tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25490038238119808912024-03-05T03:25:40.418-08:00Thou Shalt (TRY VERY HARD) Not to Kill {African Violets}!Enthusiastic African Violet lover. BE WARNED: No experts live here :)Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-82459557932797550242023-06-14T23:31:00.000-07:002023-06-14T23:31:07.929-07:00Ready, Set, Go! <p><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bloomlovers' Leaves Set </span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kRJtIFyXsYczYa3A_zkhfqkNlNtMWrzvPj8JMu272D0okSG0edqkOkXFGdnmzp2Aq6yPRs5T5Em8aHMrC03d3x2AdP1LSxNVylt2iGXuLefjn508lRGz7cyv65XTVpRQq_DhDEUl4MyZU9IXD3b843fsr06gUK33IP6rB-tHfGjiU7S0D00of93g/s4160/20230608_135853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4kRJtIFyXsYczYa3A_zkhfqkNlNtMWrzvPj8JMu272D0okSG0edqkOkXFGdnmzp2Aq6yPRs5T5Em8aHMrC03d3x2AdP1LSxNVylt2iGXuLefjn508lRGz7cyv65XTVpRQq_DhDEUl4MyZU9IXD3b843fsr06gUK33IP6rB-tHfGjiU7S0D00of93g/s320/20230608_135853.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></b></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">6 new varieties arrived in the beginning of June, fulfilling my wish to replace a couple of old favorites grown before, and a few to try for the first time. The first 4 are new-to-me.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Beauteous</b> (10300) 04/03/2010 (P. Harris) Semidouble pink pansy. Medium green, quilted, scalloped, girl foliage. Standard trailer </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Blue Blend</b> (H. Pittman) Semidouble dark blue pansy/white edge. Variegated dark green. Semiminiature </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Morgan's JaiPur</b> (C. Eros) Rose semidouble, thin dark glitter edge. Medium green foliage. Semiminiature </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Ness' Angel Eyes</b> (7463) 01/02/1991 (D. Ness) Semidouble pale pink ruffled pansy/fuchsia eye. Medium green, quilted. Semiminiature</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Ness' Crinkle Blue</b> (8136) 01/19/1995 (D. Ness) Double dark blue star/variable thin white edge. Dark green, quilted, serrated/red back. Semiminiature </p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Rob's Heat Wave</b> (7887) 06/02/1993 (R. Robinson) Semidouble light pink sticktite pansy/wide red frosted edge. Medium-dark green, quilted, serrated. Semiminiature</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I updated my First Class 2 software from AVSA and they provided a download link that allowed me to reinstall the program online, since this laptop doesn't even a disk drive. It took a few minutes to relearn how to make a print list but it looks like a few improvements have been made to the note-taking section of the user database section with dropdown choices filled out for you. Or you can include what became of them with the word "dead". </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hoping I don't have to go there too soon!</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Jersey Girl Trail</b> (10374) 11/22/2010 (R. Kurzynski) Single-semidouble fuchsia pansy. Medium green girl foliage. Miniature trailer</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: "times new roman", serif;"><b>Tomahawk</b> (7269) 01/22/1990 (K. Stork) Semidouble-double bright red. Dark green, plain. Large</p>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-14149174394141916462023-05-22T16:06:00.001-07:002023-05-22T16:07:32.695-07:00Happy, dirty hands. And my coffee went cold.<div class="separator"><b style="font-size: large;">Jersey Girl Trail</b></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirnk86bZYV4VTY0vCn4ZtiQc54VgyXBSPOZiIW31K-U3g-5NXVhK2ifKwR3Nu4v60DgeuyKaw2d4DM_RL_kGA6N--uLiTMw8JR8_XfOEREG9pkeKFjh81Bi_0tAlsGPWdARUiOCiixqvEmS8q5q987cDVnILlAHDncJW-W26Q0mg2n8qlymSnFBCPo/s2823/20230522_055625.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2823" data-original-width="2746" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirnk86bZYV4VTY0vCn4ZtiQc54VgyXBSPOZiIW31K-U3g-5NXVhK2ifKwR3Nu4v60DgeuyKaw2d4DM_RL_kGA6N--uLiTMw8JR8_XfOEREG9pkeKFjh81Bi_0tAlsGPWdARUiOCiixqvEmS8q5q987cDVnILlAHDncJW-W26Q0mg2n8qlymSnFBCPo/w311-h320/20230522_055625.jpg" width="311" /></a></div></b></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A single African Violet arrived a year ago, tucked into a box with several Streptocarpus. Ordered for my birthday from Violet Barn. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It was potted up in my mix and survived well enough. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Several leaves got set hoping to grow a few extra. Maybe send some home with Sara for her sills again. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Insurance. </i></span><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2578" data-original-width="2557" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Aism1VSeBfXv2w-rfDPat1Bulazp9g1UljRDZLhygHxA6srCMFLq-kfYrq7ioQfJCoDuNK5mwk9oBC33BGl1A2c3bM3c8KBzTtt1j5zgsc0NMYbk4FOQxR-j894QQGT_kD5qugKhFhen_jCffUwPzpBkAUPEEUtvqkFSDXgY1lucKBjuozv4Umqi/w314-h317/20230520_072422.jpg" width="314" /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Winter seemed never ending and some of the Streps </span><span style="font-size: medium;">struggled with powdery mildew. Bristol's Ravishing Ruby went to live on the kitchen window sill to keep a closer eye on it. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A couple plants just withered and were lost.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">My mix seemed to be too light. Plants needed watering every other day. So disheartening to find droopy plants everytime I</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">turned around. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A new batch of soil mix was made, taking better care to measure. </span><span>Things were repotted again. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Turns out some of the babies had been seperated but I put 3 plantlets in several of the pots because they were so small. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I made quite a mess repotting Jersey Girl Trail babies this morning.</span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;">Groot thought so, too.</span></div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">LED tubes had been tried in the T8 fixture for longer than I could remember when I started with them. Not a fan although I couldn't put into words exactly why.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>One warm & one cool tube were </span><span>bought for two of the fixtures when seed starting time rolled around this March. A couple of weeks later all six of them got new replacements. Ignoring the "rule" about never replacing lights all at once... </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Things grew. Things bloomed!</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">My greenhouse is stuffed with plants for the garden, waiting for the weather to warm up enough. One shelf on the light stand still holds four trays of the smallest plants. Mostly because there's just not enough room out there.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Flowers started appearing on my top shelf again. Which change "fixed" things? Maybe hard to say. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Maybe it was that I had time and a desire to pay attention again.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>(Mostly I think it was the lights!)</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm not going to get carried away collecting too many AVs again. They become a chore. I just want a few old favorites, maybe a new variety or two I've never grown before.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Tomahawk arrives this week from Violet Barn, along with a couple new Streps.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>It was my birthday yesterday :)</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br /> <p></p></div>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-25932845283943121222023-05-17T03:50:00.004-07:002023-05-18T05:34:23.977-07:00And then it was May 2023 . . .<div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs-3sZQwswHvVGd4kmPByguZKhiONZFGR0iOVB6jRwWT2gGjbwBgusa5hZm_K286EyPjorgIY2bngTF2r7slL4gHGWYYalI7iGyH5CB6Hga0Z41CGb0dGCdX_2UpZLSOjptv85KgwOJ6jEiYRpqmfU4sU8D-BHZ_jHeuLIxU-y8rireMmZcyo83Om/s1080/3%20streps%202023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs-3sZQwswHvVGd4kmPByguZKhiONZFGR0iOVB6jRwWT2gGjbwBgusa5hZm_K286EyPjorgIY2bngTF2r7slL4gHGWYYalI7iGyH5CB6Hga0Z41CGb0dGCdX_2UpZLSOjptv85KgwOJ6jEiYRpqmfU4sU8D-BHZ_jHeuLIxU-y8rireMmZcyo83Om/s320/3%20streps%202023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Some things don't go as planned. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Or even as hoped. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">But I guess some things never change... </span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All those plants from the pages of this blog are long gone. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Of course.</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I did say I "would try very hard" not to kill them all. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But life... and death. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2035" data-original-width="2048" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdk60nPKYMIp1n0EOmlf1UDBfZvtUT0ivyRQlZa0AslNQQeyQy82nPoepEnBPtjBLUWtCcb_sMfogOHLGk-ghqR1sfZwwtFk6-lWV4RiNxmMpLzqcxyEh5n09yawi9B-w-kgyMpEzrFPhEFtZ4DE12FDsk7Dbns7ObHuiER80MCnK5loMo7QGy01N/s320/Texas%20Hot%20Chili%202022.jpg" width="320" /></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Stretched me too thin.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Several years of Eldercare when my parents needed me more than I would know.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But it's what you do. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When they're gone and you have your life back again it takes some time to heal your broken spirit. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So a year ago I ordered the African Violet Jersey Girl Trail, along with several Streps from Violet Barn. Bristol's Indigo Eyes and Strep Little Kan joined a newly started Texas Hot Chili I've had for years. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The Original Texas Hot Chili bloomed itself to death, just about literally. I came home one day when life away from my home was the most crazy-awful and asked her if I could please have a few flowers. </span><span>I cleaned things up by removing spent stalks and funky leaves; watered it well with a bit of fertilizer and left again. Within weeks it was covered with flowers! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But the crazy-awful part of Eldercare was not finished with me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I saved a few shoots, but I finally composted the original plant. <br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Through it all, I've always kept at least one shelf on my plant stand lighted.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes things were sad looking and the reality of trying to fix a sickly looking plant is too much. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">You can always begin again. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes that's the hardest part. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Begin.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Again...</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">This spring seeds for the greenhouse lit up two more shelves.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">My greenhouse is stuffed with plants waiting for warmth to arrive.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My birthday is coming around the sun again in a week. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another order has been placed with Violet Barn. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tomahawk was an impulse gift to myself, along with a couple new Streps.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I just rewatched Kent Stork's interview with Annie. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">His favorite tool was a trash can. I went looking for one of his plants for my birthday. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My spirit is mostly healed</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I feel relief. Calm. Some guilt. Mostly I can breathe again and enjoy our life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Home.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>P.S. Jersey Girl Trail will get her own post soon.</i></span></div><p><br /></p>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-12202178593924871652018-08-01T02:49:00.001-07:002023-05-23T03:41:34.148-07:00Surviving the first year<h2>
With the Best of Intentions</h2>
I really did mean to blog more often as my collection of African Violets started over nearly a year ago. But there wasn't that much to see! 4 plants and a dozen or more leaves set to propagate have morphed into about 40 plants on 2 lighted shelves. 4 or 5 duplicates were sent off to live on daughter Sara's windowsills.<br />
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<b>Updated Inventory list and how they did producing plantlets:</b><br />
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Bogeyman - leaf produced 2 plants. Neither are showing much of any variegation they started out with.</div>
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Cirelda - 2 plants, one of which is doing nicely although still no blooms. One I dropped upside down all the way to the floor and is still trying to recover.</div>
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Hearts Aglow - ONE. Finally growing out fairly nicely although not many leaves left once I removed all smaller than row above "baby" leaves. @</div>
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Honky Tonk Blues - Three. Prolific! the leaves set a year ago produced plantlets now blooming or about to. One went to Sara in bud stage. I like the leaves and it shapes up well without much effort on my part. But how many purple AVs does a person need? </div>
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Jolly Eyes - ONE.</div>
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Mac's Just Jeff - TWO. Only two. And their variegation is different. I like them both although I don't know which is most likely true. @</div>
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Mickey Mouse - Three Plantlets just coming into bloom. I love this one and will try to keep it always. Leaves will be stuck in solo cups unashamedly! As soon as I find where I put them.</div>
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Midnight Rascal - Two, both bobbleheads I can't seem to grow out a nice crown of. But I want it, so still trying!</div>
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Ness' Angel Eyes - Prolific...and I kept every plantlet produced apparently! 10 duplicates of this one. Really? Hasn't bloomed yet but a couple may be nearing that stage. 5 got put into a "Strawberry" planter for experimenting. Because that's what you do to justify keeping TEN plantlets. </div>
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Ness' Angel Glitter - ONE? Gave Sara one ... pretty sure. Note to self: Put one up for good measure!</div>
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Pastel Princess - Three. Bloom droppers. But Girl Leaves! Lower leaves let go every once in a while. Maybe too wet.</div>
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Persian Lace - Give it up! One original leaf left. 2 or 3 plantlets started to show and then failed. Why am I still watering this one? </div>
