Whatever it is, it's cute ::))
Connie
The Obsession Has Begun
Great growing Kim,your plantstands look great.I love your little flower pots.Did you say seeds ^_^
Jan
Jannich!!!! Woo Hoo Girl!
Yes Jan, I said seeds.
I'm hoping to have ALOT of fun with you friends this fall/winter.
What I want to do is to send seeds to each of you.
I would like you to grow them out.
If any of you get something that is worth naming; I am asking for the first cutting back in return and to be able to name it.
I want you all to dream with me as to what might sprout and share your progress etc. and I will share mine. We'll start a thread and report in.
All of my hybrids are going to be Sonshine's *****(insert name here)***** after my son who passed away 2 years ago 8/31. Hybridizing has given me hope and healing and I want to dedicate the beautiful hybrids I envision to him as he was my gift from God. I had him on my 20th birthday and I have turned to plants for healing.
This project with you guys means SO MUCH to me and I am really looking forward to it.
I just ordered 11 SRG's sinningias. I don't know what stage of growth they will be in but next year is going to be an AMAZING year on my plant stand. My first stand and marriage was just practice; this time around I got it right ;)
((( huge hugs )))
I just LOVE Saturdays! Hubby works all day and Kim does whatever she feels like doing *lol*
Today that is playing plants. I have been struggling for about 6 weeks with a personal issue and I have completely broken out in hives. This week I had to surrender as that was my only option and I needed to both for my mental and physical well being. So today is a healing day for me. I am going to do everything I want to do. Pamper myself and just be grateful for all my beautiful blooms! I have SO many african violets blooming right now! I hate to say it though; I love them but I am a little more pumped about the hybridizing sinningia aspect *lol* I do so love looking at each and every violet every morning too though so I guess it's a close race *lol*
So far today I have created a science project I'm going to call "space age seedpods" *lol*
I lost alot of seed with the last pod that ripened so I have been trying to think of a "seed catcher" before my next 3 ripen. Nicole suggested a tiny ziplock and I have those but the more I thought about it I would only be able to put the baggie on over the pod and the opening of the bag would be faced down. I also considered too much humidity and the pod possibly rotting.
So this morning I cut up a few squares from the "spage age" packing that Rob's uses as I just got an order in from him.......oh, my did I just admit to that? *lol* I then took a small square from the sticky part of a post it note and created "collars" for the stems. I don't know how this will work but right now it seems like a neat idea. I will report in about how this goes.
Fingers crossed.
So these are the candidates for today's crosses. Picture 1 Gabriel's Horn Sport and 2 HCY's Taurus. I plan to do some dabbing with them today.
I just LOVE Gabriel's Horn Sport. I always have. There is something about the shape of the flower that really gets to me. It's like a butterfly when you look at it sideways (as seen in picture 2). I really like the broken orange/red color with the purple (picture 3). Even though it's an oldie' it's a goodie. A little larger than the mini's but not as big as something crossed with a species plant. Mid size I would say. I use it in alot of my crosses as I can imagine other colors with that beautiful layered butterfly look.
I am really in the mood to start some seeds today so I think I am going to start A FEW....not all of the following 2 crosses just to see what happens:
Los Angeles x Ozark Coral Freckles
Ozark Coral Freckles x Los Angeles
I'm going to grow them in the same container but separated. It should be pretty interesting to see the results. I have attached pictures of both parents. Please note that these pictures were borrowed from the internet as I did not take pictures before hybridizing and should have. I borrowed Ozark Coral Freckles from Kartuz as that is where I bought my tubers from and I borrowed Los Angeles from burwur.net which is a GREAT informational site!
I think the characteristics of the 2 parents are so different that something odd just might pop up *lol*
Well, I better get off this thing and get it started in here *lol*
Hope everyone is having a Wonderful Weekend!
So here I am, trying to catch up!
With the influx of other social media sites, I am afraid that Dave's Garden has suffered all the way around. Not to mention the blow-out and break down of 2010 or so, when Dave actually left.
