All About African Violets

Welcome to my Sunroom Hi Everyone!  A LOT of great feedback on the previous episode – particularly in the African Violet Nerds group on Facebook.  Thank you! Tips and Treasures I was an absolute talking head last week, so I’ll do my best to keep it a bit shorter this time. * The Great Tray Flip . . .* My collection is down to 33 varieties.  This feels pretty good to me! (I said 32 in the podcast, but found Smooch Me!)* I apologize for not getting the Limit Your Collection notes up for you.  I was trying to pull some photos to go with them, and – as seems usual lately – time got away from me.  * 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. A Look at the Stands A few changes on the stands, and at least a few of the plants have been repotted. Get the Bail Money Ready Convention Info should be up on the AVSA website very soon.  Dates are 26 May – June 2, 2019, in Houston, TX. Spring Shows are on their way!! * Rocky Mountain Streptocarpus Society, Show and Sale, Saturday, January 26, 2019 at Tagawa Gardens, in Centennial, CO* Spring Branch African Violet Club, Judging School, Saturday, January 26, 2019, Copperfield Church, Houston, TX* First Lakeland African Violets 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 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!Super happy to be back with you!! I did have another kidney stone right before Christmas, but – for the first time – I was able to pass it. Yay Me! In editing this episode, however, I got a good look at my face. That HD camera is not all that kind . . . and it’s very clear that I’m not 100% and that I still don’t look all that great. Rest assured that I am OK and that all the kidney craziness is behind me. As mentioned, if any of you have struggled with kidney stones: Jill Harris – at Jill Harris Coaching.comLet’s jump into Tips and Treasures! Tips and Treasures Since you haven’t seen me for a while, I decided to be a talking head today and talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart: Limiting Your Collection. In fact, the episode is a bit longer than usual, but I wanted to capture it all in one go. I will be posting full notes in two parts in the next week so you’ll have the full outline. A Look at the Stands You’ll get another look this episode at what happens when something more important the plants comes along. In my case, it was resting and regaining my health. I’ve managed to water the plants, but that’s about it. Get the Bail Money Ready  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 again for all your good wishes and prayers for my recovery – I know they helped! :-) 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!  Super happy to share with you that all the kidney craziness seems to be pretty much finished. Yay!!  I’m not quite back filming for you yet – but I do have a surprise in this episode! For those of you who have sent questions in and I haven’t responded – know that I have your questions and have not forgotten.  Thank you for your patience!! Let’s jump into Tips and Treasures! Tips and Treasures We are headed back to National where I had the opportunity to interview Douglas Brull – or as we call him around here:  Douglas the Digital Dude!  I am so happy to share this interview with you!!  The sound is not great – unfortunately when you film in a public space, you really don’t have control over sound or light levels.  In addition, Douglas has a softer voice, so turn up the volume for this one! A Look at the Stands Surprise!!! How about a year-end look at what’s on the stands?  I hope you enjoy seeing what’s been going on for the past few months – not all of it’s great (stuff keeps growing when you’re sick . . . :-D), but I think you’re going to see a lot of changes!  (And I totally missed part of one shelf  :-D  you’ll see it next time!) Get the Bail Money Ready * Please check the AVSAEvents 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! Again, my thanks to all of you for your continued concerns and encouraging words with this kidney nonsense. I have super great news to share with you – I did not have to have a second surgery after all! Yay! I’m not completely out of the woods yet – I have another CT scan on Monday morning, but this past week was my first full week back at work. Things are going great! Let’s jump into Tips and Treasures! Tips and Treasures We are going to move on to Part #3 of the three-part series I recorded with Dr. Jeff Smith at his home in July 2013. This is another one that I think you’re going to want to watch more than once, particularly if you are interested in hybridization, streps, and strep hybridation. Dr. Jeff has a way of making very complicated concepts extremely understandable. Did you ever wonder why some streps are scented? Watch this episode! He does reference a few things you saw last week, in Part #2, so you might want to go back and watch that episode again. This interview was filmed in 2013 in Standard Definition. You’ll see black bars on either side. A Look at the Stands The Look will be back – for now I’ll take a few photos to share each episode during “reruns.” Here is Roulette – another long-time favorite of mine. I particularly love the strong peduncles and how the blossoms stand right up like little soldiers. And here is another look at Biscayne Trail. Here is LE- Malahitovaya Rosa (”Malachite or Malahit Rose”). This is a plantlet from a leaf I was gifted at National. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s blooming true. The description I have says “Ashy pink large cupped stars with wide green border. And photos I’ve seen online are a deep, burnished pink with a green edge. This isn’t looking too promising . . . Get the Bail Money Ready * 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! Another “rerun” episode here at All About African Violets. Many thanks to you all for your kind words and well wishes regarding my kidney stone surgery. Unfortunately, there was a complication that might require another surgery – I don’t know yet, but am crossing my fingers things can be resolved without it. This explains why I haven’t felt well nor had much energy for the past month. Let’s jump into Tips and Treasures! Tips and Treasures We are going to move on to Part #2 of the three-part series I recorded with Dr. Jeff Smith at his home in July 2013. He is one of the foremost experts in the world on African violets. He’s a scientist, a master hybridizer, and you’ve read his column in AV Magazine for years. He is also the expert who answers hybridizing questions here on the podcast. This is another one that I think you’re going to want to watch more than once, particularly if you are interested in species violets, hybridization, and streps. I hope you will enjoy this tour of his growing areas! This interview was filmed in 2013 in Standard Definition. You’ll see black bars on either side.   A Look at the Stands The Look will be back – for now I’ll take a few photos to share each episode during “reruns.” Here is Optimara Michigan – a long-time favorite. And here is Knight Rider. This plant has a very interesting blossom, but the symmetry is challenging. I just disbudded it and you can see how allowing it to bloom rather than focusing on the foliage has presented me with the challenge of seeing if I can get it into shape for show! Same thing with Rhapsodie Patricia – you’ll remember that it had an ice cream cone head of blossom, but the foliage was drooping. Again – you can clearly see how the crown has been stunted while covered in blossoms. I’m relatively confident that both of these plants will make a comeback!   Get the Bail Money Ready * 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 I wish you all a wonderful and joyous Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this year, including all of you who watch me every episode. Thank you very much! Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook 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, I am changing things up here at All About African Violets for November and probably also for December. As some of you know – I had a kidney infection toward the end of October. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter I had another kidney stone. It was 7mm so there was no way for me to pass it. It required surgery. I am healing well and I’m going to be just fine, but I don’t have a lot of energy at the moment, so I’m going to give myself some time to heal. Even though you won’t be seeing me or my stands for a bit, I have some serious treasure to share with you, because it’s rerun season! :-D Tips and Treasures I think you are really going to enjoy today’s episode. Dr. Jeff Smith is one of the foremost experts in the world on African violets. He’s a scientist, a master hybridizer, and you’ve read his column in AV Magazine for years. He is also the expert who answers hybridizing questions here on the podcast. Today you will see the first part of the three-part series I filmed with Dr. Jeff in July 2013 at his home in Muncie, Indiana. I told him we’d talk for probably half an hour – I ended up being there most of the day. We talked so much that there are three parts to this series and Jeff covered pretty much every topic you could want to learn about. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m absolutely a fangirl – Dr. Jeff is one of the most interesting people on the planet. My guess is that you’re going to want to watch this series more than once! This interview was filmed in 2013 in Standard Definition. You’ll see black bars on either side. A Look at the Stands The Look will be back – for now I’ll take a few photos to share each episode during “reruns.” Here is Rhapsodie Patricia – really blooming! And here is Cranberry Crush   Get the Bail Money Ready * 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 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 – I know you are expecting an episode today, but I have been laid low with a kidney infection (The No-Fun Plan) and I’m just not up to filming.  You have to know that I’m feeling pretty punk for me to not record for you since I’ve recorded before when I’ve been ill.  I am on the mend (this has been going on since Wednesday evening when I spent a not-so-fun night in the ER), but not quite up to filming a usual episode. Tips and Treasures In the meantime, I know you’ve noticed that I have one of my shelves set up now for LED lights.  I thought you could use a good laugh as you watch Joyce and I (aka Lucy and Ethel) set them up.  While it is funny – and yes we make mistakes – it’s also a very good tutorial and it’s long enough to be an episode unto itself. So . . . enjoy! A Look at What’s On the Stands The Look will be back next episode. Get the Bail Money Ready Will be back next week – you can find current events on the AVSA website Events page. * 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 thank you for your generous PayPal donations to help keep the podcast in production. 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 * Come on in – bring your tea! * Fall is finally here in Chicagoland Tips and Treasures * Thank you to those of you who responded about some difficulties viewing the podcast – thankfully not too many are! * My best advice is that if you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast through iTunes. * My second best advice is to watch it here on the website. * I have some treasure for you today – let’s go back to National and meet Paul Kroll. Paul has done pretty much everything with African violets and Other Gesneriads, both growing and in design – in both the AVSA and the AVSC. He even judges chickens! There is a lot of ambient noise on this clip. A Look at the Stands * A look at what’s on the Stands. * A few changes . . . Get the Bail Money Ready * 10/12/2018 to 10/13/2018 – Missouri Valley African Violet Council, Annual Fall Meeting and Violet Show and Sale, Wyndham Tulsa Hotel and Resorts, Tulsa, OK * 10/13/2018 – African Violet Society of Philadelphia, Annual Show and Plant Sale, Cathedral Village Retirement enter, Philadelphia, PA * 10/18/2018 to 10/20/2018 – New York State African Violet Society, Convention Show & Sale, Quality Inn Owego, Owego, NY * 10/19/2018 to 10/20/2018 – Minnesota African Violet Society of America, Annual AVSM Fall Display and Plant Sale, Northtown Mall Court (near Best Buy), Blaine, MN * 10/19/2018 to 10/20/2018 – Central Arkansas AVS, African Violet Show and Sale, North Little Rock Community Center, North Little Rock, AR * 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 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 * Come on in – bring your tea! * The days are getting shorter here in the Northern hemisphere Tips and Treasures * First, I have a couple of questions for you! * Is anyone having difficulty accessing the podcast on their phone directly from the website? * Android phone users: Would you advise how you are watching the podcast? * The Chatter * After the episode where I demonstrated how I pot, I got a few questions about this topic, so I thought today would be a good time to discuss. * You probably saw Judy’s question about using perlite. It appeared on the website on September 5th: * I heard you say on one of your episodes that you use perlite in the bottom of your pots. I believe that there are different schools of thought on using perlite in the bottom of pots. What is the advantage to using perlite in the bottom of the pot? * First – just to clarify: I use coarse perlite in the bottom of the plastic pots you see on my stands. When I am using a self-watering pot (like the one the Big-Box Violet is in) I do not use any perlite in bottom.For the plants you see on my shelves, I use what is called the Modified Texas-Style of potting, and that layer of coarse perlite is part of that potting style. The coarse perlite in the bottom of the pot gives the roots of the plant airspace, which they need in order to grow well. In addition, that layer provides some “insurance” against over-watering. I will explain this style of potting and why I use it, in the next episode of the podcast. * I also got a message from Cathy, saying: “I have tried over and over with wick watering and it has failed to the point that I have almost lost two plants over it. I did everything I was supposed to do and someone told me who grows a lot of AVs, that it could be my environment and some plants don’t do well on the wick watering. Could that be the case? * So let’s talk about potting styles!! * SURPRISE!!!! These questions aren’t really about potting styles at all – they are about WATERING * Watering Methods: * Top * Bottom * Texas-Style * Modified Texas Style * Wick * Modified Texas Style * Mat * Self-Watering Pots * Modified Texas Style * Growing to Show, by Pauline Bartholomew * You CAN Grow African Violets, by Joyce and Kent Stork A Look at the Stands * A look at what’s on the Stands. * Some results from my test with the LED lighting. Get the Bail Money Ready * 09/21/2018 to 09/22/2018, Dallas Metro African Violet Societies, Fall Sale, North Haven Gardens, Dallas, TX * 09/28/2018 to 09/29/2018, Cedar Valley African Valley Club, Display and Sale, Crossroads Mall, Waterloo, IA 50702 * 09/29/2018, Delaware African Violet and Gesneriad Society, Show & Sale, with Workshops (fee required), Delaware Center for Horticulture, Wilmington, DE * 09/29/2018, Rocky Mountain African Violet Council, Multiple Clubs Sale, Tagawa Gardens, Centennial, CO Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! https://allaboutafricanviolets.

