Virtual African Violet Show!

Countdown begins...

Violet Voice is once again planning an online African Violet Show. Members who wish to participate will spend the next 14 weeks "growing to show" and then will enter the results for display, in categories just as an actual show would be set up.

Instead of delivering our plants to the show location, we try to take the very best photo we can and submit our entries. 

New members are sure to be welcomed, so drop by soon and see what's happening! 

You might find you're in the mood to Grow To Show, too :)

Week 14:
What to do this week - Lesson One online.

Meanwhile, on my shelves . . .  
Things are growing!
Not sure if it's just my imagination or what, but perhaps they know spring is around the corner as I swear things are taking a growth spurt this week.  
I finally found the Jack's Classic 20-20-20 blend of fertilizer and will gladly set aside the Shultz brand so I can see how the plants respond to this more balanced diet.

Darling Blue Trail on the right is the cutting that arrived in September from Montana. The one on the left was started from a leaf from that cutting. 
The littler one that's blooming past it's mother is being allowed do grow pretty much however it chooses.  CUTE!

The larger plant is not being allowed to bloom. Leaves have been removed from the bottom rows and the plant has been lowered into the pot. Repeatedly.
(Leaves are bigger? And I've removed about 3 bloom stalks a week since it arrived!)
It has 2 well formed crowns and tiny little leaves that I'm hoping will become the next crown. (We need 3 Darling if you want to go to the show!)

A few of the plants started from leaves from the Round Robin have started to bloom. Von's Baby Jay, Optimara Little Crystal and Teen Bride are just beginning to brighten my stand with their blooms.
(In order from top, clockwise.)
 
Teen Bride was the only plant from the wick experiment to thrive. The others are barely surviving and I am about ready to call it quits on the constant wick-watering method.

I've spent two days rearranging my shelving unit so I could add an extra shelf of lights. I've had to give up some storage room but I've gotten my sewing table back! (It had become an overflow shelf, but 3 trays of plants in the middle of my cutting table makes quilting a little difficult.)

I have a quilt project that went on hold while I did some knitting. At the risk of blocking air movement, I found a place to display wall-hangings. 
As seen from the doorway.

Making Kids Cry

That kind of week!

Lollipop Kid had a water bottle tip over onto it when I went to set it down on the wire rack shelving and crushed a leaf over the edge of its pot.  I didn't notice the damage when it happened, but the next day found this sad tear rolling out of the leaky break.

Earlier in the day Jax went after a buzzing housefly that was bouncing off one of the T-8 bulbs and knocked a tray of plants on the lower shelf sliding sideways. Not too much damage, other than a few tipped starter plants. I took Beca's Pink Crochet out of the self-watering planter and yanked a row of haloing leaves off, so it was smaller anyways. 
It has a few less leaves now.

I potted up 2 leaf pots of babies for this variety, but it's very pink (possibly unacceptable *) blossoms aren't likely to make my future Favorites List. 
The spooning/haloing leaves only makes it worse. 


It was not too hard to keep only 4 of the nearly 20 plantlets produced by 3 leaves. I tried to pick just a couple of the larger plantlets WITHOUT spooning leaves. I don't know if it's something I'm doing (or not doing) but Beca'a Pink Crochet is racking up a longer list of "cons" than "pros"...the word "crochet" might not save it!
 
* Pink has to pass the Acceptable Pink test in our household, as defined by daughter Stephani. ;) 

Later still in the day, I went to take something out of Jax's mouth, while holding a leaf pot in my other hand. She made a grab for the leaf cup of Optimara Little Moonstone and chomped a slice in one of the 2 leaves.
Luckily, not the one actually just starting to pop up babies. 

Trinket Terrific is surviving it's rough treatment for some sort of bug. it's putting on growth finally, but not sure I trust it to be pest free yet. Or ever. Yanked off all its roots (twice) and sloshed it up an down, first rubbing alcohol, then Safer Soap treatment the next week when aphid-like bug was found on the backs of several Round Robin leaves. They all got treated.
They should probably have all been pitched.
 
below left:
Reflections of Spring has the biggest blossoms ever! 
Rob's Heat Wave will make my Favorites List!

Rob's Heat Wave family photo

 
I had too many leaves set in the solo cup, so tried to move one off on its own. Broke the mother leaf right off. These very tiny babies trying to survive on their own are Exhibit-A for why "you should not be at it all the time".