DG was my first, and I continue to keep my subscription going... mostly out of loyalty. But it is hard to compete with FB and other more "accessible" sites. I am more active on some of these other sites, but I also moderate there, so there is that obligation.
That being said, I still have dear friends here that I don't want to lose or give up!
Kim, I have never been as fond of AVs as I have of other gesneriads... love your sinningia hybridizing! I hope you get so me great crosses! My obsession of course, is streps! That is where I am making hybridizing efforts... mainly in fantasy, which has always been my "thing".
Karen
I remember when things really went down here. When Gail left and then Dave. I left shortly after that due to things at home and the upcoming divorce.
I really miss the way things were here. I miss Gail alot too. I don't know how to contact her anymore though.
I don't do Facebook but I would like to know that other forums you belong to Karen. I might be interested in joining someplace else that isn't Facebook.
I was never fond of AV's either. They were my least favorite back when I was focusing on streps. In fact, I called them cabbages remember? *lol* But I have to admit; now that I have been growing them; I really have fallen for them. Not all of them; just the ones that I select *lol*
Like you, I have always had a thing for fantasy flowers. I just love them. So alot of my violets are fantasy blooms or intricate blooms. I just love the challenge of getting them to shape properly, I like brushing the leaves, I like the constant blooming and the variety of leaf shapes. I only grow minis and semis and am really enjoying it.
Sinningias are more difficult for me. They don't seem to bloom as much, then there is the tuber thing *lol* Because they are so difficult for me and since there isn't as many hybrids out there this is where I decided to focus my hybridizing efforts this time around. I am SO excited to hear about your strep hybridizing too Karen! Have you been doing it long? Are you going for a certain objective? Do you have any that you have grown to flowering stage?
SOOOO much to catch up on.....fill me in :) I have missed all of you SO much! Growing gessies was my lifeline at the end of my marriage and now growing gessies is my healing hobby. I plan to grow gessies for the remainder of my time on this earth :)
A bit off topic but here is a picture of the VERY first bloom on my hoya bella. This little bella has a story to tell. In 2012 I lost my son in September. In December my Gram passed. For years Gram and I tried to get cuttings of my aunt's hoya bella to root and grow. I could never seem to get them to grow; they always died. Gram however, got 3 cuttings to grow. Those 3 cuttings turned into the MOST BEAUTIFUL huge lush plant that was constantly in bloom. I asked Gram for her plant when she no longer could take care of it. Right before Gram passed she must have either overwatered or underwatered it and it seemed to just wither and brown in a day. But Gram wouldn't believe it was dead. She moved her bella right next to her chair and continued to care for that dead plant right up until the time she passed. I decided that as much as Bella had broken my heart and deflated my growing abilities, I was going to give it one last shot. I ordered a small plant from Rob's and a small plant from a hoya grower and put them both in the same pot. I have taken 3 cuttings and have successfully rooted them (just in case) and yesterday when I got home I noticed the very first flowers on my mother plant! I was just tickled pink and I know my Gram is in heaven with my son just beaming with pride and saying "I taught her everything she knows". Thanks Gram, I miss you and love you so very much! We did it!
What a touching story Kim.Lovely plant.
D-mail me your email address and I will pass it on to Gail with a note.
Lynn
Lynn,will you please pass on a message to Gail. Tell her I miss her being here. She was so knowledgeable in streps and so generous. It's because of her that I dropped off DG and went to FG. I eventually came back here after some 'Angel' paid for membership for me. It was so disappointing to see so many good friends get booted off DG for something that one person said or did that wasn't true. Dave didn't stand up for the one person who was innocent in all of it. And that was Gail. After she left and Dave sold DG off for profit, this forum seemed to die. I'm glad that there are still a few of us here hanging on. I was very active on quite a few of the other forums here, but now it is just African violet forum. Once in a while I check out the Hoya page. Not the same anymore. So sad. Don't forget to send my love to Gail. She in One in a Million friend.
Eileen
I am not going to comment on past events.Everyone seems to have a different version.
