. Have read LOTS of British lit in my time, and eventually married a Brit.

Baby/adolescent violets arrived today. One has buds! They are now situated (and isolated from other plants) in a bright bedroom in front of a sliding glass door where I do not want to place any sort of table: I abhor clutter. Plus this is where I park my amaryllises during pre- and post-bloom periods, when they cannot be outside.

It appears that while the door may not be slamming behind me in the AV world, it is certainly at least sneaking quietly closed, not unlike when I put my grandson down for a nap and close his bedroom door with no clicks. Either "Heh heh" or "Uh oh," depending.

When the African violet bug bit me about a year ago I purchased my initial plants from the Violet Barn. Their plants tend to be on the smaller side as far as starter plants go, but I don’t mind as they are always well packad and healthy.

If you shop on Etsy, they have a few sellers there, too, that offer African violet plants and leaves. I’ve purchased from seller SouthernOakAntiques and have been very pleased with the plants I received.

I recently discovered a shop called Petals & Leaves ( petalsleaves.com ) and I have purchased many leaves and young plants there. It’s a smaller online shop, but the site has lovely photos and leaf sets are only $2 so I keep coming back for more.

i just made my first purchase from Moonlight Nursery today and I am very excited for my order to arrive. I love their site and how responsive the seller was to my questions. I also like that they have leaves, leaf pots, and starter plants to choose from.

Happy violet hunting! :)

Joan, Northern Gardener,

You are amusing! You do not sound British, although I must have detected the British literary flare!

I meant that some of the poetic or literary horticultural authors are British. Such as when they "wax eloquent" about dahlias, roses, or orchids.

If you abhor clutter, then you probably have natural immunity to the AV collector's bug. Because AVs tend to be cluttery and busy-looking. They are furry dust collectors.

They mischievously multiply, and merrily "sport." Many of us cannot resist repotting every broken leaf or sucker. In fact, some of us wear the "plant hoarder" badge with pride.

The adage that "sometimes, less is more" seems to apply to orchids, or amaryllis, which are uniquely pristine and elegant.

The closest I can think of to clean simplicty of design would be the original species violets. There are about 24 of them. They exist in their natural form, before the genetic tinkering ensued that resulted in the current proliferation of varieties.

If you like horticultural history, there is an AV website called African Violet Brats. Members include many long-time collectors who have written about some of the early hybridizers.

Or you can read through the archives on this site.

Here's a tip. Look for AVSA registered violets. There are many reasons to select registered varieties.

Some of the vintage AVs have unique charm. Vintage hybridizers some of us like are Kent Stork, or the Granger's.

If there is an AVSA branch club near you, consider contacting them for more info. They usually love to trade or donate rare examples.

There is also a video series called All About African Violets created by Annie Reick. You can find her on the internet. She has interviewed many interesting hybridizers and filmed many AVSA conventions.

As for myself, I was doomed from the start. An office manager was an avid collector of named varieties and got me hooked.

I also enjoy research as much as growing. In fact, growing is even more entertaining when knowing the history behind each AV we bring home.

Joanne

Yolanda, Alabama, Violets 'n Bunnies, Talk about people quarantine, it seems now that we all have cabin fever, we are trying to order from the meager existing inventory of growers. I managed to place two small orders. These were acknowledged with the advice that fulfillment would be four weeks, and not to contact by email or phone for status. Inventory also vanishes quickly.

Joanne

Alabama AV,

IThanks for the tip. I selected some but did not complete the transaction. Overnight, the selections vanished. Their website showed there were 80 people shopping at the same time. I placed a small order for two vintage minis and 3 of Donna's standards. Her standards are enjoyable and easy.

I placed a very small order with Lyon's also. They replied they will need about 4 weeks to ship.

It seems that the "wonderful world of violets" is shrinking.

My usual local garden center suppliers are also out of stock.

In past years, they normally would bring in about 80 violets a month from local growers.

Not any more.

Joanne

There are other vendors on the AVSA plant & supplies page besides the ones I listed. A few deal primarily in gesneriads or supplies only. As usual, isolate new plants even if from reputable sources, just in case! AV Vendors

fortyseven_gw,

I‘m surprised by how out of stock most online African violet shops are at the moment. Surprised, but also weirdly happy about it? For some reason it makes me smile to know that during these uncertain times, there is a cross section of people out there that hoard African violets instead of toilet paper. :)

I’m imagining some folks out there, during the height of the coronavirus panic, pushing through the crowds buying TP and hand sanitizer, and making a beeline for the garden section to swipe all the African violets. :)

I love your comment! Hand sanitizer? What's that? (Joking.) I just use a bar of soap when I get home.

I think growers had to cut back on the quantity of what they grow. Also. We're all staying home and restlessly awaiting bloom.

I actually did find some nice locally grown AVs in my local garden center.