  Welcome to my Sunroom * Thank you for the star ratings and reviews on FaceBook and also on iTunes. Tips and Treasures * Some treasure for you today! * Have you seen the latest edition of African Violet Magazine? * One short section: * Grooming a Trailer A Look at the Stands * A look at what’s on the Stands. Get the Bail Money Ready * 09/07/2018 to 09/08/2018, The Ohio State African Violet Society, Annual Judged Show and Sale, at Kingwood Center Gardens, in Mansfield, OH. * 09/15/2018 to 09/16/2018, Gateway West Gesneriad Society, Show and Sale, in the Beaumont Room at the Missouri Botanical Garden, in St. Louis, MO Share your growing spaces and some of your favorite plants! If you would like to have your growing space featured in a post on the website, there is a form you can fill out and upload some photos!   Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me! Remember, you can find All About African Violets: Here! On Facebook! On Instagram! On Pinterest!  

  Welcome to my Sunroom Thank you for the star ratings and reviews on FaceBook and also on iTunes. Tips and Treasures Some treasure for you today! Three short sections Potting columnea cuttings Grooming and Repotting Separating Babies and Potting them Up A Look at the Stands The fruits of my labor! Get the Bail Money Ready No events on the AVSA page until September. Share your growing spaces and some of your favorite plants!  If you would like to have your growing space featured in a post on the website, there is a form you can fill out and upload some photos! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: Here! On Facebook! On Instagram! On Pinterest!