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Precious Rose - One. Not that precious yet and sitting at the edge of the trash bin. @</div>
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Rob's Cool Fruit - TWO! Determined to grow these out. One needed suckers removed twice already. </div>
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Sugar Bear Blues - Two. This was a variety I got when Tom and I drove to MA to see the AV show. Plantlets just coming into bloom. I love this one (also) and will try to keep it always. Leaves will be stuck in solo cups unashamedly! It kind of looks just like Mickey Mouse. </div>
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Tequila Rose - One. Meh. Bobblehead and leaves curl. Should pitch it. @</div>
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Tiger Trail - Three. The only survivor from a previous collection. They have lost their variegation but still I keep hope alive. @</div>
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Tropical SUNSHINE (not Sunrise) I checked my invoice and I incorrectly wrote sunrise on the label. I have one. It bloomed YELLOW this week. One blossom.</div>
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Twist 'n' Shout - Two. Both "twisted" growth with crowns that don't seem able to get around itself. So I shout at them. Experimenting with LED tubes.</div>
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(@ = Disregard the solo cup with a few leaves put down for good measure.)</div>
Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-86797834194371211792017-12-24T07:56:00.001-08:002017-12-24T07:56:32.750-08:00I promise I'm NOT hovering...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qjnMDZVksug-XERZnHqd9bJ5FOEKbHxm4NVDgM6HQRJMnNooS3ed04I7i4GCL1mLQRC9T2hfPXxtCmx5W6NICkcMG07hbcRr6BRfBXEERgfBOJNKfyILRyDDeNbKU-4ituN4A78MSgc/s1600/pranuts-how-long-o-lord+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qjnMDZVksug-XERZnHqd9bJ5FOEKbHxm4NVDgM6HQRJMnNooS3ed04I7i4GCL1mLQRC9T2hfPXxtCmx5W6NICkcMG07hbcRr6BRfBXEERgfBOJNKfyILRyDDeNbKU-4ituN4A78MSgc/s1600/pranuts-how-long-o-lord+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT...really.</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Charlie Brown cartoon appeared in the Comic pages a few weeks ago and I thought it fit my feelings perfectly. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Waiting for African Violet plants to grow from the very beginning takes great patience!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I did get one more order of leaves put in to BloomLovers at the end of September, edging my collection number away from unlucky 13. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, there are little baby leaves popping up through to the surface of most of my 19 attempts at new life. I lost just one leaf and luckily Bloomlovers included 2 of each variety in that order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm afraid they are still along way from being removed from their mother leaf. By Spring</span></div>
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<b>The updated list: </b></div>
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Bogeyman (5071) 10/06/1982 (R. Scott) Semidouble red-purple/thin darker edge. Variegated, plain, quilted. Semiminiature (DAVS 830, TX Hyb)</div>
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Cirelda (3620) 03/01/1979 (P. Tracey) Double pink two-tone. Quilted. Semiminiature trailer (CA 202, 1979)</div>
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Hearts Aglow (8516) 11/09/1996 (S. Sorano) Semidouble fuchsia star/ivory blush. Dark green, quilted/red back. Standard</div>
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<br /></div>
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Honky Tonk Blues (9526) 12/17/2005 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/P. Sorano) Single purple sticktite frilled star/violet-red overlay in eye. Medium green, plain, quilted, serrated. Semiminiature</div>
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Jolly Eyes (9906) 03/07/2008 (H. Pittman) Semidouble pink/fuchsia eye. Medium green, plain, pointed. Semiminiature (DAVS 1643, TX Hyb)</div>
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Mac's Just Jeff (9478) 09/29/2005 (G. McDonald) Semidouble coral red pansy/variable darker fantasy. Mosaic variegated medium green, white and variable pink, plain, scalloped. Miniature</div>
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Mickey Mouse (H. Inpijn) Double dark blue. Dark green, pointed/red back. Miniature (Western)</div>
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Midnight Rascal (8259) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Semidouble medium blue pansy/raspberry frilled edge. Medium green, ovate, quilted/red back. Semiminiature</div>
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Ness' Angel Eyes (7463) 01/02/1991 (D. Ness) Semidouble pale pink ruffled pansy/fuchsia eye. Medium green, quilted. Semiminiature</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ness' Angel Glitter (8132) 01/19/1995 (D. Ness) Semidouble fuchsia ruffled pansy/darker sparkle fantasy, edge. Dark green, pointed, serrated/red back. Semiminiature</div>
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<br /></div>
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Pastel Princess (10833) 04/27/2016 (D. Lamphere/Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses) Single light blue sticktite frilled pansy. Medium green, scalloped, girl foliage. Standard</div>
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Persian Lace (8264) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Double white frilled pansy/pale blue-blushed lower petals, light blue-veined top petals. Dark green, plain, wavy, serrated/red back. Semiminiature</div>
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Precious Rose (Lyon) Double white star/rose edge. Variegated medium green and white, ovate, serrated. Standard</div>
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Rob's Cool Fruit (8608) 05/31/1997 (R. Robinson) Double white pansy/rose-pink edge. Crown variegated medium green, white and yellow, pointed, serrated. Semiminiature</div>
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Sugar Bear Blues (7183) 09/05/1989 (D. Ness) Semidouble-double medium blue. Medium green, plain, pointed/red back. Semiminiature</div>
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Tequila Rose (10927) 08/30/2017 (P. Sorano/Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses) Single-semidouble rose-pink two-tone pansy/raspberry frilled edge. Medium green, quilted. Standard</div>
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Tiger Trail (6897) 07/13/1988 (P. Harris) Double bright fuchsia/pale pink back. Variegated, quilted, glossy. Standard trailer (Western)</div>
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Tropical Sunrise (User Database)</div>
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Twist 'n' Shout (8285) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Semidouble light pink pansy/red frilled edge. Medium green, ovate, quilted. Semiminiature</div>
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</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-37330091943093850892017-09-21T01:49:00.000-07:002017-09-21T01:49:25.326-07:00In Bloom<h2>
For peace of mind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IUzTbvswCnYHPzxT3pjUrzkJN5FrBBlvPryd29sPJUXEquEUUDEkexWYB6Ek7Tp4Wqcm-r6RMCBPkY6sIosXy9y9Rr198cQyoO5sQ5ZpNsxJPbwQe5SGIuXt4DQiN1ispBs80PT9o7E/s1600/First+3+AV.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_IUzTbvswCnYHPzxT3pjUrzkJN5FrBBlvPryd29sPJUXEquEUUDEkexWYB6Ek7Tp4Wqcm-r6RMCBPkY6sIosXy9y9Rr198cQyoO5sQ5ZpNsxJPbwQe5SGIuXt4DQiN1ispBs80PT9o7E/s320/First+3+AV.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Since my new collection of African Violets are meant to renew the soul and distract me from the approaching season of dark, I'm resisting the urge to disbud and rip off leaves that are damaged from shipping or leggy in the attempt to grow out "perfect" violets. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">These first three came with buds just poking up through the leaves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The 8 leaves that arrived on Friday all seem to have survived the stress of mail delivery. It only took 2 days from the email announcing they had shipped until they appeared in my mailbox. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I'll need to add one more to my shelf because: 13?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cirelda (3620) 03/01/1979 (P. Tracey) Double pink two-tone. Quilted. Semiminiature trailer (CA 202, 1979)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hearts Aglow (8516) 11/09/1996 (S. Sorano) Semidouble fuchsia star/ivory blush. Dark green, quilted/red back. Standard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Honky Tonk Blues (9526) 12/17/2005 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/P. Sorano) Single purple sticktite frilled star/violet-red overlay in eye. Medium green, plain, quilted, serrated. Semiminiature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mac's Just Jeff (9478) 09/29/2005 (G. McDonald) Semidouble coral red pansy/variable darker fantasy. Mosaic variegated medium green, white and variable pink, plain, scalloped. Miniature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Midnight Rascal (8259) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Semidouble medium blue pansy/raspberry frilled edge. Medium green, ovate, quilted/red back. Semiminiature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ness' Angel Glitter (8132) 01/19/1995 (D. Ness) Semidouble fuchsia ruffled pansy/darker sparkle fantasy, edge. Dark green, pointed, serrated/red back. Semiminiature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pastel Princess (10833) 04/27/2016 (D. Lamphere/Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses) Single light blue sticktite frilled pansy. Medium green, scalloped, girl foliage. Standard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Persian Lace (8264) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Double white frilled pansy/pale blue-blushed lower petals, light blue-veined top petals. Dark green, plain, wavy, serrated/red back. Semiminiature</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Precious Rose (Lyon) Double white star/rose edge. Variegated medium green and white, ovate, serrated. Standard</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tequila Rose (LLG) Mellow, light pink single/semidouble pansies. Flower face has heavy glistening effect. Wide raspberry edge is fringed. Medium green, quilted foliage. Possibly a compact grower. 2017 Standard (User Database)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tiger Trail (6897) 07/13/1988 (P. Harris) Double bright fuchsia/pale pink back. Variegated, quilted, glossy. Standard trailer (Western)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tropical Sunshine (LLG) Vivid! Yellow, semidouble and double stars, with a wide white edge, surrounded by a fringed green edge. Medium green foliage is wavy and serrated. 2017 Standard (User Database)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Twist 'n' Shout (8285) 07/28/1995 (S. Sorano) Semidouble light pink pansy/red frilled edge. Medium green, ovate, quilted. Semiminiature</span><br />
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<br />Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-2708569168610399592017-09-12T03:13:00.000-07:002017-09-12T08:12:02.524-07:00For the love of African Violets . . . here I go again!<h2>
<b>In the beginning there is hope</b></h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">In August of 2017 I had exactly 4 African Violet plants left. They were all Tiger Trail. All in bloom on windowsills. An impulse decision to turn ONE lighted shelf back on and start a new collection of AV's struck early in the morning of August 29th.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I went shopping at Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses. I bought 4 plants:</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Honky Tonk Blues</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ness' Angel Glitter*</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cirelda</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Pastel Princess*</span></div>
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</span>
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They arrived very quickly, three budding and ready to flower. Cirelda had at least three crowns but all "babies" that needed separating. Surgery went well and all 3 were potted up. Because the shelf is pretty bare. And that's what we do when promising to limit our collection. (* means one leaf was plopped into a pot of it's own to further break the limitation guidelines previously mentioned.)</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Yesterday an order for 8 leaves was placed with the same vendor:<br />Tropical Sunshine<br />Mac's Just Jeff<br />Precious Rose<br />Heart's Aglow<br />Twist 'n' Shout<br />Tequila Rose <br />Midnight Rascal<br />Persian Lace </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Heaven help me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(No. It'll be fine :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">picture soon but I gotta go start my day.</span><br />
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Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-44316735668513072612015-07-03T02:14:00.000-07:002015-07-03T08:53:05.273-07:00More from AVSA magazine <h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Back issues worth another look</b></span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.avsa.org/magazine"><u><b>African Violet</b></u></a></span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1853/build/graphics/g1853-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1853/build/graphics/g1853-6.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Question Box</b> from the March - April 2014 issue by Sue Haffner answers a question about "mossing off". Although she had never heard the term, after further research she concluded it was another name for "air layering". </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She directed readers to a previous issue from May - June 2013 with an article by Sharon Rosenzweig, <b>"Air Layering your leggy African violets." </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For African Violets it would be a way to root a long "neck". Instead of decapitating the plant and taking your chance that it survives the surgery, you root the bare stem first. Remove several rows of old leaves and scrape the stem slightly. Wrap damp sphagnum moss around the stem and secure plastic wrap at the base and near first row of leaves. Roots will grow into the moss over the next few weeks and THEN you cut the lower half of the old plant off. <i>Genius.</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm trying it on one of mum's <i>palm trees</i>!</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsSAk0qZQb3OXxF_m_BrmHkdtS_oekhECoL2NBX61jimMDRoo_r5Ii0Yq9EJh3CFxu9XaHRFSglPNWeehlnfL13Ihwe3-vsRlhG3uKOFAJLmd_A3aDG8RdWsTjKI-M8YOgIl4-nDhC-8/s1600/IMG_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdsSAk0qZQb3OXxF_m_BrmHkdtS_oekhECoL2NBX61jimMDRoo_r5Ii0Yq9EJh3CFxu9XaHRFSglPNWeehlnfL13Ihwe3-vsRlhG3uKOFAJLmd_A3aDG8RdWsTjKI-M8YOgIl4-nDhC-8/s320/IMG_0230.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1853/build/</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7AzAtfIVxBtOoW1gz5nfH7-QAhemTpnQTYEnd-0PuByanvitjFjcZj1Kj0FlID5w17fK9YM4-c4mgz_CgF4b2s6frPqrlt-UjOsY6eStiptGA2W91KZMFtRpyfehYNSAJwmQgZSCa_c/s1600/IMG_0225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7AzAtfIVxBtOoW1gz5nfH7-QAhemTpnQTYEnd-0PuByanvitjFjcZj1Kj0FlID5w17fK9YM4-c4mgz_CgF4b2s6frPqrlt-UjOsY6eStiptGA2W91KZMFtRpyfehYNSAJwmQgZSCa_c/s1600/IMG_0225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7AzAtfIVxBtOoW1gz5nfH7-QAhemTpnQTYEnd-0PuByanvitjFjcZj1Kj0FlID5w17fK9YM4-c4mgz_CgF4b2s6frPqrlt-UjOsY6eStiptGA2W91KZMFtRpyfehYNSAJwmQgZSCa_c/s320/IMG_0225.