Luck!

We had our violet club meeting this morning, as we always do on the 4th Monday of the month.  I love seeing the ladies and it's always a wonderful and fun time.

Today was especially fun as I won the monthly raffle, as I did last month.  This time the prize was... VIOLETS!  (It's not always plants. lol)  Ness' Crinkle Blue, Christening Gown, and Rob's Fiddle Faddle.  They're not adult plants yet but I'm excited about them.  Rob's Fiddle Faddle is blooming but the other two aren't quite old enough.  All this for 25 cents!

I also ended up with Yesterday's Valentine, a Jeff Smith hybrid.  If anyone can get me info on the parentage of that plant, I'd love to know.  Claire told me that one parent is a Species plant. :)

Our next meeting isn't until January as the club never meets in December and I'm really going to miss my violet ladies!  I'm glad that I have plenty of plants to keep me busy!

Thank you ladies for a wonderful time and to Claire for donating some beautiful violets for the raffle today. <3



Christening Gown (S. Sorano) Semidouble white frilled pansy. Dark green. Semiminiature

Ness' Crinkle Blue (8136) 01/19/1995 (D. Ness) Double dark blue star/thin white edge. Dark green, quilted, serrated/red back. Semiminiature

Rob's Fiddle Faddle (7431) 10/06/1990 (R. Robinson) Semidouble rose-pink. Dark green, pointed, hairy, serrated/red back. Semiminiature

Yesterday's Valentine (8910) 11/24/2000 (Jeff Smith) Double medium blue pansy. Dark green, heart-shaped, hairy/red back. Standard trailer

Surprise!

I stayed home from work today because I wasn't feeling well.  I was off the previous two days for my "weekend" and yesterday was mostly spent in bed.  Today my boyfriend wanted me to get out for some fresh air so he dragged me to a bookstore and then to the nursery next door to the bookstore.  Well, they had African Violets there.  They had the exact same NOID that I have sitting in my home that I waited more than a year for a bloom on

and a few other very beautiful violets that I thought were also NOIDs...

I say "thought" because then I saw one that was unmistakable.  Even though there was no tag with it, there is absolutely NO mistaking...

FROZEN IN TIME!!!

Frozen in Time (9167) 02/03/2003 (Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses/Sorano) Single-semidouble white star/variable lavender tinge; green edge. Variegated light green and ivory, quilted. Standard

Yes, I bought the plant immediately!  lol  I also got the name of the nursery where they get most of their plants and I've checked out their "currently available" list.  This place lists each plant with their actual name, so I'm very hopeful that I can get the name of my lovely pink NOID.  Another woman that I know brought home Anthoflores Little Axel from this same nursery.  Very exciting day, even amidst the aches and pains of whatever flu bug that I'm dealing with right now.

The plant has now been disbudded and put into isolation.  I saw no signs of thrips on any of the violets but you can never been too sure.  Also, you can't see mites with the naked eye and there were LOTS of cyclamens in the nursery today, even if they were in a completely different room.

You can see a touch of lavender in the lower blossom.

Here's a look at a Frozen in Time that I saw a month or so ago.  Because I'd seen this plant in person and it's such a distinctive look, I was able to make a positive ID on this one.  

This plant is grown much nicer than mine is but mine will straighten out with time. :)

Show apprehension

Last March I went to my first African Violet show.  I was enamored by all the beautiful plants and blown away by all the wonderful people that I met.  I quickly joined a local club and my plant collection started to grow by leaps and bounds!  In May there was a "challenge" put out by another club to encourage people to enter their violets into the show coming up this next March and I thought to myself, "Why not?"

Last night and this morning I read two posts from people that made me re-think my "why not?"...

A woman posted last night that she'd entered some of her plants in a local show.  She ended up winning two BIS and several other awards.  She came home minus some leaves that had been pinched off without her knowledge and thrips.  From the thrips and the measures that she took to protect her other plants, she lost 5 of her plants.

Today I read a blog entry from another woman who took some of her plants to show last spring.  Her plants aren't doing so well now and she's suspecting mites.  She's thinking that she may have to throw away her entire collection.

I really love some of my violets and my oldest ones have only been here for a little over a year.  I'd be heart broken if I took some of these wonderful plants to show them off and they got sick and died as a result.  Especially when it's known that these plants can live for decades, with proper care.  Yes, I know that they're looked over for pests when they enter the show area but things get missed and there's always a chance that *other* plants in the nursery where the show is held can cause issues as well.

I'm a volunteer for the upcoming show and that'll be a lot of fun but I'm seriously wondering if I should leave my plants at home.

A good day for a violet.

So I went to get my eyes checked today.  When I went last year they had a beautiful violet with girl leaves on the counter and they were gracious enough to share a leaf with me.  My leaf had babies and then rotted for whatever reason, so I was anxious about whether or not I should ask for another leaf today or not!  When I arrived, the violet was there but it was no longer in its previous glory.  It only covered half the pot (4") and the leaves looked really sad.  I commented on it and she said she needed to give it some water...

I could see the soil and there was mold on top and it was extremely obvious that water was the last thing that it needed!  I lifted up one of the leaves and the whole plant lifted... it had completely rotted off of the stem and was going to die if it didn't have some care and soon.