  Welcome to my Sunroom * Thank you for the star ratings and reviews on FaceBook and also on iTunes. Tips and Treasures * First, a tip! * I hope you are subscribing to the AVSA’s weekly growing tip! But I also hope you are a member of the AVSA – one of the new benefits of membership is the “AVSA News for Members” email. * Some pretty exciting stuff this time – The Biodiversity Heritage Library, which is one of the Smithsonian Libraries, is now digitizing issues of the AV Magazine! The Smithsonian collection of the magazine is now available online! * They don’t have all of them, but what they have is an interesting look back at our African violet history. * What’s the BHL? The Smithsonian Libraries is proud to be one of the founding members of the BHL – a consortium of major natural history, botanical, and research libraries that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the literature of biodiversity held in their collections as a part of a global “biodiversity commons.” * And now some treasure. I apologize for the quality of this section – I’m clearly STILL getting used to my camera and how does or does not focus . . . * But I know you’d like to learn how to remove a sucker – Joyce Stork is the expert! A Look at the Stands * Babies!!! Get the Bail Money Ready It’s August – that means that Fall is on its way, which means the fall shows are coming up!! * Rocky Mountain Streptocarpus Society and Mile High Violet Society are having a SALE at O’Toole’s Garden Center on Saturday, August 11th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Westminster, Colorado Share your growing spaces and some of your favorite plants! If you would like to have your growing space featured in a post on the website, there is a form you can fill out and upload some photos! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me! Remember, you can find All About African Violets: Here! On Facebook! On Instagram! On Pinterest!

  Welcome to my Sunroom * Thank you for the star ratings and reviews on FaceBook and also on iTunes. Tips and Treasures * Last episode we talked at length about pots and sizes of pots that you might use for your violets. I got a question last week from Dianna.  She asks:  “How do you set up the ceramic violet pots for success.  I was given about four of them, and I had a few of them years ago, but didn’t have success then.  I would like to try again.” There is a great FAQ on the AVSA website about pots. * Today’s treasure is a look at some of the more notable “other gesneriads” in the national show, with Dale Martens! A Look at the Stands * Things are shifting around here and babies are sprouting! Get the Bail Money Ready Nothing on the AVSA site until August! If you would like to have your growing space featured in a post on the website, there is a form on the “Show ‘N Tell” tab that you can fill out and upload some photos! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here! * On Facebook! * On Instagram! * On Pinterest!  

  Welcome to my Sunroom * So glad so many of you enjoyed the convention footage and also last week’s Shorty about chaos in the plantroom! * I loved that some of you were playing along as I was removing leaves – grooming, and knowing which leaves to take gets easier the more you do it! * It is HOT here in Chicagoland Tips and Treasures So, last episode we talked at length about what you do when you’re coming home from show. This week, I would like to answer a few questions about pots that I’ve gotten – but first, I realized that I totally forgot to show you the last piece of footage from the convention showroom – the HONOR COURT!!! OMG! Chuck said: “I was inspired from your first season to acquire Jersey Snow Flakes … and I, currently, have two plants which are growing/blooming fairly well. I see that you still have your Jersey Snow Flakes as well. My question is … have you ever had it in a pot larger than 4″ in diameter?” Judy asked: “At a recent meeting at our small AV club, one member told me that I should probably switch from using white AV pots to using green AV pots. She said she had heard that African Violets grow better in the green pots. Is there any truth to this?” Joan asked: “Does the shape of the pot matter? I like square, less tippy.”   A Look at What’s on the Stands * Another good look at what’s on the stands. You saw a lot of grooming in last week’s shorty – let’s go take a look at what things look like now. * The loss of Opt. Little Wichita Girl takes me from 59 varieties down to 58. * Fresh Air has already had a new stem cut for it, and it looks like the leaf was snapped off – so I might have some babies coming from the original stem, as well. Get the Bail Money Ready Nothing on the AVSA site until September! Share your growing spaces and some of your favorite plants! If you would like to have your growing space featured in a post on the website, there is a form you can fill out and upload some photos! Keep Moving Forward Thank you for joining me!  Remember, you can find All About African Violets: * Here! * On Facebook! * On Instagram! * On Pinterest!

  I’ve been on vacation for more than a week and things in the plant room – or in my case – the sunroom, can get out of hand very quickly, even with a relatively small collection. This Shorty captures a grooming pass as I inspect my upstairs stands.  I hope you find it to be educational! If there is one thing I have learned in my years of growing African violets, it is that consistent care is critical to healthy growth.  One of my mentors, the late Dorothy Kosowsky, used to say that the difference between a good grower and a champion grower, is that the champion grower checks his/her plants every day.  Even if it’s just a quick look and a turn, daily, consistent care will go a very long way toward having beautiful plants  :-)