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In an effort to document some of my new arrivals as they become a part of my daily routine of <i>hovering over plants</i> again, I plopped my sample onto the page of one found in the magazine.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I found an example of <b>Jolly Orchid</b> photographed in the May - June 2014 issue.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Rob's Slap Happy</b> was pictured in the January - February 2014 issue. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My first online African Violet mentor was Fred Hill from the <b>GardenWeb</b> site. (It has recently changed ownership and is now called <a href="http://www.gardenweb.com/" target="_blank">Houzz</a>.) His was a wise voice, suggesting common sense advice on how to coax mom's AV's into living longer and blooming better at my house. It was a running theme with my mom that I would <i>liberate</i> a blooming AV from her overcrowded windowsill and bring it to my house . . . to finish blooming and die. (She always laughed and said she had plenty more!) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FrV0V5te0g6o9rrDy2irnG6q6EfBIcooGCg1aTlk61ATsLu9JcBj62t426zLC4Hwdg-jgHfLb_ttzNZTMwo-Mk4zGl69bSLuQ9xkLk2Kn9QAsz6LssjymxKWcHodcqp6UXk37LttP5Y/s1600/IMG_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3FrV0V5te0g6o9rrDy2irnG6q6EfBIcooGCg1aTlk61ATsLu9JcBj62t426zLC4Hwdg-jgHfLb_ttzNZTMwo-Mk4zGl69bSLuQ9xkLk2Kn9QAsz6LssjymxKWcHodcqp6UXk37LttP5Y/s320/IMG_0234.JPG" width="320" /></a>Fred offered practical advice and stayed above the fray when different factions of online groups sometimes failed to play nicely. Soon after finding <b>GardenWeb</b> I came across a brand new MSN site called <b>Violet Voice.</b> I posted my exciting new find and was promptly yelled at by someone named Spike. Fred followed me over there anyways and we became some of <i>Mrs. John's</i> first Charter Members. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My last issue of <b>African Violet</b> magazine before my membership lapsed had his <b>In Memory</b> tribute (July - August 2014).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fred once sent me several leaves of <b>Persian Prince</b>. He placed them in a plain envelope with spacers so they wouldn't get crushed: for the price of a couple of first class stamps they arrived in just a few days and successfully grew on to become beautiful plants. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I regret losing that one. Perhaps it's time to renew my membership with AVSA in his honor.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Plant pictured is <b>Ma's Melody Girl </b>and I am also growing <b>Jersey Girl Trail</b>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From the March - April 2005 issue I found Nancy Robitaille's show schedule, <b>"Disbudding For Show"</b> and since I don't have the <b>Grow To Show</b> book, this is the next best thing I can find at the moment. <i>Not that there's any shows around here!</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I do like to grow out a plant for a while before letting it bloom. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The African Violet world recently lost Nancy's knowledgeable voice. I counted her as one of my favorite online mentors as well.</span></span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Below is the list of most of my new collection. I have several that still need to be entered into First Class 2 manually. My version hasn't been updated since 2013.</span></span><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Berry Splash (4107) 11/10/1980 (E. Champion) Double pink and fuchsia. Variegated, plain. Standard<br /><br />Celery Sport Celery: Single blue wasp; Variegated longifolia, bustled. The sport is not variegated. (User Database)<br /><br />Frosted Denim (8513) 11/09/1996 (S. Sorano) Semidouble light blue pansy/white edge. Medium green, plain, quilted. Miniature<br /><br />Grape Glory (10531) 04/09/2012 (P. Sorano/Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses) Semidouble-double blue ruffled star/lavender fantasy, white edge. Medium green, plain, serrated. Standard<br /><br />Jersey Girl Trail (10374) 11/22/2010 (R. Kurzynski) Single-semidouble fuchsia pansy. Medium green girl foliage. Miniature trailer<br /><br />Jolly Cutie Pie (9712) 01/15/2007 (H. Pittman) Single-semidouble pink pansy. Dark green, plain, pointed, glossy. Miniature (TX Hyb, DAVS 1639)<br /><br />Jolly Orchid (9719) 01/15/2007 (H. Pittman) Double orchid and white pansy. Medium green, plain, quilted. Miniature (TX Hyb, DAVS 1661)<br /><br />Jolly Victory (9915) 03/07/2008 (H. Pittman) Double burgundy-red pansy. Medium green, plain. Miniature (DAVS 1669)<br /><br />Lil Glimpse o' Spring (9932) 03/22/2008 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/P. Sorano) Semidouble-double white pansy/green frilled edge. Medium green, wavy, serrated. Semiminiature<br /><br />Mac's Elegant Green (MacDonald) Sdbl. white pansies with green edge. Medium green semiminiature foliage. Semiminiature (User Database)<br /><br />Ma's Melody Girl (9132) 05/31/2002 (O. Robinson) Semidouble coral star/raspberry fantasy, band; thin white-green edge. Dark green, quilted girl foliage. Standard<br /><br />Ness' Antique Red (D. Ness) Double dark red. Dark green, pointed, serrated/red back. Standard<br /><br />Ness' Crinkle Blue (8136) 01/19/1995 (D. Ness) Double dark blue star/thin white edge. Dark green, quilted, serrated/red back. Semiminiature<br /><br />Pixie Blue (2598) 09/16/1974 (L. Lyon) Single purple-blue/darker center. Plain, ovate. Miniature trailer<br /><br />Ramblin' Lace (6361) 08/28/1986 (S. Sorano) Double light pink star. Variegated, plain. Standard trailer<br /><br />Ramblin' Spots (7220) 10/21/1989 (S. Sorano) Semidouble-double pink/blue fantasy. Crown variegated medium green, plain. Standard trailer<br /><br />Rob's Cool Fruit (8608) 05/31/1997 (R. Robinson) Double white pansy/rose-pink edge. Crown variegated medium green, white and yellow, pointed, serrated. Semiminiature<br /><br />Rob's Heat Wave (7887) 06/02/1993 (R. Robinson) Semidouble light pink sticktite pansy/wide red frosted edge. Medium-dark green, quilted, serrated. Semiminiature<br /><br />Rob's Love Bite (9039) 05/31/2001 (R. Robinson) Semidouble black-red pansy. Crown variegated dark green, cream and beige/red back. Miniature<br /><br />Rob's Pewter Bells (7740) 07/06/1992 (R. Robinson) Semidouble silver-light blue large bell. Variegated dark green and white, pointed, quilted. Semiminiature<br /><br />Rob's Whoa Nellie (8617) 05/31/1997 (R. Robinson) Double fuchsia pansy/white edge. Variegated medium green and white, pebbled, glossy. Semiminiature<br /><br />SK-Apple Orchard (Kuznetsov) Beautiful "apple blossom" semidouble white blooms with light, rose-pink tips and edges to some petals. Medium, apple-green foliage. Semiminiature (User Database)<br /><br />Spring Rose (9959) 03/22/2008 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/P. Sorano) Double white star/frilled green edge. Light green, wavy, serrated. Standard<br /><br />Wizard's Sunstrike (S. Jones) Single white wasp/yellow streaks. Light green, hairy/bustle back. Large</i><br />
<br /></div>
Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-77956976996875382552015-06-27T14:19:00.000-07:002015-06-27T14:19:09.848-07:00Lapsed AVSA Membership<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6Wd3_Cf_8cTnX4W-8BOdt5frMsEcB0q2qd4HU58ve1jtSTQb2nr4QvmR-sJGPVNv35kuCT_HBptzVRzKcqmSNZSlBkbQXxVsresUEP9Vx6tGS9xxRSfNZMG0TJJS8XrNCDg6_xfrngQ/s1600/RobsLoveBite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6Wd3_Cf_8cTnX4W-8BOdt5frMsEcB0q2qd4HU58ve1jtSTQb2nr4QvmR-sJGPVNv35kuCT_HBptzVRzKcqmSNZSlBkbQXxVsresUEP9Vx6tGS9xxRSfNZMG0TJJS8XrNCDg6_xfrngQ/s320/RobsLoveBite.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Looking Back</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My last issue of the magazine <u><b>African Violet</b></u> was July-August 2014. Truth be told the final few issues I received before my membership expired went mostly unread. At about the same rate plant care went into a free fall worrying about other things.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfxel154N0sYGOhTIylRK3DTqeZUT3zqnkV-eEXqRJ2wKufgxhduE9kdHok8GQvR0o6UN5GUEUgvNSUQdnpEbCApGqj7lwSLBEdClobOWD7Pf6k2fryq1mmWz_ndgXLAFdIm2uisumaU/s1600/RLB2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikfxel154N0sYGOhTIylRK3DTqeZUT3zqnkV-eEXqRJ2wKufgxhduE9kdHok8GQvR0o6UN5GUEUgvNSUQdnpEbCApGqj7lwSLBEdClobOWD7Pf6k2fryq1mmWz_ndgXLAFdIm2uisumaU/s320/RLB2.JPG" width="271" /></a> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I gathered my hoarded past issues onto the table and took another look. Catching my interest first, from the January-February 2014 issue, was <b>A Beginner's Journey with 'Rob's Love Bite'</b> by Jeannie M. Myers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This interested me most because I just ordered it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It arrived from <b>Travis Violets</b> as a baby still attached to the mama leaf. Included was a full page apology for his shipping delay and quality of plants not being up to his usual standard. <i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>6 plants arrived including a free, fairly large gift of <b>Rob's Slap Happy</b>. They seem fine!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> </i> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlOzB2BLCy-Hdyt6yU2RdNrAUxbQUAHkZU7Ni9Kx3tPfGdXBfuK6tEuFvfMGGC0IxtpRnkUP-sFd74OLWcooe87HaR2FmGyY7yTzONlXf1j7EWfDLV8yMOoP9Xx6iIYYv2V8oBAIdNrI/s1600/NessCrinkleBlue.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlOzB2BLCy-Hdyt6yU2RdNrAUxbQUAHkZU7Ni9Kx3tPfGdXBfuK6tEuFvfMGGC0IxtpRnkUP-sFd74OLWcooe87HaR2FmGyY7yTzONlXf1j7EWfDLV8yMOoP9Xx6iIYYv2V8oBAIdNrI/s320/NessCrinkleBlue.JPG" width="298" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My order of 8 plants from <b>Rob's Violets </b>also included a plant, <b>Ramblin' Lace</b>, still attached to the mama leaf. There was no note, plus they charged me about $5 more for shipping than the actual cost. That's like another plant . . . so I was a little cranky. I did leave a review on their website in order to receive the 8th plant "free" so my level of crankiness has subsided. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>SK-Apple Orchard </b>was the "freebie" and its uniqueness will be interesting to try growing out. Very light green leaves with the outer leaves looking almost like they are lacking something and might very well be the first to go if it thrives. The blossoms look like they came from an apple tree!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Ness Crinkle Blue</b> is my prized treasure at the moment. 2 plants were actually sent! I set a few leaves right away of course. And one had suckers that needed plucking right away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I stuck them in the pot to see if they live . . . </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WHAT! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>(<b>Limit Your Collection </b>doesn't count for this one!)</i></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-87989897628712571412015-06-19T09:31:00.003-07:002015-06-19T09:31:52.317-07:00Starting Over . . .<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LIMIT YOUR COLLECTION</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sometimes it just has to be OKAY to begin again! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I admit it:<br />I've killed a lot of African Violets in the last year. Once again, LIFE got in the way. I went from way too many plants to nearly none. Throwing water at them and promising to care for them "tomorrow" is sure recipe for disaster. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I knew it while I was doing it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In hindsight it probably would have been better (easier on my soul) to just turn the lights off and throw everything in the trash all at once, rather than trying to coax the few survivors back to life. Trying to "fix" whatever ailed them - beyond obvious neglect - only prolonged the agony. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">WHEN IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />When plant care stops being fun and instead feels like a chore it's probably time to look for other interests to bring joy back into your life. I bought a Schacht Ladybug Spinning Wheel and taught myself to make my own yarn! (But that's a different story on my other <a href="http://sockshavenothumbs.blogspot.com/">blog</a>!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><em>I’ve paid my penance.</em> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I proved (to myself) I would care
for one shelf of crappy plants long enough. A couple of weeks ago I decided to allow myself the reward of new plants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><strong>I am (happily) starting over!</strong> <br />2 orders have been placed. Hopefully those 12 new plants (plus a freebie for leaving a review at Rob's Violets) will begin their journey through the USPS soon. The first grower I ordered from was Travis Violets. He replied in an email the he was "swamped" and the last time I looked my check hadn't even been deposited. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the meantime, I posted on the Facebook page for AV Nerds asking for help in my search for <b>Ness Crinkle Blue</b>. Within an hour a kind lady from Missouri offered me one. And then sent me a box containing more than a dozen starter plants and leaves. They arrived ahead of the others . . . </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It has begun! 12 to 30 in just a few days?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>LIMIT YOUR COLLECTION!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">BONUS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Season 2 of the podcast <a href="http://allaboutafricanviolets.com/"><b>All About African Violets</b></a> is underway! <i><br /></i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-87940393162512249502013-06-14T03:57:00.001-07:002013-06-14T04:00:54.134-07:00Changes Can Cause Problems<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5KVa10qYYhii1D1pNdnjtBZ2mrKIvLsjdzdMRsKwx5U09EQww21l6sWqWf8wUNohGz8vB8P8_6QUDpsDT7vQYXaoXzYIaxgeN6lx3d8nFIWqYF_tXtowXFxcCekr3I8Ar2C2w0THVXk/s1600/dish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5KVa10qYYhii1D1pNdnjtBZ2mrKIvLsjdzdMRsKwx5U09EQww21l6sWqWf8wUNohGz8vB8P8_6QUDpsDT7vQYXaoXzYIaxgeN6lx3d8nFIWqYF_tXtowXFxcCekr3I8Ar2C2w0THVXk/s320/dish.jpg" width="311" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>But WHICH CHANGES?</b></span></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For a couple of months I watched as things did not quite look right with some of my plants. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
a 3rd of the plants were in bloom and seemed fine. <i><b></b></i>By the time blooms