I did pass on your message.
Gail was very pleased to hear from you both.She is going on vacation,but she has your email now Kim.
Lynn
Lynn, thank you SO much.
Gail and I chatted back and forth all day yesterday! It was SO awesome to catch up with her!
We had SO much to talk about.
Thank you for putting us back in touch with eachother; it means the world!
Kim
Glad you enjoyed it ^_^.
So Saturday I spent the better part of the day really addressing the AV's on my stand and realized that once again I have let my OCD get out of hand. According to the spreadsheet, I have 101 named violets and 2 un-named. This is in combination with 59 sinningias.
So as I was watering, shaping, and giving each violet a bath I decided that I was not going to stick anymore leaves. I will keep the babies from the leaves that I have stuck over the past few months and grow them out but I think that I will just be offering leaves for the most part as I didn't realize just how much space I was losing as I began propagating. I decided that I want to grow my violets to enjoy and share leaves but I REALLY want to focus on sinningia hybridizing and growing out seeds rather than growing AV babies. For now anyway.
With that being said, I harvested a HUGE pod (for a sinningia) of Ozark Double Snowrose x Ozark Coral Freckles this morning.
I still don't have a single sprout from seed that I sowed on 8/8 from 2 different crosses :( This is very disheartening but I am not giving up hope just yet.
I won sinningia Diva on E-bay yesterday and I'm quite excited about adding that one to the gene pool :)
Next year I will have more pollen parents to choose from as most of my sinningias won't be blooming this year. But next year......game's on!
Hope everyone is still enjoying what is left to summer! I am on vacation Friday - Wednesday and REALLY looking forward to it.
It's good, Kim, that you have someone that understands and will help you support your habit! Isn't it early for seeds to sprout, if you only put them down on 8/8? Or do sinningia seeds sprout faster?
So I decided that I would start a growing journal instead of keep posting on the main forum.
I did my first entry today and here is a link if anyone is inclined to check out what is happening on my stand *lol*
http://davesgarden.com/tools/journal/viewentry.php?rid=378710
well dam,I happen to like reading you posts when I come here ^_^
Me too Sis!
you hoo Kim,girl how does your garden grow?
Yeah, Sisters!! Where did our Kim run off to???
One of us needs to check if she's updated her journal any . . .
I've been checking every few days but I only see 2 entries. Last one was 9-28. I sure hate it
Connie
AWWWW ladies, I have missed you all so very much too!
I'm sorry I haven't written much but I have been struggling mentally at work for a long time.
I've changed and I know it so I had to do something about it.
So today is supposed to be my last day at work and I will be calling out sick.
Then I will have lots of time to play plants until I find a new job.
I plan to just take a little time off in between first though.
It really kind of sucks because I loved my job functions; I just couldn't deal with the work environment anymore.
My entire life has changed, I got divorced, my son passed away, I got remarried and through it all I kept the same job.
Needless to say; for me, it was time for that to change also.
Lookout world......here I come.
I have been in constant contact with Gail and sent her a box to get her started and it's been SO nice having her there to share these struggles with.
I gave away all kinds of my violets to make room on the stand for my seedlings that are growing in leaps and bounds. It's only 2:45 AM right now but maybe when this day gets going I will have some time to update my journal with some new pictures etc. I hope to also get some winter pictures to post on the Winter thread today.
Reality hasn't set in yet that I'm done working at the district. I know I will feel more free all around after a few days of not having to go in. I am really looking forward to it. I need it. I only got 3 days bereavement for my son and I got written up for calling out sick the day after I buried him at sea. There is alot of pain I need to leave behind and I am. It's time. It's time for me now; I've earned it.
I am SO blessed to have the life and husband that I do today. I put this life that I have together and I have done all that I can to support both my new husband and my daughter. Now it's time for me to do everything I can to support Kimmie and I'm doing that today :) It feels SO freeing!
Let the pictures and journaling commence!
Missed you all!!