The receptionist has a connection with this plant because it was given to her 5 years ago when her mother passed away, so I offered to bring the plant home and see what I could do with it.

I cleaned off all of the excess soil and rot and shortened the stem.  There was a good amount of "neck" that was still healthy, so that was a good sign for me that the plant will survive.  Took off all the extra dead leaves and a few that weren't doing so well, scraped the neck up a bit, and stuck it in some soil.  This poor little girl is now in a container with some good light and it's now time to wait and see.

At home...

with a flash...

 The container the plant was in.  See the water marks on the side?  No wonder it was drowning!

It was no effort at all to pick the plant up like this.

You can see the end of the stem here.

The pot after I removed the plant.

The "good" part of the stem/neck.

A different angle of the stem/neck.

I snapped it off this far and scraped it up a little bit for roots to form in the soil.

In the "hospital"!

The top of the plant with flash - in the hospital.  I'll take more photos later after the plant has had a chance to realize she's in a good place!

When I go back to select a frame, I'll have to let the receptionist know that her plant will be in the "hospital" for a little while but I *will* bring her back :)

French Lilac and Lucky Me

French Lilac

Nov 1, 2011

 Nov 9, 2011

Nov 9, 2011

Lucky Me - If this one weren't missing leaves due to a cat encounter, it might be holding its flower stalks up better.  This is one gorgeous violet!  

Nortex's Starlet Haven and Lucky Me

Nortex's Starlet Haven (4810) 05/05/1982 (Nortex/B. Johnson) Double purple star/white frilled edge. Pointed, quilted. Standard (TX Hyb)

I think this is the first photo that I've gotten of the blossom fully open as I seem to be having some kind of culture trouble with the plant.  The blossoms either open with the inside withered or they fall over quickly.  I think this one needs more humidity?  Even though I've had troubles, every single blossom is definitely showing the "double" that the official description shows in FC2.  

Lucky Me (6298) 06/30/1986 (J. Domiano) Double orchid/darker mottling, variable purple edge. Light green, plain, glossy. Large (DAVS 942)

I've posted photos of this plant before but this is the first time it's bloomed so heavily in awhile.  The plant has had some conflicts with my youngest cat (she's knocked the plant off the shelf a couple of times) and so the leaves are in poor shape and it's very lopsided but I love the blossoms SO much!  Jeanette Domiano hybridized some gorgeous violets!

Wish list (an evolving list)

A John's Hawaiian Dream (A. Johansson) Semidouble-double wide bells with pink, yellow, and white-pink shading Medium green, scalloped.  (Sw #1947/01) Standard (User Database)

A John's Spinning Bells (A. Johansson) Single, bell shaped, sea shell pink with darker stripes, strong green spots where the petals meet each other. Medium green scalloped, a little wavy leaves, red back. Standard (User Database)

Absinthe House (J. Domiano)

Burnished Halo (G. Boone) Semidouble dark plum. Variegated. Standard

Crushed Velvet (G. Boone) Semidouble burgundy frilled pansy. Dark green, plain. Semiminiature

Evangeline (7119) 05/15/1989 (J. Domiano) Semidouble bright pink two-tone star. Variegated dark green and pink, pointed, glossy. Large (DAVS 1208)

Ian-Minuet (10107) 08/07/2009 (N. Puminova) Semidouble-double light pink large wavy star/thin raspberry edge. Medium green, pointed, quilted. Standard (Russ/Ukr)

Kiss of Fire (6704) 07/10/1987 (J. Domiano) Semidouble red-purple two-tone ruffled/usually white edge. Medium green, plain, glossy, serrated/red back. Large (DAVS 1025)


Ma's Butterfly Garden (10350) 09/30/2010 (O. Robinson) Semidouble white ruffled pansy/pink blush, dark pink and blue fantasy band, thin white-green edge. Variegated medium green and white, quilted. Standard
https://www.violetbarn.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=951

Midnight Radiation (5594) 12/06/1983 (B. Elkin) Single dark purple pansy/blue rays, wide white frilled edge. Dark green, quilted, glossy, wavy/red back. Standard

Ness' Fantasy Gold (D. Ness) Semidouble-double fuchsia-pink/yellow-orange marking. Dark green, wavy. Standard

Rhapsodie Juliana (6985) 11/19/1988 (Holtkamp) Single white and purple-blue/dark eye, edge. Medium green, heart-shaped, glossy, hairy/purple-red back. Standard

Rhapsodie Michiko (8347) 12/14/1995 (Holtkamp) Single light blue/white overlay. Medium green, pointed, hairy, serrated. Standard

Snuggles Busy Bee (7601) 11/07/1991 (S. Sorano) Semidouble fuchsia pansy. Variegated medium green and white, quilted. Semiminiature

The Alps (7813) 10/03/1992 (K. Horikoshi/H. Sawara) Single-semidouble chimera white pansy/light blue stripe. Medium green, plain, quilted. Standard




Wisteria (2056) 01/08/1970 (F. Tinari) Double lavender. Plain, glossy. Large

Frosty Cherry ((Moroznaia Vishnia)) White, double stars, with crimson mottling throughout the flower, occasionally looks like a "Thumbprint",. Standard foilage is tailored, Standard