started to fade though, centers started looking like crap.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Other, smaller recently divided plants developed a second crown or looked stunted. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Centers that don't look "right"</b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>makes me worry. </b></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>I've been through this before!</b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">BUT some things had gradually changed:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For most of the winter cold months I had rolled the shelving unit to the hallway off the kitchen so we could close off the area they normally grew. They went back once it got "warmer". Too soon?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had started wick-watering more, with some bottom watering in individual saucers. That meant <b>less leaching</b> from top watering.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Domes were removed. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Usual soil mix ingredients were out of stock all winter. I experimented! ONE WAS HIGH IN CLAY AND SAND texture. The other got horrible reviews. Were those people right?</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Over Memorial Day Weekend I repotted EVERYTHING. Lots of duplicates got chucked into the trash if they looked too bad. Nothing was really overdue for repotting but when I started turning out the plants it was clear the soil mix since December was too sandy. It was drying out way too soon. Some of the plants were still in Solo Cups. If what was happening was something toxic in the mix or a lack of nutrients, the small containers were perhaps bringing it on faster?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">THINGS ARE IMPROVING... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(It's only been 2 weeks but I am an optimist!)</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I bought Miracle Grow potting soil and just added a little perlite. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I potted a lot of things UP to a size larger than I had been doing, especially standards.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <i>(Future topic: SOLO CUPS...Solution or Part of the Problem?)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I put TALL domes back over everything on 2 of 3 shelves. THOSE look the most improved!</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(At my request!) A local nursery started stocking TALLER DOMES when they opened for the spring. <i>They're pricier than they should be!</i> But the larger micro-climate seems easier to control for my conditions than the short domes. I'm going to go back to more of my tried & true top-watering method. Domes mean less watering, although over-watering is more obvious when I get it wrong!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaycCHPJh_vv9IpPZAXur3rcR0MuKy7oYj7W1bnuAWAuofI_OFlqyU1gYMts-l6WvD6KNG9_BPNpOCQM2PiLgvzF9E4tKD8SYb9ah5aZxnmCbix1YnbmxNQMtCRDluIsu0TCc4kzJr0B8/s1600/designB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaycCHPJh_vv9IpPZAXur3rcR0MuKy7oYj7W1bnuAWAuofI_OFlqyU1gYMts-l6WvD6KNG9_BPNpOCQM2PiLgvzF9E4tKD8SYb9ah5aZxnmCbix1YnbmxNQMtCRDluIsu0TCc4kzJr0B8/s200/designB.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">On a positive note:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Violet Voice has it's latest Virtual Show online right now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="http://africanvioletfun.com/violetvoice/May2013Show/">(Go vote!)</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I managed to get a few things entered before they started failing miserably. Some were sacrificed willingly for practicing more Design efforts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>More about those efforts later!</i> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'll do the best I can NOT to kill my African Violets <i><b>on purpose</b></i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>But crap happens sometimes!</i> I'll see soon enough if I'm dealing with this right...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-25852253040525861442013-04-16T05:11:00.001-07:002013-04-16T05:11:31.229-07:00A Fairy Tree House<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWECNMjG9Coz789FiiL78gYBvM6ZqrARF0BANviqegrCMnDeqOz_JIn1l3VKlLMUqxznFePJmHDVdXi5wTVouEhchZzz5TDS9GjpqwuaEFZCDuLlK3CiXQyjuTkWqsZpiJ-2FhkXKE4IY/s1600/Remember+2+PLAY+%2528800x755%2529+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWECNMjG9Coz789FiiL78gYBvM6ZqrARF0BANviqegrCMnDeqOz_JIn1l3VKlLMUqxznFePJmHDVdXi5wTVouEhchZzz5TDS9GjpqwuaEFZCDuLlK3CiXQyjuTkWqsZpiJ-2FhkXKE4IY/s320/Remember+2+PLAY+%2528800x755%2529+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One thing leads to another...</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I bought a drill bit thing-a-ma-jig to cut circle shaped holes out of wood. <i> </i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Probably has more comprehensible (shorter!) name<span style="font-size: small;">?</span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I wanted to cut pieces of birch different lengths and then drill plant-pot holes in the top.<span style="color: #999999;"> <span style="color: #666666;"><i>(I saw a centerpiece holding candles somewhere for inspiration.)</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span>Unusual Container ideas were floating around in my head for the coming Virtual AV Show! :)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So I played with polymer clay, baked, drilled, chiseled, whittled, cussed, <span style="color: #666666;"><i>applied band-aid</i>, </span>wood<span style="font-size: small;">-</span>glued<span style="font-size: small;">.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A</span>nd produced this<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>crafty piece of </i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>art</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i><span style="font-size: small;">. <span style="color: #666666;"><i>s<span style="font-size: small;"></span>hush now!</i></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Not exactly how I first envisioned it, but working fairy doors are going to take a little more planning. Plus, r<span style="font-size: small;"></span>ound logs are harder to glue flat things to than I thought <grins>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE5k6RMg9RyWUclxL53FvDItyIaILSANBRP4V4LfhavcF4RkZqmZkmfax0WmOtZ_5HU7pz0xQjaPPkdagFWiqxP9hroGVUV1fI8VeCLL4JvjH3rvNqDcEPruiOhsY7HGV-fsbtJ3crfg/s1600/Fairy+Tree+back+%2528549x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfE5k6RMg9RyWUclxL53FvDItyIaILSANBRP4V4LfhavcF4RkZqmZkmfax0WmOtZ_5HU7pz0xQjaPPkdagFWiqxP9hroGVUV1fI8VeCLL4JvjH3rvNqDcEPruiOhsY7HGV-fsbtJ3crfg/s320/Fairy+Tree+back+%2528549x800%2529.jpg" width="219" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMxlujV8uatmacx4FEmfyCtIo_B2bQ1qlgAUHQOleEVdb4ISMotwzRiuSSTGuL_OKr4zHIOzx8orVA9eYY2n_EbjlI1j3KXXolBgbybEguckTE6HVYYPp_FqW9ubvWjzQiHrfG47aROE/s1600/fairy+tree1+%2528546x800%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMxlujV8uatmacx4FEmfyCtIo_B2bQ1qlgAUHQOleEVdb4ISMotwzRiuSSTGuL_OKr4zHIOzx8orVA9eYY2n_EbjlI1j3KXXolBgbybEguckTE6HVYYPp_FqW9ubvWjzQiHrfG47aROE/s320/fairy+tree1+%2528546x800%2529.jpg" width="218" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Plant is my <u>sporty version</u> of <b> </b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Ness' Fantasy Gold.</b> </span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Not much fantasy, but I finally got some "gold" - except every bloomstalk puts out a different colored flower on all 4 or 5 plants I've grown so far. And then very quickly the yellow turns into a ghastly orange/dead brown blossom<span style="font-size: small;">?</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This imitation <span style="font-size: small;">palm-tree</span> had it's rootball severely trimmed in order to <strike>play doll house</strike> fit. <i>May not be long for this world.</i> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">BUT there's a couple more just like it on the plant shelf<span style="font-size: small;">.</span> I'm hoping the next round of blooms on one of them will improve: pick a nice version and stick to it!</span></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-45572942979372746402013-04-14T01:53:00.000-07:002013-04-14T01:53:09.209-07:00I Hunted; I Gathered.<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgYJghv1GzMsDNvlxQ_xvPg-D4i5YnyIw1WOFNO4aSMWoQ2Ifvtk1rqRrxkswIEJu2JOepD1EMXDMGoT26IOcK7nX3_onkCIap6rZqH4V-034-HqQBmRWszVXUjW5PiQe8snkZy-wKqE/s1600/dish+garden+(648x800).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgYJghv1GzMsDNvlxQ_xvPg-D4i5YnyIw1WOFNO4aSMWoQ2Ifvtk1rqRrxkswIEJu2JOepD1EMXDMGoT26IOcK7nX3_onkCIap6rZqH4V-034-HqQBmRWszVXUjW5PiQe8snkZy-wKqE/s320/dish+garden+(648x800).jpg" width="257" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Shake off the April snow...</b></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;">I've been watching for the<i> ingredients</i> to use in a dish garden on my daily nature walks with the dog since last fall. Dropped acorns and moss that fell from the trees during all the high winds we've had this winter were gathered into mittened fingers, as I tried to juggle my collectibles with Jax's leash plus treats needed to convince <span style="font-size: small;">her</span> leashes are part of the routine at the end of our walk. (NO, you may NOT top off your 20 minutes of freedom in the field and woods by running across the road to the neighbors!)</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8JO2RNNhRQ4TEHXQOG_C0jro-5JxvXcKJ8T9xwGv0JazVEz9Jk-_9Q8lx6-M46-S50vTTCvmcQdfupHDq9cEDFVdNrYFDYfRfJl1RNB1KY4GEuERs17ZtqanMNLhqpKNxfPMsJqpOgI/s1600/IMG_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8JO2RNNhRQ4TEHXQOG_C0jro-5JxvXcKJ8T9xwGv0JazVEz9Jk-_9Q8lx6-M46-S50vTTCvmcQdfupHDq9cEDFVdNrYFDYfRfJl1RNB1KY4GEuERs17ZtqanMNLhqpKNxfPMsJqpOgI/s320/IMG_0041.JPG" width="240" /></a>I've had this piece of driftwood for a very long time, intended for my attempt at a natural dish garden someday. <i>(It has a few teeth marks at the top as I've removed it from Jax's mouth at least twice.</i>)<br />
Yesterday I finally felt up to
the project - with both spare time and the extra energy - so went off to gather moss, fungi and rocks I had
"bookmarked" along our path.<br />
<br />
EXCEPT it snowed a little the night before.<br />
Gathering took more hunting than I thought it would!<br />
<br />
This week Violet Voice members are putting together a mini-virtual African Violet show<i> practice run</i> ahead of the show planned for later. <br />
I've been DISBUDDING most of my plants for <b>later</b>.<br />
Not many of them are in full bloom right now!<br />
<br />
The plant used in this dish was supposed to be Optimara Little Moonstone.<br />
I grew out 6 or 8 babies from the 2 leaves that survived the Round Robin exchange last fall. ONLY 1 from all I grew out bloomed true.<br />
<i>(A now proven argument for keeping more than one or two baby plants! The one blooming correctly was the only one with lighter colored leaves. I might have mistaken it for the "runt" and discarded it had I tried to decide which to cull sooner.) </i><br />
<br />
Most of them bloomed double solid purple.<br />
A few have just a hint of the <i>Cruella DeVille</i> streak of white. ;)Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-85110360174546808392013-02-17T01:44:00.001-08:002013-02-17T09:43:31.089-08:00MOLD POTTING: Satisfying PLOP!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2TW-5GH8lqLrC_7I1VCgIO77NS6Cy_iFaBPkyQ-mHeRgm-28dUjlZp8Xijqe3OZGyBPdPg-eBqAbDu8QadeMx8W4P56_msPm6tfFKzwGOmiimhs2NVOE7i5GdE8RD8-WiJABFxb22yA/s1600/Mold+Potting7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2TW-5GH8lqLrC_7I1VCgIO77NS6Cy_iFaBPkyQ-mHeRgm-28dUjlZp8Xijqe3OZGyBPdPg-eBqAbDu8QadeMx8W4P56_msPm6tfFKzwGOmiimhs2NVOE7i5GdE8RD8-WiJABFxb22yA/s320/Mold+Potting7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">POTTING UP!</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A method of repotting with the least amount of disturbance to the root
system never fails to give me a little satisfaction with that final plop
into place.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>You create the perfect size hole "molded" into the center of
the pot with a (CLEAN!) pot the size the plant was just in.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
first step I've taken is to drop some of the largest sized pieces of
perlite in the bottom for extra drainage. Then a thin layer of potting
mix is added - enough to level the height to make up for any root ball that has
been trimmed from the bottom of the plant. If the old pot was quite root bound I<span style="font-size: small;"> usually<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>remove an inch or so, plus snip the sides in several places. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I like to do a combination of top watering and saucer watering. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Having a saucer beneath catches drips from top watering, plus feeds more slowly from the bottom if the water
seems to be running right out. If the soil has dried out a little too
much, it drains before the soil has a chance to absorb fresh water.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1L9EUrj2LonlB0VegJ9BFaZVADjW6F5Zb2zLKbI_5OdjeKfDKdlXoslhN9FtDlA444U_pGYllTqcNpQdT6tJ3dDuMafYePkIVCJLsBzRSGrGPn-VC_W1Vf3Jkx82mDiAJXpuqEBCe94/s1600/Mold+Potting3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1L9EUrj2LonlB0VegJ9BFaZVADjW6F5Zb2zLKbI_5OdjeKfDKdlXoslhN9FtDlA444U_pGYllTqcNpQdT6tJ3dDuMafYePkIVCJLsBzRSGrGPn-VC_W1Vf3Jkx82mDiAJXpuqEBCe94/s200/Mold+Potting3.JPG" width="178" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGGIrusFFIATg1C_RNRP3QjupmpVIsviTvJOpRqyeDZW9PX53hgtbEodrmpPSc_pUV-QWFIf2SKzpZz1OId46BT7D0pKgOSG-JOws3TEp4i261z7oCDvWC4Z1ino8QS_AduN8HsK13y4/s1600/Mold+Potting1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfGGIrusFFIATg1C_RNRP3QjupmpVIsviTvJOpRqyeDZW9PX53hgtbEodrmpPSc_pUV-QWFIf2SKzpZz1OId46BT7D0pKgOSG-JOws3TEp4i261z7oCDvWC4Z1ino8QS_AduN8HsK13y4/s200/Mold+Potting1.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgM7erL4qbSTEhPiwaecqenUSeRb-rKFJfREq5ZG1S48hc9F_BmPHS21NloxSI4ukkg_SaKNgL7CLtbcwflE1SRtH_EKZMaFTTTmCbUKol5MLl0l6yqy2hU1Ka1XBXezymDUYS4Zy96U/s1600/Mold+Potting2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZgM7erL4qbSTEhPiwaecqenUSeRb-rKFJfREq5ZG1S48hc9F_BmPHS21NloxSI4ukkg_SaKNgL7CLtbcwflE1SRtH_EKZMaFTTTmCbUKol5MLl0l6yqy2hU1Ka1XBXezymDUYS4Zy96U/s200/Mold+Potting2.JPG" width="174" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Place the temporary mold - in <span style="font-size: small;">t</span>his<span style="font-size: small;"> ca</span>se a spare solo cup similar to the one the plant had been growing in - into the center, on top of the already prepared layer and fill the space around the cup with potting mix. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Keeping your thumb in the solo cup, both holding it firmly to the bottom and pressing slightly against the sides as you fill, allows the dampened mix to form the size "molded" hole the root ball needs to fit perfectly into.</span></span> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcp9mW4qGHUZbtxv-LezekripLxfAPWqqwg8aKnDDckgYeFDXyLTm3JFvwhmP_jKNbIIyK6BfAkwUfJmnz7ztwKC7w66vSgksdHT8sUWMBJfGnz5kYAJf07F0wU8rWSQoKyYat-58IJE/s1600/Mold+Potting4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcp9mW4qGHUZbtxv-LezekripLxfAPWqqwg8aKnDDckgYeFDXyLTm3JFvwhmP_jKNbIIyK6BfAkwUfJmnz7ztwKC7w66vSgksdHT8sUWMBJfGnz5kYAJf07F0wU8rWSQoKyYat-58IJE/s200/Mold+Potting4.JPG" width="188" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhnqYt-hRF1zLdQuDQjEAR9d6i1ReD_M9ZoHkNXUn3hj3qeM9D4jpyqfpWQhvzWcWmy9uVHHjHpF2E1EUFy4zz7DB3eRAy4zYjdtV7zQFM3GGVI9Zh8upowaXYWHKrFZ8QauTaf-ywbU/s1600/Mold+Potting6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhnqYt-hRF1zLdQuDQjEAR9d6i1ReD_M9ZoHkNXUn3hj3qeM9D4jpyqfpWQhvzWcWmy9uVHHjHpF2E1EUFy4zz7DB3eRAy4zYjdtV7zQFM3GGVI9Zh8upowaXYWHKrFZ8QauTaf-ywbU/s200/Mold+Potting6.JPG" width="188" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sxy4Phwd3dHjcQYz1B-0gUurUTECTvD2INpbX8OHuTw4IapMxXg8jHNJCsyeLK-pHUH9sVBwTzOEoImHr-w1qlA499HnNKFTHXT_pqE5Ozp50tIAcHy1ZAHRqIu26c6aqOm9FZW1CuQ/s1600/Mold+Potting5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9sxy4Phwd3dHjcQYz1B-0gUurUTECTvD2INpbX8OHuTw4IapMxXg8jHNJCsyeLK-pHUH9sVBwTzOEoImHr-w1qlA499HnNKFTHXT_pqE5Ozp50tIAcHy1ZAHRqIu26c6aqOm9FZW1CuQ/s200/Mold+Potting5.JPG" width="184" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By filling in around the cup higher than it seems you would need, you are then able to smooth the soil mix into the crease.