All About African Violets

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax! Fall is definitely in the air here in Chicagoland. I had to put the furnaces on on Saturday! Let’s jump right in to Tips and Treasures! Tips and Treasures More treasure for you today, mixed with sadness. I’m sure that most of you know that Bill Foster passed away on 24 September 2019. He was 85 years old. Bill was very well known in the AVSA, and had been the Chair of the Shows & Judges Committee for decades. His passing really is the end of an era. Back in 2013, at the National African Violet Convention in Austin, Texas, Bill sat down with me for an interview. I thought you might like to see this footage again and remember him fondly. A Look at What’s On the Stands Not much has changed around here, although plenty of stuff is in bloom at the moment. I’ve had out of town company off and on since Labor Day! That takes a lot of time . . . Get the Bail Money Ready! The fall shows are in full swing! * 10/17/2019 to 10/19/2019, New York State African Violet Society,  New York State Convention, Hilton Garden Inn, Auburn NY* 10/18/2019 to 10/19/2019, African Violet Society of Minnesota, Display and Sale, Northtown Mall, Blaine, MN* 10/19/2019 to 10/20/2019, Sundowners African Violet Society, Show and Sale, Baton Rouge, LA Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember,

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax! I’m sorry to have missed a week earlier this month, but am happy to back online with you now! Tips and Treasures More treasure for you today! Back to National for aninterview with Dolores Gibbs. She is a charter member of the Austin club, and she’s one of the best container garden designers anywhere. This year at National she won 3rd Best Design in the show, and best Dish Garden and Best Terrarium! As is usual with remote interviews, there is some ambient noise, but you can hear her pretty well. Enjoy! A Look at What’s On the Stands There is a still a stand in the kitchen, but construction is finally finished at my house, so that stand will be moving back into the guest room soon! And we have another project to follow – my Hunter’s Twilight Glow. Get the Bail Money Ready! The fall shows are in full swing! * 09/21/2019, Memphis African Violet Society, Fall Sale, Central Christian Church, Memphis, Tennessee* 09/21/2019, Rocky Mountain African Violet Council. Clubs Sale, Tagawa Gardens, Centennial, Colorado* 09/21/2019 to 09/22/2019, North Star African Violet Council, Judged Show & Plant Sale, Bachman’s Floral, Gift & Garden, Minneapolis, MN* 09/27/2019 to 09/28/2019, Cedar Valley African Violet Club, Display and Sale, Crossroads Mall, Waterloo, Iowa* 09/27/2019 to 09/28/2019, Dallas Metro African Violet Societies, Fall Sale, North Haven Gardens, Dallas, TX* 09/27/2019 to 09/28/2019, Ohio State African Violet Society, Annual Convention, Show, and Sale, Kingwood Center Gardens, Mansfield, Ohio* 10/04/2019 to 10/05/2019, Missouri Valley African Violet Council, Fall Show and Sale, including Judging School, Ramada Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, Omaha, Nebraska* 10/05/2019, Spring Branch African Violet Club, Annual Plant Sale, Judson Robinson, Jr. Community Center, Houston, TX* 10/05/2019, Saintpaulia Society of Tacoma, Show & Sale, Watson’s Greenhouse, Puyallup, WA* 10/05/2019 , Michigan State African Violet Society, Display and Sale, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor, Michigan Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and 

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax! I’ve had a super-busy couple of weeks, complete with a trip to the Michigan Fiber Festival and construction in the house! Tips and Treasures I have some wonderful treasure for you today. An interview with Belinda Thibodeaux, the well-known hybridizer of the “Cajun’s” series of plants! There is some ambient noise, but you can hear her pretty well. I hope you enjoy meeting her. A Look at What’s On the Stands Lots of changes going on on the stands! Get the Bail Money Ready! Whoops! The fall shows are starting up! I was not able to go back and re-film, but here is one upcoming show * 08/24/2019, Southern New Jersey African Violet Club, Show and Sale, The Moravian Church of Egg Harbor City, Egg Harbor City, NJ Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! Remember, all you budding hybridizers out there: Don’t Sow and Entire Seed Pod!!! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember, you can find All About About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax! This week, it’s all about the stands! Last week, my friend, Kurt Jablonski, pointed out to me that I had left out the Look at What’s On the Stands. He was correct! In my haste to get the old footage edited into the new footage, I completely missed it. The situation was not helped last week by my having a real struggle with asthma – I kept coughing terribly, which led to me having to piece together multiple bits of film. It was a challenge to say the least. I sincerely apologize! (And I went to the asthma doctor this week :-) ) Tips and Treasures I’ve combined Tips and Treasure and the Look at What’s on the Stands this episode so that you will get a good look at what’s happening here! A Look at What’s On the Stands You get a double-dose this week!!! Get the Bail Money Ready! Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! A final comment about INSV: Remember – stuff happens sometimes, and it’s just not the end of the world. There are always more plants :-) If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember, you can find All About About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax. Some exciting news: Ted Yoder has a new CD!! It’s called “Feels like Home.” Tips and Treasures We are going to jump right in to Tips and treasures, because this is a very important episode. We are going to talk about the Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus, more often simply called INSV. Joyce and the late Kent Stork talked about INSV on one of the old episodes, and I’m sharing that footage with you here again. Books mentioned in this episode: * Compendium of Flowering Potted Plant Diseases, by Margery L. Daughtrey (it’s spendy because it’s out of print, so slso look for it on eBay)* Growing to Show, by Pauline Bartholomew Tools mentioned in this episode: * Soapy water solution* Bleach water solution* Physan 20* INSV Test Kits A Look at What’s On the Stands If you are following the podcast on Instagram, you saw a teaser photo a few days ago. My collection has gone back down – from 74 down to about 48 or so. There was a possibility that INSV was introduced into my collection, and because I wasn’t practicing the best plant room hygiene. It’s possible that by not disinfecting my knife between each fresh cut I made on leaf stems, that I infected many of the leaves I brought home from National. I don’t know what vendor the suspect plant came from, but I kept leaves and gave the plant to a friend. It wasn’t growing well so she decided to test it, and it tested positive for INSV. I tossed most of the leaves I put down, and on the rest – I will be watching them very carefully to see how the babies look when they start to sprout. If they don’t look good, out they’ll go. Always remember to practice good plantroom and potting bench hygiene!!! Get the Bail Money Ready! Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on 

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in and relax. We’re going to talk today about what happens when you get home from National, or any other show you might have attended. I’m so glad so many of you enjoyed walking through the National convention with me last episode! I loved seeing it all again, myself! Tips and Treasures This week I’m going to take you through my process when I get home from a big show like National, and you’ll see the stands as they looked when I got home! In this episode I also demonstrate how to put down a leaf! A Look at What’s On the Stands Finally! You haven’t seen the stands since May, and in this episode you got to see them when I came back from National, as well as seeing how they look now. Plenty of new leaves, and yes, I did ramp up my collection. In fact, it went from about 30 varieties to 74! ===:-O That’s me with my hair standing on end more than usual. As you know, however, not all of the leaves I came home with will make it, and of those that do, not all will be happy in my growing conditions. It will be pretty interesting around here this fall, though! Get the Bail Money Ready! Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember, you can find All About About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in to my Sunroom! I hope you enjoyed last week’s chat with Joyce Stork. This will be another slightly different episode. There will not be a look at what’s on the stands. Instead, we will jump right in to Tips and Treasures. Tips and Treasures Come with me to see the 2019 National Show!! The light is not great and there is a lot of ambient noise, but I hope you will enjoy this walk-through! A Look at What’s on the Stands Not this episode – but soon! Get the Bail Money Ready There is one event on the AVSA website to share with you – most of the spring shows are over. * 22-23 June 2019, Metropolitan St. Louis African Violet Council, African Violet Show and Sale, Missouri Botanical Garden – Orthwein Hall, St. Louis, Missouri Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember, you can find All About About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone! Come on in to my Sunroom! I’m back from National and it was just amazing! This episode will be a little different than usual – no look at what’s on the stands this time (because I made some changes and I want you to see them in order). Tips and Treasures I have SO MUCH to share with you over the coming months – yes, I said months! So many wonderful and interesting people sat down with me this year that I will have plenty to share with you for months to come! But right now – I want to start before convention actually jumps off. I know that most of you have already seen all the show winners, so we’re going to take our time and I’m going to roll some stuff out to you in order. My friend, Joyce Stork and I sat down and had a pre-convention chat that was longer than I actually anticipated, but there is so much good information in it that I wanted to present it to you in its entirety. As is usual when Joyce and I sit down together, hilarity ensues. A Look at What’s On the Stands Not this week, but stay tuned! Get the Bail Money Ready There were no events on the AVSA website to share with you – most of the spring shows are over. But please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you! The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020. * Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! And remember, you can find All About About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!   Come on in to my sunroom!   It wasn’t spring in Chicagoland after all.  Maybe this week . . .  Ted Yoder was on WGN Radio on Friday here in Chicagoland.  They filmed him as they interviewed him!  The video is about 17 minutes long and there is some silent space when they went to commercial.  Local peeps, he will be at The Space, in Evanston, Illinois on Tuesday evening, May 21st.  It’s an all ages show, and the tickets are reasonable. Tips and Treasures New AV Magazine is out and filled with great information. The National Convention is next week!!! A Look at the Stands After the last episode, Joyce messaged me and said that she thought that the tight centers on a few of my plants might be from too much light.  I moved a few things around – you’ll see the result! My coryteplectus cutucuensis is hanging in! Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is upon us!