The ROUND ROBIN experience

"African Violets Are Good Travelers" *

They change their clime, not their disposition, who run beyond the sea.

~HORACE

The NEW Complete Book of African Violets by Helen Van Pelt Wilson @1951, 1963.

* (Title and quote from Chapter 15 Heading) 
Chapter 15 is a step-by-step sketched guide for packing plants and leaves for mailing.
 

Carolyn K. Rector, author of how to grow African Violets  mentions running a Round Robin. @1951.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. They don't even go anything like you imagine.

So you need to regroup and change course. It's helpful if there are friendly Voices to lift your resolve [and your mindset] when it's needed most.

My name was 3rd in a recent Violet Voice Round Robin. I anxiously awaited delivery for days and days. Our mail service has been sketchy for the last year, with mail going to all the wrong boxes - off by one or two addresses, either side of us. We usually sort it out amongst ourselves. But you just never know where your mail might land or be certain every person who gets wrong mail will value its safe return into the system.

And delays are not good when it comes to plant material inside hot boxes!

When the Round Robin delivery time went into week 2, there was cause for concern. It had to cross through US/Canadian customs before getting to me and was taking its own, sweet time. And appears to have been frisked at the border, if lack of tape was any indication!

The smell of rotting leaves, once the box arrived September 20th at nearly 4 pm, was horrific. Most of the starting packets were baggies of brown-goo mush. A few wedges were cut from leaves with any sign of green life. A long shot with nothing to lose! 

(The remaining wedge of "International" was doing the best of these attempts, but I fear it's starting to fail. Really wanted that one to have a happily ever-after [ironic name] outcome!)

I was in denial for over an hour. THIS Round Robin was STILL going to go exactly as planned and I would get it back into the mail stream for the next person in line. Except, in my heart and in my head I felt nothing was ready to go back into the box and not be turned to goo if it meant four or five more days with USPS.

My anxiety was through the roof. (What if everyone thought I was one of "those kind of people?")

As a "starting over" grower I didn't have replacement leaves for a new box. Thankfully, PLAN B went into effect and the next person in line FIXED EVERYTHING by starting a new box. 

Plants and leaves in my care were "planted" to stay a while. Time to recover.

I hesitated naming what came out of the box until they proved to be survivors. JINX?

UPDATE Nov. 2nd: A few weeks in I noticed Petite Blarney Plantlet was actually 2 so decided to separate. DISCOVERED WHITE FUZZ & BUG. Panic subsided and treated rather than tossing the lot. Playing with fire? I hope not! 
Plantlets have been tipped out and checked weekly. 

{Roots removed and reset like sucker.}

* Babies beginning to appear marked.
Lost marked with strike line... or deleted.

Ness' Crinkle Blue - Baby Plantlet  - {treated twice}

Ness' Satin Rose - Baby Plantlet  - 1 leaf saved, plantlet tossed

* Persian Prince - 3 leaves - {1 leaf tossed/treatment caused to fail}

Little Bo Peep - Baby Plantlet - 3 leaves saved, plantlet tossed

Petite Blarney - Baby Plantlet + 2 leaves {TREATED MULTIPLE TIMES}

Trinket Terrific - Baby Plantlet - {treated 3 times}

* Mickey Mouse - 2 leaves

Mikinda Girl - 6 leaves

* Frosted Whisper - 2 leaves

* Teen Bride - 4 leaves

Pacific Pearl - 3 leaves ? do I still have this one - need to check!

* Foster Trail - 3 leaves (+ 2 half leaves)

Sassy Sister - Partial leaf - nearly whole

Rob's Squeeze Toy - 1/2 leaf

* Rob's oolong - 2 leaves

* Blue Dragon - 2 leaves

* Opt. Little Moonstone - 2 leaves

Futuriste - 1 3/4 leaves

S. ionantha 1/2 leaf

* Von's Baby Jay - 2 leaves

Opt. Little Crystal - 3 leaves

1 stem of Strep. "White Butterfly"

♥ Wishes Fulfilled - Some of these (Plantlets & Persian Prince) are the ones I dared mention I would really like most, when asked if we had any wishlists. I have risked treating rather than tossing at discovery of aphid-like bugs on backs of some leaves and base of most of the plantlets. Hope I don't regret this choice!