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(A little thump against the table might help it settle into place.)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The goal is to have the crown of the plant at just the right level above the rim of the pot when you're done. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This plant is a young<b> Blue Dragon</b>, one of my <i><b>Grow to Show</b></i> hopefuls. It may too young as it's only just produced it's 1st three buds. <i>They were removed. </i></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Blue Dragon</b> (9516) 12/17/2005 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/P. Sorano) Double light blue large frilled star/raspberry edge. Dark green, plain/red back. Large. </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://violetvoice.yuku.com/topic/2306/GrowToShowCountdown-Week-12-What-to-do-this-week#.USChSmejLMg">It's week 12 already!</a></span></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-69503375756835557142013-02-07T06:08:00.003-08:002013-02-07T06:08:44.537-08:00Potting Soil (with turkey poop?)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBsScQFS4xUSYCdt69z81JO_RLI8poXETCgcbuevpPliVi2zBtW3iR6iaWgdhl5p2fctkXIByyGdI_s00wWRzwdzXvJC72MI-XY1XVeMZ8jPZtaZ9I1lirw4Zkjsy6RSMGdVYgWJYFAY/s1600/troll3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbBsScQFS4xUSYCdt69z81JO_RLI8poXETCgcbuevpPliVi2zBtW3iR6iaWgdhl5p2fctkXIByyGdI_s00wWRzwdzXvJC72MI-XY1XVeMZ8jPZtaZ9I1lirw4Zkjsy6RSMGdVYgWJYFAY/s320/troll3.JPG" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Troll in Bottle?</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">CHAPTER 6<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Revisited</span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>African Violets: A Gift from Nature</u> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Melvin Robey. (1988) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Understanding your Potting Mixture</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Excerpt from <a href="http://thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com/search/label/soilmix%20experiment">previous blog entry </a>on the topic of soil mix recipes:<br /><br /> <i><b>"Why does someone suddenly switch from one potting mix to another? There are 5 basic reasons I can think of for this odd behavior in African Violet enthusiasts."</b></i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">~Melvin Robey: <br /><br /> 1. Change for change's sake. (Possibly worriers, looking for solutions?)<br /> 2. Trying a friend's mixture. (It worked for them, so why not try it too?) <br /> 3. Trying out new ideas. (The experimenters!)<br /> 4. New products introduced. (A new marketing fad?)<br /> 5. New Cultural Practices. (Change to wick or matting, for examples.) <br /> <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>I will add:</b></u></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>6. Usual products unavailable because of seasonal retail marketing decisions.</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There's no freaking peat moss or potting soil to be found this time of year NOT LACED WITH MIRACLE-GRO.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>I thought I found a couple of organic potting mix alternatives to peat moss<span style="font-size: small;">:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b> Scott's Brand <a href="http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/earthgro-potting-soil/prod100070/">Earthgro Potting Mix</a></b> was basically clay and sand. Read some really bad reviews after I got it home of course! I think it might make a good ingredient in a final recipe once it's been sifted. And pasteurized.<i> I'm making this a habit now, no matter what source it comes from.</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmOVckeClNmC5XKF1hWvQMyJzeOJHmUZelKaO9LcXpWy1M5XOwAQ6NBKSvvB4SvRkgmByWptsSL5aCd5yQkzWVUCrCpd-yTHSxP1CDkRJCPmy38plZn8i5g32dy8do90PFNazabJJpXU/s1600/mickeyJar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmOVckeClNmC5XKF1hWvQMyJzeOJHmUZelKaO9LcXpWy1M5XOwAQ6NBKSvvB4SvRkgmByWptsSL5aCd5yQkzWVUCrCpd-yTHSxP1CDkRJCPmy38plZn8i5g32dy8do90PFNazabJJpXU/s200/mickeyJar.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mickey Mouse Jar with 1st bloom!</span></b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Vigoro 8 qt. Organic Potting Mix </b>has a much more organic texture. Says there's perlite added but damn little. I can deal with that.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>Of course, I didn't notice the bottom sentence on the bag says "no need to feed for 3 months"...<i>WHEN will I learn to read ALL of the label? </i>Went <span style="font-size: small;">o</span>n an internet sea<span style="font-size: small;">rch</span> to try and find out just what this product was "amended with". Found a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eRs-dFfqMw">Home Depot video</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>It's Turkey Litter?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b><br />Both had lots of rocks and bark... because if they use the word "organic" that must make it okay?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></b>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-50858042095542716692013-02-05T15:07:00.001-08:002013-02-05T15:07:57.075-08:00Virtual African Violet Show!<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyO0O44PrsZluyVtwbAbNUqxyRsNt1RnV_zg4aQk4SKv-G8RakPYwi_8nfazoMWW_eOHvhFR9evmwDFfoobb001HkinqSfgSgh5kXMHreQnLhK_0lDZ_rX1a2Tb7zGUG9urtmIJeOCaOA/s1600/2+shelves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyO0O44PrsZluyVtwbAbNUqxyRsNt1RnV_zg4aQk4SKv-G8RakPYwi_8nfazoMWW_eOHvhFR9evmwDFfoobb001HkinqSfgSgh5kXMHreQnLhK_0lDZ_rX1a2Tb7zGUG9urtmIJeOCaOA/s320/2+shelves.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://violetvoice.yuku.com/topic/2273/GrowToShow-Countdown-Week-14-What-to-do-this-week#.URFWImfjG20"><span style="font-size: large;">Countdown begins...</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span></span></span></a></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://violetvoice.yuku.com/directory#.URFaB2fjG20">Violet Voice</a></span></span> 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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Instead of delivering our plants to the show location, we try to take the very best photo we can and submit our entries. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrZ6sWTiDSHSq8irShi9KN0MQ6kN-Khk8hd9NM61PYk_6IioNwfKdSrb590XBTz0LLCZ7QVnd2fV7Xbkqdx1AKii3YCVvv5nZYCuWlNzxagn-rw6LzJAzA87pdFIOA4IgjD12CoyyDb0/s1600/leaf2bloom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsrZ6sWTiDSHSq8irShi9KN0MQ6kN-Khk8hd9NM61PYk_6IioNwfKdSrb590XBTz0LLCZ7QVnd2fV7Xbkqdx1AKii3YCVvv5nZYCuWlNzxagn-rw6LzJAzA87pdFIOA4IgjD12CoyyDb0/s320/leaf2bloom.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">New members are sure to be welcomed, so drop by soon and see what's happening! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You might find you're in the mood to <i><b>Grow To Show</b></i>, too :)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Week 14:</span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">What to do this week - <a href="http://www.africanvioletfun.com/showclass/index.html">Lesson One online.</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: black;">Meanwhile, on my shelves . . .</span></b><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Things are growing<span style="font-size: small;">!</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY0V81fEOyioZh371acNZwhazRpvwrM1Pc_xFDC7cGimcvrsO78l1FLJldFonNsQAMz3_MwWFVNCGHlN1Of2l3gI2Iyc0-rvZM1PZNo5f3jCjnGiIadShZyCkvcc9owNZrbKpN0iwfvQ/s1600/Darling+Blue+Trail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY0V81fEOyioZh371acNZwhazRpvwrM1Pc_xFDC7cGimcvrsO78l1FLJldFonNsQAMz3_MwWFVNCGHlN1Of2l3gI2Iyc0-rvZM1PZNo5f3jCjnGiIadShZyCkvcc9owNZrbKpN0iwfvQ/s320/Darling+Blue+Trail.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not sure if it's just my imagination or what, but <span style="font-size: small;">perhaps they know spring is around the corner as I swear thi<span style="font-size: small;">ngs are taking a growth s<span style="font-size: small;">purt this week. </span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I finally found </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">the Jack's Classic</span></span></span></span> 20-20-20 <span style="font-size: small;">blend of fertilizer <span style="font-size: small;">and will gladly set aside the <span style="font-size: small;">S</span>hultz brand so I can see how the plants re<span style="font-size: small;">spond<span style="font-size: small;"> to this more balanced diet. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Darling Blue Trail</b> on the right <span style="font-size: small;">i</span>s the cutting that <span style="font-size: small;">a</span>rrived in September from Montana. The one on the left was started from a lea<span style="font-size: small;">f <span style="font-size: small;">from that cutting.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The little<span style="font-size: small;">r one that's blooming past it's mother is being allowed do grow pretty much howe<span style="font-size: small;">ver it chooses<span style="font-size: small;">. CUTE!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2foO4Fn61oq9YCG4g6gtGLzOhXCHTwyrvrXogDb_s9FW_zwiUlGlyIuArl6JgikKi1rypYnHVPxb_K6t8JQCUMqQcV8b74T61HbI_7kyqkWwlVep6rMdBdYHBEum5UdAcpw_wXcvyEQ/s1600/IMG_6474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk2foO4Fn61oq9YCG4g6gtGLzOhXCHTwyrvrXogDb_s9FW_zwiUlGlyIuArl6JgikKi1rypYnHVPxb_K6t8JQCUMqQcV8b74T61HbI_7kyqkWwlVep6rMdBdYHBEum5UdAcpw_wXcvyEQ/s320/IMG_6474.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The larger plant is <span style="font-size: small;"><b>not</b> being allowed to bloom.<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Lea</span></span>ves have <span style="font-size: small;">been removed <span style="font-size: small;">from the bottom rows and the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>plant has been lowered into the pot. Repeatedly.</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(Leaves are bigger? And </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've removed about 3 bloom stalks a week<span style="font-size: small;"> since it ar<span style="font-size: small;">rived!</span></span>)</span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It has 2 well fo<span style="font-size: small;">r<span style="font-size: small;">med crowns and tiny little l<span style="font-size: small;">eaves t<span style="font-size: small;">hat I'm hoping will become the next crown.<i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>(We <span style="font-size: small;">need 3 <b>Darling</b> if you want to go to the show!)</span></i></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few of the plants started from leaves from the Round Robin have started to bloom. <b>Von's Baby Jay</b>, <b>Optimara Little Crystal</b> and <b>Teen Bride</b> are just beginning to brighten my s<span style="font-size: small;">tand<span style="font-size: small;"> with their <span style="font-size: small;">blooms.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(In order from top, clockwise.)</i></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCk7vfYvFzoB_YxfT01r0IY59loMiUmbqFChLe0OpXWMOvcb_MgUttTTD5qtU_grNgnyez7Y7AdPetiqPjANbI0iY0ZmnpLhFJL91jaHYcrIZxL6xbvY-Rq8Mp8P_Y9fKItyze6XIs8Uk/s1600/wallhanging.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCk7vfYvFzoB_YxfT01r0IY59loMiUmbqFChLe0OpXWMOvcb_MgUttTTD5qtU_grNgnyez7Y7AdPetiqPjANbI0iY0ZmnpLhFJL91jaHYcrIZxL6xbvY-Rq8Mp8P_Y9fKItyze6XIs8Uk/s320/wallhanging.JPG" width="199" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Teen Bride</b> was the only plant from the wick experiment to thrive. <span style="font-size: small;">The others are barely surviv<span style="font-size: small;">ing<span style="font-size: small;"> and I am about ready to call it quits on <span style="font-size: small;">the</span> con<span style="font-size: small;">stant<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>wick-water<span style="font-size: small;">ing</span> method.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">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.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">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. </span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As seen from the doorway.</span></b></i><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-28636945214239905312013-01-10T10:38:00.000-08:002013-01-10T10:41:49.535-08:00When the obvious stares back at you...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHiUStPo5Pazs_I2asNjXtfx3eMy2jo4ydPsvJ8a80_DgqjmfcgI2UQ8BMCNeUTgt8FnDm3di1gvSjAtoNlcn__H7AcasHfpzu9jluPehuQRTQ5j0CbO_JtG_VeR12iEXAcGEUogjwvE/s1600/TT1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHiUStPo5Pazs_I2asNjXtfx3eMy2jo4ydPsvJ8a80_DgqjmfcgI2UQ8BMCNeUTgt8FnDm3di1gvSjAtoNlcn__H7AcasHfpzu9jluPehuQRTQ5j0CbO_JtG_VeR12iEXAcGEUogjwvE/s320/TT1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Temperature control and a bit of humidity can't hurt! </b></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;">In the past, growing plants under domes hasn't worked that well for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The climate inside tends to be too moist. <i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Self-confessed hoverers tend to over-water?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Condensation is generally excessive. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I looked at 2 trays side-by<span style="font-size: small;">-si<span style="font-size: small;">de </span></span>on <span style="font-size: small;">the</span> shelf the other day and realized<b> Tiger Trail</b> babies under a vented dome were growing faster than than those in open air. <i> </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAmwtY8OixJpgc_7N0K3cwYPl9WIwHnli3hJanyDPNzjzCm_gVbw3Dm_2CD3msbHBgZnE4qqqJE9i3sHOyCzIcfRpvd6xFSD9pvtL6RUkaseHqQhYf4NJOBm3K2EGuDiwLnAtRW0vDXo/s1600/TTcollection.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAmwtY8OixJpgc_7N0K3cwYPl9WIwHnli3hJanyDPNzjzCm_gVbw3Dm_2CD3msbHBgZnE4qqqJE9i3sHOyCzIcfRpvd6xFSD9pvtL6RUkaseHqQhYf4NJOBm3K2EGuDiwLnAtRW0vDXo/s320/TTcollection.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Well, what do you know?! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I went and found an extra dome for the tray without one. I do have the ends propped open with clothespins for maximum venting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And I'm trying hard to resist watering too much! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Temperatures are below seasonably cold right now and the wood stove gives the thermostat a false sense of what's "warm enough" for the rest of the house. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'm stubbornly nurturing ALL of these as treasured prizes and ignoring the "limit your collection" resolution for this variety. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Never mind pointing out how big they'll get! </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The cream colored variegation seems to holding well for the ones that started that way. The pink tinged ones seem to be consistent as well.</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">I like them all! </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I think I put one in a box I was packing to send home with Sara<span style="font-size: small;"> after Christmas.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And then I took it back. <i>How stingy?</i></span>!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lJUxcXQr2pRF1YlcdF9G3jFttTYDql_BKjMy3Z8m_npz6BjD8-UWkOPIlI4UA5GeZ-nYXOIoS7d_q1QGnxmQhfi-rYMrmcIqtw5LeOQKjMZijXNnS6g_Op68jMFAMaZLNUaRiS4DiXc/s1600/mistake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lJUxcXQr2pRF1YlcdF9G3jFttTYDql_BKjMy3Z8m_npz6BjD8-UWkOPIlI4UA5GeZ-nYXOIoS7d_q1QGnxmQhfi-rYMrmcIqtw5LeOQKjMZijXNnS6g_Op68jMFAMaZLNUaRiS4DiXc/s320/mistake.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nobody asked me, but ...</b></span></h2>