I'm sorry you've had to go thru all that, Kim! I agree, it was time to look elsewhere for employment. Take a step back, breath deep, then step forward when you're ready for that again.
Wow, what a different Thanksgiving!
Yes, I was a candidate for Black Friday as OUR gift (really hubby's *lol*) to eachother was two 50" TV's that were on sale 1 state over from us ON Thanksgiving day. And there is no tax. So we dressed REALLY warm, packed a cooler of drinks, made turkey and ham sandwiches with leftovers (yes, I had Thanksgiving on Wednesday *lol*), I grabbed my knitting, we grabbed our chairs and we were set up at noon as candidates 8 & 9 for when the store opened at 5:00. It was COLD and I couldn't knit with gloves *lol* so that was out of the question. Hubby and I took turns going to the car to warm up. I won't even disclose what having to pee was like *lmao* but it was fun; we made it fun. We got our tickets at 4:00 so we KNEW we had 2 TV's with our names on it. Doors opened at 5:00, we knew EXACTLY where to go, we were customers 1&2 in line, we were loaded up and on our way home at 5:32! Not bad! Original price of TV: $549.99. Sale price $199.99. Savings per TV: $350.00. Total savings for day: $700.00. Can I get a woot woot? *lol* Not bad for 5 hours of chillin' and meeting some strangers *lol*
Oh, and "our gift" (meaning MY gift) is......hold on to your seats.....43 of Serge's hybrids in the spring! *oh yeah* Killin' me Small's *lol* COME ON SPRING!
Oh, and by spring......we may have some Sonshine crosses to critique the FLOWERS of! Check out my journal if you'd like to see updates.
SO nice to be back doing what I love to do!
So nice to be a lady of leisure for a little. Hasn't really sunk in yet but more days of playing plants and it will. Bring it on! :)
Awesome update Kim :) Babies are looking good and you can't forget to post pics of Serge's hybrids when you get them this spring :)
So glad you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! How will you top that for Christmas? LOL!!
Connie
Kim - I think you and I will end up with the same tv . . . once mine gets here! Hubby stayed in line for me, so I could go get in another line . . . they ran out of "real" TV's 3 people in front of him . . . so we got the 1-hour guarantee . . .
I have been reading all the posts on this forum and think this is the spot to ask my question about African Violets. I have focused on orchids for several years, but periodically pick up an AV (usually at Lowes). They bloom prettily for a while and then I kill them apparently. I bought a lot of those double pots that are supposed to water them gently - a clay insert in an over pot. I have been wondering is these pots are the problem - do you recommend them?
I recently moved from NC to Alabama (family issues) and had to leave my 3 greenhouses, large garden, and loved house. I am adjusting here and am actually looking forward to having only a container garden this coming spring - for a while I will not miss the weeding chores of a large garden, etc. I brought with me only my Paphiopedilum orchids and one lonely AV. Since I have very limited space, I am considering branching out in to AV for a while. But should I use those double pots I do carefully packed and brought or are they a source of trouble.
I appreciate the experienced advice. Thanks.
Hello Stillwood and Welcome
I'm sure someone with more expertise than I have will be by to give you some better information but I will share my experience with you.
I have honestly never had good luck with those pots. When I first began growing I had a few of those pots and they were more work than they were worth. They never worked the way they were supposed to and I found them more a pain in the butt than anything. They were pretty but they didn't work for me.
I also went from owning a home and having huge outside gardens to apartment living and although I miss my outside gardens, I don't miss the weeds *lol* I now have a 4 foot light stand that I grow about 500 miniature/semi miniature african violets and sinningias. Most people that grow that many wick water or tray water their plants. I have never had really good luck doing that either. So, I still hand water each plant every other day as I truly enjoy picking up and looking at each plant during their watering. It gives me the opportunity to remove spent bloom stalks and old leaves. I'm lucky in the fact that 1 whole shelf is domes as they are seedlings and don't need to be watered often.
That is just my experience but the great thing about growing gesneriads is we each grow them differently in our own conditions and these plants are very forgiving. All it takes is a leaf to make a new plant :) How cool is that?