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX.   * 5/25/2019, Annapolis Valley African Violet Society, Show, Tea, and Sale, St John’s United Church Hall, Middleton, Nova Scotia Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!    Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom!  I hope you enjoyed seeing the Illinois show last time, and also the before/after footage of my stands.  It might actually finally be spring in Chicagoland.  Maybe . . . I had great fun this past week, speaking to the Garden Club of Evergreen Park at the Evergreen Park Public Library, in Evergreen Park, Illinois!  Thanks you guys!!! Tips and Treasures The National Convention is in just a few weeks, so I thought I would spend a little time today talking about some of the best things about convention. First thing, however, is that you have to actually Register!  Once you do that . . . * Presentations* Commercial Sales* Seeing old friends and making new ones* The Show!! A Look at the Stands This look at what’s on the stands is not quite so lenthy as last time. What’s next for my coryteplectus cutucuensis . . . ??? Annie holding what’s left of her corytoplectus cutucuensis plant Epic fail . . . ?   Maybe not! Not an Epic Fail after all! Corytoplectus cutucuensis is sprouting new growth! As you can see, although the existing leaves croaked, it is sending up new growth! Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is up on the AVSA website now!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX.  * 05/10/2019, Billings Bloomers African Violet Club, Annual Plant Sale, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Billings, Montana* 05/11/2019, African Violet Club of Burlington County, Annual Show and Sale, Medford Leas Retirement Community, Medford, New Jersey Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!!  Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom!  So much for you to see today, so these show notes are not long – it’s more about all the footage I have to share with you today, so let’s jump right in to Tips and Treasures. Tips and Treasures A walk-through of the Illinois African Violet Society’s 2019 show! A Look at the Stands And a before and after look at what’s on the stands – some footage from last week, and some from today.  I know you want to know what’s going on with my coryteplectus cutucuensis . . . Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is up on the AVSA website now!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX.  Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/29/show-us-your-growing-space/ * Show Us Your Plants!!!:  https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/29/show-us-your-plants/ Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!  https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/31/got-a-question-ask-annie/ Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom!  I’m excited to bring you a special episode this week.  I’m so glad you enjoyed meeting my friend Sayeh last week.  There’s plenty to talk about, so let’s jump right in to Tips and Treasures. Tips and Treasures We’ve got a question today! Laurie asked:  “What causes the crown to all of a sudden grow smaller leaves that are very tight and hard?  When this started, I was concerned about cyclamen mites. Then decided it might be a “culture break.” Now I’m concerned again about mites as it seems to happen to many of my plants. Although I have kept a few that have grown out of it.  Another thought, is I had forgotten I had read somewhere that when the soil dries out that when you water it you shouldn’t use a fertilizer until a few days later.  Thanks for any help on this.” This brings us the reason for this special episode!  Earlier this year I was approached by UK journalist, Jane Perrone, be interviewed for her podcast, On the Ledge.  Of course I said yes, because, as you know, I can run my mouth forever about African violets  :-D  Well, the interview aired yesterday, on her podcast episode 88.  I hope you’ll give it a listen! For those of you not familiar with Jane or her podcast, she is a well-known UK journalist who specializes in plants and gardening. She is regularly published in The Guardian, The Financial Times, Gardens Illustrated and Garden Design Journal, and her podcast, On the Ledge, is devoted to houseplants of all kinds. So, since I have been asked by some of you about the other plants that grow in my sunroom, I thought today would be a great day to take a look at them! A Look at the Stands And we’ll just go right back and take a look at what’s on the stands, shall we? Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is up on the AVSA website now!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX.  And since this is a special episode, you already heard about US shows coming up.  But I heard from Karin, a podcast viewer in Canada, with the following upcoming shows in Canada, so I thought I would share them with you today: * 2019/04/14, Toronto African Violet and Gesneriad Society, Annual Show & Sale* 2019/04/27, Lakeshore African VIolet Society of Toronto, Annual Show & Sale* 2019/04/27 & 28 Société des Saintpaulia de Montréal, Annual Exhibition* 2019/05/04 & 05, First Halifax African Violet Society, Exhibition and Sale* 2019/05/11, Toronto African Violet and Gesneriad Society, Spring Sale Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!! Keep Moving Forward