The latest issue of AVSA's magazine is out.<br />
People are putting it down asking for hugs it's that depressing.<br />
It was probably not by design that so many of the articles are about dead plants or terminal AV diseases that there's no cure for.<br />
It's the dead of winter for many of us.<br />
A little <i>Hope & Hurry up Spring</i> would have gone a long way to lift the spirits!<br />
<i></i><br />
Even the lady who took over the Miniature column showcased what she called "mistakes".<br />
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I'm sorry... <u>those</u> are some seriously neglected plants.<br />
<br />
The <i><b>Thinking Small</b></i> column was always my favorite of the magazine when written by Pat Richards.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Small Talk</i></b> seems to suffer from "it's all been said before" syndrome.<br />
Or "confession is good for the soul"? <i>(For goodness sake... snap out of it!) </i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasDpF-j8T7Wfu28KHqODet_KZTXKQsDXNzIr4T7EYdCDzFdqGBXzS4_AH2MSDkr0rk68EP4QpNAKNf52ykEQ4xIDV_4-rKt6NefQ5etmgyGL_B1Z9JUhrTX7EDiyMpGJcuWBStAe3yAU/s1600/water+can+mistake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasDpF-j8T7Wfu28KHqODet_KZTXKQsDXNzIr4T7EYdCDzFdqGBXzS4_AH2MSDkr0rk68EP4QpNAKNf52ykEQ4xIDV_4-rKt6NefQ5etmgyGL_B1Z9JUhrTX7EDiyMpGJcuWBStAe3yAU/s200/water+can+mistake.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhECxjjMRIJhA6pvdfpzmch1K6Y7LNv4342uoYjjKVP4s-EcBCBVB6Q8SiGu-uGySOfx9w7-C3KlP5dzm6uuzvsC9SEv8o0L8bfS7UhmC5fN0ubG2SwLxaqnkp2yOlqDpojyKHXt7Ruo4/s1600/water+can2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhECxjjMRIJhA6pvdfpzmch1K6Y7LNv4342uoYjjKVP4s-EcBCBVB6Q8SiGu-uGySOfx9w7-C3KlP5dzm6uuzvsC9SEv8o0L8bfS7UhmC5fN0ubG2SwLxaqnkp2yOlqDpojyKHXt7Ruo4/s200/water+can2.JPG" width="193" /></a> A mistake is accidentally ruining the center of the little plant in a thumb pot just as it's about to bloom. </div>
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Over fertilized, over watered or over zealous repotting. OR all 3!</div>
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I'm letting it bloom and trying to ignore how I crapped it up so fast.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS_GRZrKoxRLhzTiDvoNc6_a3817dZLfQPAkLBXEh1CZLNQhcY_-b1AcZ-9Rp5FDrVAqoWMzFWJwB1PJWMeAxMQhf-BgSoX3zVDCO8662_8M5HPeGaRm37zv7sxxJx1w1u0NGkpKYDdg/s1600/terr3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS_GRZrKoxRLhzTiDvoNc6_a3817dZLfQPAkLBXEh1CZLNQhcY_-b1AcZ-9Rp5FDrVAqoWMzFWJwB1PJWMeAxMQhf-BgSoX3zVDCO8662_8M5HPeGaRm37zv7sxxJx1w1u0NGkpKYDdg/s200/terr3.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio22lzCEbF41amgvn0XSpdElY6juIKQDPAJaucEvwHsUf0TN3lmgT4SqVV5tmLGoEzTAXORssqZgOSZJKIHMXkyeYVhyV8LomF7b2784406MZjSlWXyovCI8BQ7MHRXoEDjo08ypHN09A/s1600/mm3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio22lzCEbF41amgvn0XSpdElY6juIKQDPAJaucEvwHsUf0TN3lmgT4SqVV5tmLGoEzTAXORssqZgOSZJKIHMXkyeYVhyV8LomF7b2784406MZjSlWXyovCI8BQ7MHRXoEDjo08ypHN09A/s200/mm3.JPG" width="198" /></a> A mistake MIGHT be planting a "strawberry" <i><b>Mickey Mouse Jar</b></i> full of plantlets you could not bring yourself to throw into the compost bin.</div>
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<b>Mickey Mouse </b>(H. Inpijn) Double dark blue. Dark green, pointed/red back. Miniature.</div>
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I might have gotten carried away with deciding which Mickey Mouse plantlets to keep. </div>
<i>So I kept all of them! Shut up.</i><br />
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A few "Mickey Mouse" extras went into the terrarium that's been coasting along since it was <a href="http://sockshavenothumbs.blogspot.com/search?q=terrarium">blogged about here</a> a very long time ago. (2009?) These were the "too little to bother with" plantlets that totally should have been discarded. And I would have too. Except the terrarium was nearly empty.<br />
And they're living... for now!<br />
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One of my terrarium's biggest mistakes was using perlite in the soil and not getting around to <i>fixing that</i> after killing the moss that was going to hide it originally. All of the other plants have come and gone, too. Except the<i> possible</i> "Ming (false?) Arailia" growing in back.<br />
<i><b>It fills the jar now, but I still don't know what it is! </b></i><br />
<i></i><br />
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Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-28267133339163616182012-12-14T04:43:00.001-08:002012-12-14T05:52:38.557-08:00Progress Takes Its Own Time<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC57R9IHTrneJqPVi1P8fnDIFrzLFK0cC-lssOl5cjUcGYqW0SB9rwo805h7vJ9FA2vKQGJbqk8vhuUJRjicO8cLZqEq0EGKCMtmjrRHf7D7jKcjH2Y01T7dthodNtWzsWuO8I-LoXnA/s1600/IMG_5999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC57R9IHTrneJqPVi1P8fnDIFrzLFK0cC-lssOl5cjUcGYqW0SB9rwo805h7vJ9FA2vKQGJbqk8vhuUJRjicO8cLZqEq0EGKCMtmjrRHf7D7jKcjH2Y01T7dthodNtWzsWuO8I-LoXnA/s200/IMG_5999.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2egQfRp-m3zXoZnBnwVba1-qHJYercNegCJu748ronWwQGvBcEzokBYnixi_cWisWbjdzUMfofMtsxQPfn1SFpGtKLEz28Aia6j0SKZsjO4v-TtnsIb1scJaUlw2weWJgpYTJNkFzgc/s1600/EarthTEST.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2egQfRp-m3zXoZnBnwVba1-qHJYercNegCJu748ronWwQGvBcEzokBYnixi_cWisWbjdzUMfofMtsxQPfn1SFpGtKLEz28Aia6j0SKZsjO4v-TtnsIb1scJaUlw2weWJgpYTJNkFzgc/s200/EarthTEST.jpg" width="200" /></a> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two weeks of growth in my pasteurized "earth mix" at right. Center plant is peat comparison. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No
swarm of creepy crawlies have shown themselves to suggest this was a
very bad idea. Yet.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've pulled 4 or 5 tiny weeds. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hoping that's not an omen
of other things able to survive 2<span style="font-size: small;">25 degrees in an oven.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EbeakV0L6zmK8o3qejE5EPy25D4tGFj55M59eF89xLBIJgz_QL-RpJ6PEBlFTJyC81ys18oKi5pgL2Y4k11-lG2-qrRBx5NW2iOap8ozTJG0DcTCyh0yqlPwopRf5Zx6PRPuTYZAGjQ/s1600/Ma2nd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EbeakV0L6zmK8o3qejE5EPy25D4tGFj55M59eF89xLBIJgz_QL-RpJ6PEBlFTJyC81ys18oKi5pgL2Y4k11-lG2-qrRBx5NW2iOap8ozTJG0DcTCyh0yqlPwopRf5Zx6PRPuTYZAGjQ/s200/Ma2nd.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPydRLPDsaLfencDnkfLOoiB-VwlmmSHXY31LXPh_Hm3152Ut4t_TA2AnmUq5skdl48FtkHe9jl6aF9h4Dq7eyYb4YoFn_jC4JDX00Hn1dePCs9XOB4cOjXOyGG_g4cU64vLGmY4sKnE/s1600/Ma+s2ndthoughts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPydRLPDsaLfencDnkfLOoiB-VwlmmSHXY31LXPh_Hm3152Ut4t_TA2AnmUq5skdl48FtkHe9jl6aF9h4Dq7eyYb4YoFn_jC4JDX00Hn1dePCs9XOB4cOjXOyGG_g4cU64vLGmY4sKnE/s200/Ma+s2ndthoughts.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ma's Second Thoughts </b>is giving me a <a href="http://thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-did-you-do-to-my-ma.html">second chance</a>. It was down to about 3 leaves. I walked it out to the window ledge for a few weeks of east facing sunshine. Except it's a bit cold<span style="font-size: small;"> and</span> drafty.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>And I tend to forget to water things on that shelf often enough.</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Most of them are cactus plants so that works for them. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">AVs not so much! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's back under lights.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOhYAR7qhL6gxDq8_nFFZ5PAWYxYam2ZKEIe5mH0oUZ2ROatHLwzu-dy1ngIqXD4SvlGkCfxnoRN7mhVllJXgdDncM0TRgnWxV0akCDrl7mjws2juafU50gTHndjM00z0bVdUYIR674s/s1600/TTwhiteDec13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOhYAR7qhL6gxDq8_nFFZ5PAWYxYam2ZKEIe5mH0oUZ2ROatHLwzu-dy1ngIqXD4SvlGkCfxnoRN7mhVllJXgdDncM0TRgnWxV0akCDrl7mjws2juafU50gTHndjM00z0bVdUYIR674s/s200/TTwhiteDec13.JPG" width="190" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrux2f12_XBGMiwAb75FWf1bp73dV8Ekq6JmI2DqmJ3cJfwxX576se_DQrEo3vPHI0brDcAf-PiuAJo2DB2qVJd9H0gK9AHK3ZLwkPlt5AdtOozw8VLwrZgV5aIGZNNdZ5ttGnbUHoswE/s1600/tigertrailPINK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrux2f12_XBGMiwAb75FWf1bp73dV8Ekq6JmI2DqmJ3cJfwxX576se_DQrEo3vPHI0brDcAf-PiuAJo2DB2qVJd9H0gK9AHK3ZLwkPlt5AdtOozw8VLwrZgV5aIGZNNdZ5ttGnbUHoswE/s200/tigertrailPINK.jpg" width="118" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Tiger Trail</b> (<a href="http://thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com/2012/11/curiosity-of-variegation.html">PINK vs CREAM</a>) have been divided. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">PINK seems less pink? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">CREAM is holding its color! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One has been added to a MODIFIED 2-piece planter. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All planters <u><b>failed</b></u> their <a href="http://thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com/search/label/self-watering%20pots">former experiments</a> and the plants in them removed and re-potted in an attempt to save them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Ness' Fantasy Gold</b><span style="font-size: small;"> and <b>Sky n' Snow</b> are<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>doing much better.<i> If you consider being once again back down to just 3 or 4 leaves better?</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span>They <span style="font-size: small;">both</span> seem to prefer it OUT of those damn pots! Hats off to those can make them work. <i>I fixed them</i><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b> . . .</b></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>(Well, time will tell if that's true or not!!)</i></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><u>MODIFIED 2-Piece Planters:</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took a power drill with a masonry bit and drilled a quarter-inch hole right through the middle of the inner pots. It took a really long time to drill through with a regular bit. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mason's bit (for cement) ...worked just like butter!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Not convinced plants fare well without drainage/leaching option.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now there's space in the outer pot to catch drips if watered from top and can act as a saucer to water from bottom. Maybe.<i> </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i>(Time will tell!)</i></b></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-16557788828786473462012-12-13T08:09:00.000-08:002012-12-15T03:37:34.034-08:00"6 of one...half dozen of another"<h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Graft" Babies on their own.</span></b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlLyEsS3TIzwqpCR_FFiHDYMASfzkLnNnQnlb3WNVG6o1s2buqW_pNsc2cxAlWFgyeUn1xx9Cb1vtzK3A787DJvv-brrs0SeJg74XnZHbzzDUbS-MoAIQO004YdZ2MfxPQIPsqmhCY5k/s1600/Graft+Dec13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlLyEsS3TIzwqpCR_FFiHDYMASfzkLnNnQnlb3WNVG6o1s2buqW_pNsc2cxAlWFgyeUn1xx9Cb1vtzK3A787DJvv-brrs0SeJg74XnZHbzzDUbS-MoAIQO004YdZ2MfxPQIPsqmhCY5k/s320/Graft+Dec13.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3hM_Ak6sMpJDytf-j_qoANWNaFUsbK6iS8dVSInNEEh6WMGH6lZRus1RwjCG-RhA6sqC5kZmS7hyv6jERqlioKdumcfq9HV08nHYjDKlttljaSstYsAvdL7Pv7AEAn30NamNJtSKw7k/s1600/GraftSAMPLE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3hM_Ak6sMpJDytf-j_qoANWNaFUsbK6iS8dVSInNEEh6WMGH6lZRus1RwjCG-RhA6sqC5kZmS7hyv6jERqlioKdumcfq9HV08nHYjDKlttljaSstYsAvdL7Pv7AEAn30NamNJtSKw7k/s320/GraftSAMPLE.jpg" width="320" /></a>I separated the <i>graft experiment offspring </i>a couple of weeks ago and
saved nearly all of the plantlets, no matter the size. There were slightly more variegated <span style="font-size: small;">leaves </span>than plain.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The plain leaves seem less unruly? </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The odds any of
them are actually a cross of <b>Heaven<span style="font-size: small;">'</span>s Reflection</b> & <b>Lime Jewel </b>are
probably slim<span style="font-size: small;">. <i>But what the heck!</i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The variegated leaf kept growing and the 2 parent leaves
didn't seem to be "stitched together" at any place along the stems<span style="font-size: small;">, although babies & roots were certainly mixed. </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The 2 types of leaves gr<span style="font-size: small;">e</span>w mixed around both stems. <i><b></b> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Probably to be expected<span style="font-size: small;">!</span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Below the egg container is an actual plantlet of Lime Jewel and also Heaven's Reflections for comparison.<i><b><br /></b></i></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0y2eEt7ar0hOnlDFnCqjvQxpMTV2l4xDAe1w8LTIu-vANdD8fvQdjYYVEROGFs3uDSbB71syXrv7gaLQhVjMJAVbafisUguTKd_GsiLw2HT7d8BY4ljtdJqi0Ts2z-mn9ioBSh0rkD8/s1600/Lime+Jewel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0y2eEt7ar0hOnlDFnCqjvQxpMTV2l4xDAe1w8LTIu-vANdD8fvQdjYYVEROGFs3uDSbB71syXrv7gaLQhVjMJAVbafisUguTKd_GsiLw2HT7d8BY4ljtdJqi0Ts2z-mn9ioBSh0rkD8/s200/Lime+Jewel.JPG" width="190" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>As sold by Ebay seller in August</b></span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1Iud0UjNQ053Hcj2_6eJf6bWkYFLK6z0UsRBtZElog5tadY93d_aIFOjM4eYAUkD4UNZh3mp_K42hK4dsGGFzAD_fHGo-JnJdIaNi9EkAV4puH-vQ1fDyWUCi9QBkgQ75U1U7bKl8t0/s1600/Lime+Jewel+Dec13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1Iud0UjNQ053Hcj2_6eJf6bWkYFLK6z0UsRBtZElog5tadY93d_aIFOjM4eYAUkD4UNZh3mp_K42hK4dsGGFzAD_fHGo-JnJdIaNi9EkAV4puH-vQ1fDyWUCi9QBkgQ75U1U7bKl8t0/s200/Lime+Jewel+Dec13.JPG" width="184" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Lime Jewel - December 2012</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The original <b>Lime Jewel</b> <a href="http://thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com/2012/09/well-that-ship-has-sailed.html">received in August</a> is proving difficult to grow! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Leaves <span style="font-size: small;">were </span>removed.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A</span>t first <span style="font-size: small;">simply</span> in an attempt to give the center leaves room to grow. And then just because I HATED the way they <span style="font-size: small;">looked. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It was Live or Die.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All new growth has developed but it's not what I<span style="font-size: small;">'<span style="font-size: small;">d</span></span> call a well<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>behaved<span style="font-size: small;"> plant</span> in the least!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm det<span style="font-size: small;">e</span>rmined to see this one through to blooming stage. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The <span style="font-size: small;">almost </span>leafless plant photo below shows my <span style="font-size: small;">Golden Rule:<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><i><b> </b></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>"Be <span style="font-size: small;">Y</span>e not afraid to yank the freaking leaves off!"</b></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They grow back. <i>Most o<span style="font-size: small;">f the time ;)</span> </i></span><i></i></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i></i></span></span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpmhbH-mochTz7CkpjHD1kKXe9_5_LkusjnFfUOo6uWom-9e_d2vjng3TI6-dOyR89bq9fIm-_NPDi_vlG00b2R4DWt_00wnErEiviqmphyphenhyphennPX2yS2NfKvjq7Ae2bbrR0o36xNB3_L6I/s1600/limeJewel9_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpmhbH-mochTz7CkpjHD1kKXe9_5_LkusjnFfUOo6uWom-9e_d2vjng3TI6-dOyR89bq9fIm-_NPDi_vlG00b2R4DWt_00wnErEiviqmphyphenhyphennPX2yS2NfKvjq7Ae2bbrR0o36xNB3_L6I/s200/limeJewel9_4.JPG" width="195" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">All the way down to this!</span></span></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It looks as if it's "hungry" but I'm
