Dear
Violet
I would like to thank Dry-Anna for giving me the opportunity to do this column. I am really looking forward to it. As Dry-Anna said, you could ask any questions. Keep it clean as Dear Violet will not answer any rude questions and will not condemn any one person or persons. When needed I will provide a technical answer whenever possible. I will use all my knowledge and references to provide a correct answer. But watch out as this is also a fun time for all of us. Thus, some answers might be a little of silly nature. I do not want to hurt anyone’s feeling so keep an open mind and a smile on your face.
Our -very- first
Dear Violet letter comes from Senior to be or not to be.
Dear Violet
I just started raising
African Violets about one year ago. I am 54 years old. My husband and children
tell me that this is something that old people do. So my question is this- Just
how old am I -REALLY????
Senior to be or not
to be?
Dear Senior
or not to be.
Dang Gal what took you so
long??? I have been at this since I was a kid. And I am not a gray haired old
person either. Or maybe I am. I
will never tell. As a matter of fact I have a full head of blond hair
(SOMETIMES). Don’t listen to your family, what do they know. Maybe Hubby
should take up woodworking or something to relax his nerves, and if the kids are
still at home tell them its time for them to hit the road and get a real job.
After all you will need their bedrooms for more Violets. They are probably
envious because they don’t have a nice interesting relaxing hobby like you.
Join a AVSA Club and you will see a lot of young and old faces, but full of
bloom. And remember we are as old as we feel. Today I am a kid. How about
You?????
And just think about all
that good oxygen you are breathing in working with the violets.
Sincerely,
Dear Violet
Dear Violet
My name is Whyisit. Seems
that when I was born, and my parents had their first chance to check me out to
see if I had all my fingers, toes, etc., they were heard to say, “Why is
it………?” I never did find out why is it they said that as I have all the
parts I am supposed to. And, they changed my name on the Birth Certificate to,
“Whyisit”.
My name is always used
for certain types of humorous questions that questions something. Why is it that
way?
I noticed in the
VioletReflections Newsletter that someone posted a question with my name in it
and I would like to know the answer to that question. Why is it that we lay a
leaf, when we pot a plant or pot a stolen? I, Whyisit have never done it that
way. Am I missing an important part?
Respectfully:
Whyisit So
Dear Whyisit,
I have been sitting here
going through all my reference material and scratching my head for what seems to
be hours. The best I can come up with in all my research is, back in the olden
days there was a bunch of people working in their garden in Africa. One lady
jumped up and said, “Did you see that gaggle of geese“? A man said, “Yes I
did and I also seen the herd of cattle that went by followed by the flock of
sheep“. “Hummmm”, said another “That brings up a very important
question! Should we call putting a leaf up laying of a leaf? And what about when
we do a stolen or a plant? Lets call that potting.”
I hope this answers your
question and that you soon find your missing link. I think you should start
right away laying leaves up and pot a few stolen while you are at it. This will
be very good therapy.
Sincerely,
Dear Violet
Dear Violet
Why is it that
African Violets, that come from Africa, in the rain forest, don’t like to be
too humid or to wet? Rain forests are wet and humid aren’t they?
Just curious
Dear Just Curious,
Oh No you are going to
drive Whyisit to a doctor. …LOL… This is a very good question, Just Curious.
And you are right. It is very wet and humid in the rain forest. It is my
understanding that our beautiful African violets grow at the base of trees in
the rain forest. At the base of the trees there is a build up of organic matter
called humus. It is made up of the dropping of leaves from the trees and
decaying animal matter and is very light in texture. We African violet
enthusiasts go to great lengths to reproduce this kind of soil to grow our
Violets in. The humidity does not matter as long as the soil drains well and the
plant is not soaking wet at the roots. This is the case where they grow in
Africa.
I might add that when I
transplant my violets all the waste matter goes in a bucket. I take the bucket
into the garden and put all the waste matter in my flowerbeds. Nothing is
wasted. I started doing this quite a few years ago. The first area I did was
where I grow my strawberry plants. I could not believe the difference in my
strawberry plants the first year I started doing this. They were twice as big
and the fruit was wonderful. Hope this has answered your question.
Sincerely,
Dear Violet
Dear Violet,
As a “newbie” to
serious violating, I’ve read that crowding roots helps plants to bloom better.
When propagating miniature leaves, would I be better off using a very small
container (condiment cups ,etc.) to start? Would less room for roots cause
plantlets to form sooner?
Thanks
Allen
Dear Allen,
I do not believe that the
way you put up a leaf makes a difference. I usually put leaves up in seedling
trays. I also have put a bunch up in solo cups and covered with baggies’. When
dealing with miniature baby’s coming off the mother leaf it is better to but
them in the smallest container you can get. I use pill dose size for them. I
also keep them covered for 3 to 4 weeks. As that helps the roots develop. When I
am sure they are doing good and have three rows of nice leaves I move them up to
a solo cup. I never use anything larger.
I hope this is of help to
you.
Sincerely,
Dear violet
Dear Violet,
I have a mini
trailer, Alan’s Fallen Angel. It has 2 crowns about 5” across and blooms
well, But it isn’t making any more crowns. I’ve tried scratching
the main stem to stimulate more crowns, but nothing is happening. What
should I do to get it to trail?
Thanks,
Tony/IL
Dear Tony,
You have asked a question
that is getting a lot of attention on VR theses days. As I am sure you realize
there is a lack of information on trailers. I grow some myself and try different
things with them. Mini’s seem to be the hardest for me. When you scratched the
main stem have you tried pinning it down so the scratched part is in contact
with the soil? This might help. Also pinching out the center three leaves of the
main crown should promote more suckers. Rachel has just recently put some good
information on trailers in the file section on the main page. I particularly
like the first one, and will be trying some of the idea’s.
Hope this is of some help.
Sincerely,
Dear Violet
Dear Violet,
Just a question:
Have you ever heard of anyone getting completely rid of a mite problem??
And, if so, how long did it take. And,
How?
Dear Mite Problem,
The key with mites is
Prevention. In an article in this months African Violet Magazine Ralph Robinson
wrote.” With summer coming to an end and cooler temperatures on their way,
many of us again are ready to turn our attention indoors, to our violets and
other houseplants. Perhaps you may be thinking of bringing in those plants that
spent the summer out on the porch or patio-BEWARE!! Our philosophy is,
“what’s outside, stays outside, and what’s inside stays inside”. If you
bring plants inside, have a separate room for these plants, far away from your
collection. No matter how careful, eventually you’re certain to bring more
then just the plants inside-pests and problems that your plants tolerated
outside, but will quickly devastate your collection inside.
This advice was given to
me years ago when I first started with violets. I also have a lot of cut flowers
I grow in the spring and summer and use to cut them and bring them inside. I
still do but in another room where there are so violets.
To answer your question
on how to cure mites: I can only
relate to what I have read. And once again they all say PREVENTION.
Insecticides that are listed as being effective are Avid, Orthene, and
Malathion. You must spray once a week for three weeks to interrupt the breeding
cycle. If you only spray once you will not get the eggs. Its important to spray
the three times. And once infected, you should spray every three months or so
year round. Yes I have knowledge of people that have had the problem and yes
they got rid of it using the sprays. The sprays are toxic so I do every thing
possible to prevent this happening to me. I bag new plants coming into my house.
I leave them bagged for 3 weeks. And keep them away from other plants. I also
have a second set of trays and I change them over once a month. I clean the
soiled ones with hot soapy water and lots of bleach. Also I have learned to
spread my plants out so air gets around them and this also is a preventive
measure.
Sincerely,
Dear Violet
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