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom!  It’s not sunny!  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!!  I’m going to avoid being a talking head today. Tips and Treasures Travel back to National with me one last time and meet my friend, Sayeh Behesti!  Sayeh is a woman of many talents.  You’ll hear about her plants today, but she also has a blog, Sayeh Sun Studio, an Etsy Shop, and a YouTube Channel!  I hope you will enjoy meeting her and hearing her talk about finding the ones that grow.  :-)  A Look at the Stands Reservoirs are in place again, and there’s a new strep blooming! Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is up on the AVSA website now!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX.  Shows coming up: * Sweetwater African Violet Society* Heart of Jacksonville African Violet Society* Dallas Metro African Violet Societies* Michigan State African Violet Society* Moonlight African Violet & Gesneriad Society* Copper State African Violet Club* Richmond African Violet Society* Windsor African Violet Society* Thimble Islands African Violet Society* African Violet Club of Morris County* Capital City African Violet Society Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom.  Finally – health issues seem to be at bay for now, the weather has calmed down somewhat, and it’s time for me to answer some questions.  This episode is about 10 minutes longer than usual.  Tips and Treasures It’s Question Day!!! * Terri L asked:  “My African violets are growing and flowering great, by the flower stems are very long and weak.  Any idea why?”* Christine Clark asked:  “What makes an African violet a trailer and not just an African violet with suckers? Is it just that trailers do well with multiple crowns while others do not? For example if I were to buy an unlabeled plant and had no idea it was a trailer is there some way for me to figure that out? Otherwise I would be taking all the suckers off.”* Gwen asked:  “In a podcast you we’re showing how to plant up to wick water the plantlets. You showed setting them in the deli container and commented that You wouldn’t put them on a reservoir yet; why is that?  Also when not using reservoir, how much water do you keep in tray as doesn’t the wick need to be constantly wet to work and not dry out? And why wick at all without a reservoir as wouldn’t the water get to the plant from the holes in bottom?  Thank you!”* Florent asked:  I just found your website by google while looking for information about sports.  First of all I just saw your video about sports, amazing, so interesting and your violet collection his so gorgeous!  I enjoy your video because I’m French and your speech is not too speedy so I could understand correctly what you said …. my English is not too good … you could see with my writing.  In France no one speaks about violet care and information so I have to turn to UK and US to find information.  But there something I think I don’t clearly understand in your video.  I bought a leaf of Frosty Frolic (a sports of Frozen in Time ), the plant bloomed today and is not clearly Frosty Frolic , so I looked at the original plant (Frozen in Time) and nope … not right either.  My question is:  if I try to propagate again with the mother leaf (still in pot) will I get again the sport or could I have the right plant?  You won a new viewer for your video!! you should do a YouTube channel.  Have a nice day, best regards from France, Florent.* The AVSA list of known Sports* Janice H asked: I have 2 leaves of Jersey Blue Dreams in solo cups.  Both have been very slow in sending up mouse ears.  The leaves were put down 7-20-2018.  The one leaf has sent up a flower stalk with several buds.  The baby leaf is finally out of the soil.  I’ve never seen a mother leaf send up a flower stalk before baby leaves.  Everything seems healthy about the leaf.  Is this just a rarity?  A Look at the Stands More space on the shelves today.  Some interesting sports – but not interesting enough to keep . . . First – Allegro Watermelon Ruffles – * Allegro Watermelon Ruffles (10439) 11/17/2011 (J. Stromborg) Single-semidouble ruffled light pink pansy/dark pink patches, green-edged top petals. Dark green, heart-shaped, glossy, ruffled, serrated/red back. Semiminiature. This plant bloomed with wasp blossoms and single spots of fantasy on some but not all of the blossoms. 

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  Come on in to my sunroom.  We’ve just gone through a brutal polar vortex here in Chicagoland.  Thankfully my furnaces did yeoman’s service and all has been well and warm in my house. Tips and Treasures The outline on how I go about limiting my collection is now online on the website.  It’s set up in two posts. * My collection is now down to 31 varieties.  I found a few more plants that I could let go.* With spring shows on their way, if you are growing for show, NOW is the time to be making some decisions and doing some repotting in preparation for entering your plants! * There is an excellent Pre-Show Schedule in Pauline Bartholomew’s Growing to Show. I want to take you back to National today to meet my friend and mentor, Diane Miller.  She is from SoCal, and is a well-known expert in the growing of minis and semis.  She is a teacher by trade, and has shared her knowledge with so many people.  I hope you will enjoy meeting her! A Look at the Stands I think you are going to notice today that one or two things are gone (yes – primulina Aiko is gone, and I could no longer waste my time, energy, and shelf space on Knight Rider – a plant that has never been happy in my growing conditions.  And yes, my LED lighting experiment has ended with my switching back to old-school T-12 fluorescent gro-light tubes. Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info is up on the AVSA website now!!  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX. Spring Shows are on their way!! * First Lakeland African Violet Society, Show and Sale, Friday – Saturday, February 8-9, 2019, Christ Lutheran Church, Lakeland, FL* African Violet Club of Greater Kansas City, Sale, Saturday, February 9, 2019, Loose Park Garden Center, Kansas City, MO* Desert Sun AV & Gesneriad Society, Annual Display and Sale, Saturday, February 16, 2019, Phoenix Valley Garden Center, Phoenix, AZ*   Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. * Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this! If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!