terrified of feeding it too much. I've started reducing number of
hours lights are left on from 12 to 10.<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Mostly because it "feels" like stems are never really long enough and I'm wondering if len<span style="font-size: small;">g</span>th of hours lights are left on has something to do with this, rather than water pH or fertilizer<span style="font-size: small;">. I <span style="font-size: small;">continue</span> to feed only twice a month - <span style="font-size: small;">15th(ish) and 30th<span style="font-size: small;">(ish)<span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ish <span style="font-size: small;">equals a day or so later, but not earlier <span style="font-size: small;">usually</span>(ish)<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-62258694363813816852012-12-03T03:19:00.000-08:002012-12-03T04:19:36.648-08:00A Wicked Experiment!<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>To Wick or Not to Wick?</b></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8rEy3klog3H46NWRC9RCFdVt6cCcL2yqAB8bBsvmVohTw_cUK9mo7b2KXaJNwGYxYO-172iVCRu6G1yiGdgml_4y70Rj6c8ShwD2mANMKS2uzBEMgUhNwP-vgvq9CvFjerV-hz7euBM/s1600/wick3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV8rEy3klog3H46NWRC9RCFdVt6cCcL2yqAB8bBsvmVohTw_cUK9mo7b2KXaJNwGYxYO-172iVCRu6G1yiGdgml_4y70Rj6c8ShwD2mANMKS2uzBEMgUhNwP-vgvq9CvFjerV-hz7euBM/s200/wick3.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLju_cfFFq4G1q-Tdbc0GHmNrOmIX6fBnIVzsYNwZ1J1H9jlFw9IXGLiplUrChthmCvsMQsjLZ9wxAN4DObQWgdnaw6JHXik8Ag6j7dWDscAgIFl3G_FH4v6CQyKizuzJlzQm-h76sM0/s1600/wick2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLju_cfFFq4G1q-Tdbc0GHmNrOmIX6fBnIVzsYNwZ1J1H9jlFw9IXGLiplUrChthmCvsMQsjLZ9wxAN4DObQWgdnaw6JHXik8Ag6j7dWDscAgIFl3G_FH4v6CQyKizuzJlzQm-h76sM0/s200/wick2.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(That's the experiment!)</span></i><br />
<br />
<b>Rebel's Sugar Pie</b> - 1 wick, (through center hole of bottom and hanging slightly over edge)<br />
1 modified Texas Style.<br />
<i>(Wick coiled in "C" on top 1/2" layer of Miracle-Gro Perlite,)</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3e31QqvHHGivYaN8ThE6yZbJHSLfisvCwUFQtak81PDe2Ccmn5vYkZgC3Obek6_JJ_QNWbqV-3ZDvIwhSMiVuGzKF_MgCSPsesCNHhXIuhdH7p5Yw_6Tdm_mAg5hk9DNT86iPE_2O1s/s1600/wick4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3e31QqvHHGivYaN8ThE6yZbJHSLfisvCwUFQtak81PDe2Ccmn5vYkZgC3Obek6_JJ_QNWbqV-3ZDvIwhSMiVuGzKF_MgCSPsesCNHhXIuhdH7p5Yw_6Tdm_mAg5hk9DNT86iPE_2O1s/s200/wick4.JPG" width="200" /></a><b>Katy Did</b> - 1 wick, 1 not, 1 modified Texas Style. <i>(Wicks added as above.)</i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVE1hJv_uyFRVxRymgAyLDewCZmn52Cay7UQIekfunZ-9UVrF7sDUV7hFjxj_uQixvPegpzXvtUld8kL9IKx7C5I0wwh9K7-kI8vG1S1EdLW2PbMRtZfuM7_hOOxEoggh_wM0AYc-Xe_g/s1600/wick1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVE1hJv_uyFRVxRymgAyLDewCZmn52Cay7UQIekfunZ-9UVrF7sDUV7hFjxj_uQixvPegpzXvtUld8kL9IKx7C5I0wwh9K7-kI8vG1S1EdLW2PbMRtZfuM7_hOOxEoggh_wM0AYc-Xe_g/s200/wick1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
<br />
<b>Sassy Sister</b> - 1 wick, 1 not.<br />
(These all used my "earth mix")<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><br />
<b>Teen Bride</b> - 1 wick, 1 not.<br />
Potted up Nov 19 with peat mix.<i><br /></i><br />
<br />
<i>(Wick added with darning needle up through center hole on bottom to hang a little over the side.</i>)<br />
Wick material 3/4" strips of pantyhose stretched thin.<br />
<b></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>This experiment in response to <a href="http://allaboutafricanviolets.com/">All About African Violets Podcast</a>. </b><br />
<i>Podcast 23 mentions using wicks VS not...</i><br />
<i>A listener comment posed a Wick Experiment Challenge for podcasts to come. </i><b><br /></b>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-78450925370568947652012-12-01T08:13:00.000-08:002012-12-07T01:55:58.599-08:00Absence of Earth?<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I went to the forest in search of dirt.</span> </b></span></h2>
<h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3ybDPC3b9_T5jf0Xoklgvw_HusmgIj6wAKl2zx3FT9cwm4ySugGsKZOh6hanIW5OKd8FwV7nds0dw8NGt4ipXi6Dz0lu2rLopebyylIJurbx_ZPgPtOThebpMXh6DEA1KmpyxLg12ls/s1600/IMG_6000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM3ybDPC3b9_T5jf0Xoklgvw_HusmgIj6wAKl2zx3FT9cwm4ySugGsKZOh6hanIW5OKd8FwV7nds0dw8NGt4ipXi6Dz0lu2rLopebyylIJurbx_ZPgPtOThebpMXh6DEA1KmpyxLg12ls/s200/IMG_6000.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Test subjects in takeout pie keeper! </b></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b></b></span></h2>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I took a small hand-shovel and went mining for rich earth beneath an old pine, a grove of cedar trees, a decomposed moss-covered stump, the final remains of a fallen log and years of leaf decay beneath piles of rocks. "Real Dirt!"</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>An experiment.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A substitute for Canadian Peat Moss.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Would my African Violets benefit from a little bit of earth?</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I first came to the internet to explore the mystery of <i>"What keeps an African Violet alive & blooming?"</i> I embraced the "soil-less mix" concept and practiced the art of 1:1:1 potting mix recipes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Equal parts of Peat Moss, Perlite and Vermiculite. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rXcmBTnnKUjE08VHdVUq7NRHwiFKq1ovw9YLjcy5th2o971q8_QJuJnJoI8ueYeKGRwALQRpxkhiaRspXGWkxT2sE6fFO5WV5bM6nDWYsn0tvfYKkleqGfSzAbsjnoZYFdSo8NziS_k/s1600/forest1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rXcmBTnnKUjE08VHdVUq7NRHwiFKq1ovw9YLjcy5th2o971q8_QJuJnJoI8ueYeKGRwALQRpxkhiaRspXGWkxT2sE6fFO5WV5bM6nDWYsn0tvfYKkleqGfSzAbsjnoZYFdSo8NziS_k/s200/forest1.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Forest Compost/<span style="font-size: xx-small;">d</span>ish has test mixture.</b></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Except, I generally settled on a 2:1½:1 mixture. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm a determined, if careful water-from-the-top grower. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1:1:1 seemed meant for growers who wick-water and my plants always seemed to need watering. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">THEY STILL DO.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>So, it's after the fact once again.</b></i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Plantlets above have been separated from their mama, only to be experimented upon. <span style="font-size: small;"></span><i>In container ~ </i>p<i>lanted in my "earth-mix": </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(3) Mickey Mouse <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Center pot has peat moss-mix, separated a week earlier; largest plantlet.)</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(1) Darling Blue Trail</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(2) Storybook Princess</i><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(2 in pot*) Grandmother's Halo</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(3 in pot*) Maverick's Faded Jeans</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>* Very small - will separate if they live! </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I asked a friend for advice. More to come on <a href="http://montanaranch.blogspot.com/">her</a><a href="http://montanaranch.blogspot.com/"> blog</a> I'm sure, as we have things up our collective sleeves for the coming months!!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I dug a book out to do a little more research. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>African Violets: A Gift from Nature</b></u> by Melvin Robey. (1988)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I searched & searched for this book soon after discovering African Violets have names (the first time I grew them) and finally found a reasonably priced copy. </i><i>It's a very interesting resource. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>"CHAPTER 6 - Understanding your Potting Mixture."</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Robey explores the ongoing quest for the "perfect potting mixture" recipe and then concludes there is NO ONE PERFECT MIX. If 100 people in a room were asked for their "perfect" mix, he surmised there would be 129 recipes!</span></span><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">(</span>Someone in the room clearly was not following instructions. </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hey. Don't look at me!)</span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He does however suggest "earth" is obsolete in light of the "new soil-less way of doing things" and does NOT recommend using "dirt". But if you must he explains the method for pasteurizing it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">NOT sterilizing it, as that kills everything good. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(I did find this info online, although the temperature for the oven and length of cooking times varied a bit.) </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My favorite section of this chapter was his theory on WHY we experiment with different mixes<i><b>:</b></i></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>"Why does someone suddenly switch from one potting mix to another? There are 5 basic reasons I can think of </b></i><i><b>for this odd behavior in African Violet </b></i><i><b>enthusia</b><b>sts." </b></i>Melvin Robey<i><b>: </b> </i></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Change for change's sake. <i>(Possibly worriers, looking for solutions?)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. Trying a friend's mixture. <i>(It worked for them, so why not try it too?)</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Trying out new ideas. <i>(The experimenters!)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. New products introduced. <i>(A new marketing fad?)</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. New Cultural Practices. <i>(Change to wick or matting, for examples.)</i><i> </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(His <span style="font-size: x-small;">list<span style="font-size: x-small;"> is</span></span> actually quite a bit wordier...)</span><b> </b></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, disregard<span style="font-size: small;">ing an</span> expert, I <span style="font-size: small;">went for a walk <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">to</span> the back corner</span> <span style="font-size: small;">of our property and returned<span style="font-size: small;"></span> with bags of "dirt<span style="font-size: small;">".<span style="font-size: small;"> <i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">(A</span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">nd cooked it a litt<span style="font-size: small;">le while, like the internet said.)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is an experiment<span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do NOT try this at home<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> . . .</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, unless <span style="font-size: small;">you like to experiment too<span style="font-size: small;">!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-4411646129150926282012-11-20T05:06:00.002-08:002012-11-20T05:22:02.338-08:00Growth of an African Violet Trailer<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Darling, don't be Blue (yet)!</span></span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This tiny, little plant has been trying to bloom since the first week I planted it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We've come a long way already, huh? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay. So, it grows itself...<a href="http://violetvoice.yuku.com/topic/2041/My-Top-Ten-Varieties#.UKt-Qoas33V">just as advertised</a>! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All I have to do is pluck a leaf now and then or nudge out the tiniest little buds you ever saw! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYGqvV7sEtlIVGqE7UBDKdpPmmFw5rX_BEj8aV-X1A_p53hIDEwzUtSLELoXBd5sCE15Va361Qk2m2-qdONFXMdDGgSmNmHaEtnw_NBosFYSevalhZsMKvLhSlC9iSQOmTzKp5w5xK5w/s1600/DBT1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYGqvV7sEtlIVGqE7UBDKdpPmmFw5rX_BEj8aV-X1A_p53hIDEwzUtSLELoXBd5sCE15Va361Qk2m2-qdONFXMdDGgSmNmHaEtnw_NBosFYSevalhZsMKvLhSlC9iSQOmTzKp5w5xK5w/s200/DBT1.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXHttwFIobDc2VHxOnZ7H-2n4nYf-rbwXhi2TwBZibhJ2DsBFB8g4LvMFJBzVP7yxY6PBmyEZoJW_8ZzfmtjMYFtcKuw0dj1FvFpX2kPETtOYuH2Ud5y9IONaNhjbQ4P0LnMmxWT1HAU/s1600/Darling+Blue+Trail1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXHttwFIobDc2VHxOnZ7H-2n4nYf-rbwXhi2TwBZibhJ2DsBFB8g4LvMFJBzVP7yxY6PBmyEZoJW_8ZzfmtjMYFtcKuw0dj1FvFpX2kPETtOYuH2Ud5y9IONaNhjbQ4P0LnMmxWT1HAU/s200/Darling+Blue+Trail1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Seriously.</i></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b> </b></i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have faith in the forgiving ease of growing a trailer<span style="font-size: small;">!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We went from this <i>(on the left) </i>to this <i>(on the right)</i> in just 2 months! Once the center grew out I removed the longest, lanky leaves and set it lower in the pot. Since, I've only taken one leaf off directly over the new crown. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It has 2 crowns and several more sprouts I'm watching. Hoping they're not blossoms?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's true. <i>Read this somewhere: <b>Get the leaves the way you want them BEFORE it blossoms. </b></i></span></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-46271500521906742552012-11-15T09:22:00.002-08:002012-11-18T23:57:38.242-08:00Curiosity of Variegation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo-GGuoxVU-SUI6a6OFgWluUPQps-eAqBwdVodsXV1raZ9OMLP-lVpBeGZOg7acBqjTEC5xr7sJ-6uHDJyNsWzAOS8nTmpEJWLmNY0o3ypgtKDk_hJkEnie7XGKG34i0NBjXsLKBjD64/s1600/TigerTrail1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo-GGuoxVU-SUI6a6OFgWluUPQps-eAqBwdVodsXV1raZ9OMLP-lVpBeGZOg7acBqjTEC5xr7sJ-6uHDJyNsWzAOS8nTmpEJWLmNY0o3ypgtKDk_hJkEnie7XGKG34i0NBjXsLKBjD64/s200/TigerTrail1.