Hope this helps in some way :)
Kim
Heya!
So, Kim, any Sinningia babies to report from those crosses? Great photos of your collection. I love miniatures!
When I had lots of AVs, I used a similar set-up, so I could bottom water most of them in trays. If I start up again with AVs or streps, I think I'd use a capillary mat on a grid with a reservoir tray beneath. Of course, any that are showing off with beautiful blooms are plucked from the light shelf and put on display somewhere for a while. :-)
My daughter is 5 now, so you know where much of my time goes, LOL. I'm trying to concentrate on re-doing and expanding the beds outside, so although I still have indoor plants, especially in winter, I'm not collecting and propagating them as I once did. But wait until Joyanna sees an AV she likes, begs a leaf, and sprouts her first violet babies... that's how the obsession begins!
Jill! How AWESOME to see you!
No, no blooms yet and quite a distance to go before that I believe. I got some kind of a virus on a plant I didn't isolate and it had spread through 3 domes before I woke up and smelled the coffee and realized what was happening. So I cut all the tops off the seedlings and plants that looked infected. I was SO disheartened. I didn't know if the seedlings would re-sprout but I left the empty cups that only contained roots and a cut stem in the domes for a week before throwing them out as a science project. You will never guess what? They all re-sprouted and the new growth is showing no signs of the virus! It is AMAZING the will plants have to live! So it was a setback but not a total loss.
Once the weather turns toward a "spring feeling" the plants will "wake up". Right now it's like growing them in a state of dormancy up here in Maine. We have 5+ feet of snow right now and we're supposed to get another 1 1/2 - 2 feet on Sunday. So I don't see the seedlings waking up and reaching anytime soon *lol* But I have 2 more pods that look like they took :) So I plan on being VERY busy in the spring. Especially when I get my 40 tuber order in *lol*
Awwww your little girl is 5 already! WOW amazing how time flies and life changes!
Get her interested in growing as soon as you can; it's SO good for the soul.
I used to have BEAUTIFUL outside gardens and loved working in them for entire days. I had over 100 named iris's and 100 named daylilies and probably 25 different columbine.
There's SO much that happens in a garden and so much to take awe at (hummingbird moths come to mind). Nature is true beauty :)
I am SO happy to know you are still here Jill and it sounds like you are enjoying life :)
PS. The picture is the mother plant of the 2 pods that are forming right now. SRG Coquette
This message was edited Feb 13, 2015 10:26 AM
This message was edited Feb 13, 2015 5:45 PM
Alright Jill, your post made me realize that I had not updated my journal in over 2 months.
So guess what I did today?
I updated my journal for anyone that might be interested in reading it.
What a juggling act keeping track of all these seedlings is.
And......could there possibly be more on the way?
Hmmmm......maybe the answer is in the journal? *lol*
Here is a few pictures of Rob's Kid Wheezy blooming her head off and just asking for a photo shoot. This is it's 2nd blooming and is SO much nicer than her first. The last 2 pictures are from her first blooming. Big difference huh?
It's SO nice to have blooms all winter long; why did I think AV's were cabbages for so long? So much about them to appreciate.
Have a GREAT night all!
So - Kim - I saw this Rob's Kid Wheezy on the site for The Violet Barn. Do you recommend this as a place to get more AVs? Around here the only vendor seems (in the winter anyway) is a place like Lowes and what they have is so ordinary.
Oh no no no..........
Rob's is a GREAT place to buy from and it's where I got many of my AV's.
But my FAVORITE person to buy from is Tina at Bloomlover's.
Her prices and shipping are second to none and all of the plants from her thrive for me.
I would highly recommend her.
Here is her link for you to make a list and check it twice.
She JUST started taking orders for spring delivery too.
So get your order in right away as the nice sized plants always are the first of the season.
Have fun!!!!
http://www.bloomlovers.com/
I do warn you.....once you start......*lol*
Thank you - I will immediately investigate this.