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Multiplying </span>African Violets</b> </span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Tiger Trail</b> (6897) 07/13/1988 (P. Harris) Double bright fuchsia/pale pink back. Variegated, quilted, glossy. Standard trailer.<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Xvsf0arTFE3wb6Jf5riCTosqFeeaEM2U3RXIQ_IFcAIVWTWUxcSwVX1d_LoWLzVchxckKogaDDO2crEPZGf32ALdz6YEn1xkXyINEkWIhLNAsoqXXeH2k0_f6xuBqJzzb-NZm-i68rI/s1600/TigerTrailPink.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Xvsf0arTFE3wb6Jf5riCTosqFeeaEM2U3RXIQ_IFcAIVWTWUxcSwVX1d_LoWLzVchxckKogaDDO2crEPZGf32ALdz6YEn1xkXyINEkWIhLNAsoqXXeH2k0_f6xuBqJzzb-NZm-i68rI/s200/TigerTrailPink.JPG" width="200" /></a></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I received 4 leaves of this plant in September and need to check with my friend in Montana to see if they came off the <a href="http://montanaranch.blogspot.com/search?q=tiger+trail">same plant</a></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">?</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;">It's a curious thing! </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm watching the differences of variegation in leaves growing out right before my eyes. One solo cup of leaves has pink variegation and one has white? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Same variety . . .</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Is it something I've done? :)</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUWqFfLzchgnrjGNNlFeiqE2E-eY6Q1bm6OPJdykn6VPW-nPyfPYeoaUO4jy-wg05Lt1l-xNkntCJEWC7Cmvq6bd4SNr4ElOScOpT8KAXMKuetdKRC3t5lGPRCplO7-KSpAnIXYCZ3bw/s1600/TigerTrailWhite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUWqFfLzchgnrjGNNlFeiqE2E-eY6Q1bm6OPJdykn6VPW-nPyfPYeoaUO4jy-wg05Lt1l-xNkntCJEWC7Cmvq6bd4SNr4ElOScOpT8KAXMKuetdKRC3t5lGPRCplO7-KSpAnIXYCZ3bw/s200/TigerTrailWhite.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Their tray <span style="font-size: small;">has them both together, just off center from the middle of the shelf, fairly direct beneath the tubes.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">My thinking was that I might have put 2 with more variegation in one pot and 2 greener ones in the other. From the pic<span style="font-size: small;">t<span style="font-size: small;">u</span>re I cropped taken at the time, this doesn't really seem to be so. I remember trim<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">m</span>ing just a snip<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">from</span> the side of one<span style="font-size: small;">;</span> one leaf was mushy on the edge so it got trimmed heavily,<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> trying to be sure a few plantlets grew. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I trimmed the others only after babies appeared<span style="font-size: small;"> and the mother leaf was awkward in the tray.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Leaves have been set on my shelves to produce new plantlets in 3 waves of time - <span style="font-size: small;">which</span> only seemed farther spaced apart than I remember<span style="font-size: small;">ed, once I checked the dates on the cups.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">S</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">o</span></span> it shouldn't have come to much surprise to find all the babies are <span style="font-size: small;">at </span>about the same stage<span style="font-size: small;">. </span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">August 20 - Ebay batch of misfit clearance sale plants. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">September 14 - Montana to Maine box of joy, towards replacing some old favorites and new. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And the Round Robin leaves arrived September 19.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i>In answer to my questions, <i>Tiger Trail's history has been detailed <a href="http://montanaranch.blogspot.com/2012/11/tiger-trail-questions.html">here</a>! </i></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Snip of tray photo - Sept 17th arrival<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> -<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> tag not showing but I can tell!</span></span></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<br />Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-47138036226912136422012-11-12T06:44:00.001-08:002012-11-12T12:30:28.161-08:00Oh, flowers! <h2 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>How could this NOT brighten <span style="font-size: large;">your</span> day?</b></span></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>S. ionantha</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With the all too vivid memory of how fast a collection of African <span style="font-size: small;">V</span>iolets goes downhill if you don't pay attention to them<span style="font-size: small;"> -</span> <i>at least a little bit<span style="font-size: small;"> -</span></i> every day, I'm <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">relieved</span> to </span>be still <span style="font-size: small;">e</span>njoying their care after nearly 3 months. <span style="font-size: small;"></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And happy to see I can still coax them <span style="font-size: small;">into putting </span>on a show! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>S. ionantha</b> was a gift from <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.montanaranch.blogspot.com/">Mrs. John</a> in Montana and I<span style="font-size: small;">'m so pleased this one <span style="font-size: small;">forgave my rough <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">treatment</span> and has settled in. <span style="font-size: small;">I've grown this before and would easily add it to my<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Top Ten Favorites List!<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;"></span></span>:)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most days my second cup of coffee in the morning competes with the attention needed by a shelf of plants.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAwjIcEVHpzaWjFb7Fcs0-2vak_aj2kiOrEElQNKDL0ELYj71VoHVZ7y7fVGFVEd03-3z1i_CcfCXl0Po68YAsv2pvlMJ7hQKS2Sh-7GWgBYunWWWePwp1c9AzghWeq-bHSRQ21bXrDQ/s1600/RobsHeatWave1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaAwjIcEVHpzaWjFb7Fcs0-2vak_aj2kiOrEElQNKDL0ELYj71VoHVZ7y7fVGFVEd03-3z1i_CcfCXl0Po68YAsv2pvlMJ7hQKS2Sh-7GWgBYunWWWePwp1c9AzghWeq-bHSRQ21bXrDQ/s200/RobsHeatWave1.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Rob's Heat Wave</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Often the coffee goes cold!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I remember very well the overwhelming<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>"I'll do it tomorrow" lack of energy that <span style="font-size: small;">took over before, <i>almost without realizing it was happening</i>, until all my plants were dead or dying. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I do not want to foll<span style="font-size: small;">ow that path again. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I keep remembering a quote from one of the vintage African violet books <span style="font-size: small;">I own that scolds<span style="font-size: small;">, "Don't be at it all the time." </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">But it feels like so long as I<span style="font-size: small;">'m <span style="font-size: small;">"at it" <span style="font-size: small;">I'll catch problems <span style="font-size: small;">before they snowball out of my control.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOJYp-DRoaRtS8OCAtc8zY7o8CQzxqql8GDlqRD8h4REXRuqhEdrPUMl-dXPPeR5HzuhuCvLPWXjG-wedm2FfFBM1UCVAQrJgKyx8O3_nKV2_6cBg42kACbF-lc9BLTBLc18vcyjo-DQ/s1600/KandyKitchen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvOJYp-DRoaRtS8OCAtc8zY7o8CQzxqql8GDlqRD8h4REXRuqhEdrPUMl-dXPPeR5HzuhuCvLPWXjG-wedm2FfFBM1UCVAQrJgKyx8O3_nKV2_6cBg42kACbF-lc9BLTBLc18vcyjo-DQ/s200/KandyKitchen.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Kandy Kitchen<span style="font-size: xx-small;">, maybe?</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYFAS9lwBWDqKfDcN8BicCoOQSCsAEcg2e06DtyJTvJMN7ib4hxzTeFAoe8SL3HXcgllcfkroeoHEwhrZgEocAzOv0mvkwCTTeyM2DyjaO2oELmToydn5PHbkY-JUFoYLxuxxfT_73fU/s1600/IMG_5766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYFAS9lwBWDqKfDcN8BicCoOQSCsAEcg2e06DtyJTvJMN7ib4hxzTeFAoe8SL3HXcgllcfkroeoHEwhrZgEocAzOv0mvkwCTTeyM2DyjaO2oELmToydn5PHbkY-JUFoYLxuxxfT_73fU/s200/IMG_5766.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY2aHZBTlgxnDDLXHcO7JO9uyi3ZtFou_oiF0lbcU04RMRHG0pIclcXJ2O8_dZ_juJr4owCYNX3bUR1EDqIYnqJbPbgGUnnFK9nR105L7di4tZMf1-PPbmfVClbifPbZ5zZnTzEqBuRs/s1600/IMG_5756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY2aHZBTlgxnDDLXHcO7JO9uyi3ZtFou_oiF0lbcU04RMRHG0pIclcXJ2O8_dZ_juJr4owCYNX3bUR1EDqIYnqJbPbgGUnnFK9nR105L7di4tZMf1-PPbmfVClbifPbZ5zZnTzEqBuRs/s200/IMG_5756.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'll admit there are still times when the plants might prefer a gentler, softer touch than my <i><b>Rip, Repot and Ask Questions Later </b></i>method!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Kandy Kitchen</b> suffered a bit of a set back when I went to lift it back onto a higher shelf after watering and noticed some frighteningly red leaf backs. So of course my first thought was "I've done something wrong!" - thus following the <i>Rip & Repot</i> routine one more time. I've been told this is likely birth marking, combined with sporting and not actually my fault. I'm not totally convinced it wasn't brought on by something I've done, but it was in pretty dreadful shape when I got it!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was just looking as if it had turned the corner and lots of buds had begun to appear. Of course I didn't remember to go find a camera to document how the plant looked until AFTER I ripped off all its leaves. I disbudded all but one bloomstalk. I wanted to at least see what it was going to look like in bloom. <i><b> </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Turns out it's bloom is <a href="http://photos.imageevent.com/bloomlovers/standards/icons/Kandy%20Kitchen%20100110.JPG">supposed to be quite different</a>. </b></i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I like it this way, but several new plantlets have been separated off on their own to see if they might grow better under my conditions from the beginning. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Perhaps one will bloom true. And then we'll see which is nicer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Unless Mother Nature has other ideas!</b></i></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2549003823811980891.post-5572619903008445662012-11-03T08:18:00.000-07:002012-11-04T01:39:20.298-08:00Making Kids Cry<div class="post-header">
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<h2>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZYql4bX22QagT4SIkkhr0Pf4KwmbjTWFbcUN78wtDfUGIXv43SItp7H0NWNKVRwcO9t9En9dS074Oh-PY0zCJSb7l-Acn_rbItLf1cYA0GnNh3-ohx3bbbGs0rxHEFk0FJ7WqenylxU/s1600/cryKID2.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZYql4bX22QagT4SIkkhr0Pf4KwmbjTWFbcUN78wtDfUGIXv43SItp7H0NWNKVRwcO9t9En9dS074Oh-PY0zCJSb7l-Acn_rbItLf1cYA0GnNh3-ohx3bbbGs0rxHEFk0FJ7WqenylxU/s200/cryKID2.JPG" width="196" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>That kind of week!</b></span></span></h2>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Lollipop Kid</b> 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.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaKtitZ9NISc2YSDGZL0Uo3t1F_mVOU9MZhanDDDkl8RwmaO8WQb6kmr9KtKz0b0rt0I6wLOZJFFWIyQAOoK6sPtX-ICHLfwjRhm7AK0dn9r3QsOzEIc09okfQ9pm-hiM2uSLeqYizyA/s1600/IMG_5663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSaKtitZ9NISc2YSDGZL0Uo3t1F_mVOU9MZhanDDDkl8RwmaO8WQb6kmr9KtKz0b0rt0I6wLOZJFFWIyQAOoK6sPtX-ICHLfwjRhm7AK0dn9r3QsOzEIc09okfQ9pm-hiM2uSLeqYizyA/s200/IMG_5663.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">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. </span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It has a few less leaves now.</span></span></i><span style="color: black;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I potted up 2 leaf pots of babies for this variety, but it's <b>very pink </b><i>(possibly unacceptable <b>*</b>)</i> blossoms aren't<span style="font-size: small;"> likely</span> to make my future <i>Favorites List</i>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The spooning/haloing leaves only makes it worse. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />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 <b>Beca'a Pink Crochet</b> is racking up a longer list of "cons" than "pros"...the word "crochet" might not save it! <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">* Pink has to pass the <i><b>Acceptable Pink</b></i> test in our household, as defined by daughter Stephani. ;) </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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 <b>Optimara Little Moonstone</b> and chomped a slice in one of the 2 leaves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Luckily, not the one actually just starting to pop up babies. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBylgsgtaoJ2cDgtiVqmt0DdUirqrfZmdNL5hnDe5_JzxBVgEldoYwMa5j_1r2hdeJWql3a9eT25hiBgLHGwIzIiOkf19vhlU6IATk_kLZo_uuQA9hMpyTjn0noCOfLD-xvI2V4R4LL4o/s1600/TrinketTerrificNov1.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBylgsgtaoJ2cDgtiVqmt0DdUirqrfZmdNL5hnDe5_JzxBVgEldoYwMa5j_1r2hdeJWql3a9eT25hiBgLHGwIzIiOkf19vhlU6IATk_kLZo_uuQA9hMpyTjn0noCOfLD-xvI2V4R4LL4o/s200/TrinketTerrificNov1.JPG" width="160" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Trinket Terrific </b>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. <b>Or ever.</b> 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.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>They should probably have all been pitched.</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">
<i><b> </b></i>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>below left: </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Reflections of Spring has the biggest blossoms ever! </b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><i><b>Rob's Heat Wave will make my Favorites List! </b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPPNkBfxoKgZqxwyzicMQmZfBTB9AKsAcN0aI2SMgb06TESBduBGOtmRImMDAddRoe9J-Jiyyfza_9jwcKF3Qc6_GZsH_RvZ1GxVsMjuFBlhpL5f5u75bAAqiXK-EDF_e5CzDG2cKAzo/s1600/RHeatWav+HevRefl.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPPNkBfxoKgZqxwyzicMQmZfBTB9AKsAcN0aI2SMgb06TESBduBGOtmRImMDAddRoe9J-Jiyyfza_9jwcKF3Qc6_GZsH_RvZ1GxVsMjuFBlhpL5f5u75bAAqiXK-EDF_e5CzDG2cKAzo/s200/RHeatWav+HevRefl.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvp17-porql-8Nq9CDx3D6nJs_zMKG9_e1vwMJ7qRSeciOQw9QAsBkBhrnUxGH8eRlOJrqAQ4nFKR0S5hJZHOqWQHlbkl_I3aJ77uAzmi_sFjnDgNGquLP538jH5JWke21HLs1uNJbd4/s1600/RHeatWaveFAM.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvp17-porql-8Nq9CDx3D6nJs_zMKG9_e1vwMJ7qRSeciOQw9QAsBkBhrnUxGH8eRlOJrqAQ4nFKR0S5hJZHOqWQHlbkl_I3aJ77uAzmi_sFjnDgNGquLP538jH5JWke21HLs1uNJbd4/s200/RHeatWaveFAM.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Rob's Heat Wave family photo</b></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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".</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b> </b></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>Laurie in Mainehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06022126513010116196noreply@blogger.com1