The magazine exclusively dedicatt AVSA Information FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS WITHIN YOUR SOCIETY FOR ACCURATE SERVICE, SEND YOUR INQUIRIES TO THE CORRECT PERSON. ALWAYS INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. S INCREASE EFFECTIVE OCT. 1,2002: Send check payable to AVSA for new or renewable membership to AVSA Office, 2375 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77702; phone 409-839-4725 or 1-800-770-2872. Individual $25.00, USA only; Individual, all other countries - $27.50; Commercial USA $37.00; Commercial International - $38.75; Life (USA) - $300.00. International Life $375.00. Remit in U.S. Dollars with draft or check on a USA Bank. See Membership Application. Master Card/Visa accepted. AFFILIATES: Chapter - $27.00; Council, State or Region - $27.00. MEMBERSHIP AND PROMOTION: Send ideas, offers to help, requests for assistance to Carolee Carter, 183 del Monte Ln„ Morgan Hill, CA 95037. AFFILIATES: For information on Affiliates or how to organize a chapter, write Bev Promersberger, 7992 Otis Way, Pensacola, FL 32506. E-mail AVSA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION: Dr. Elmer Godeny, 7004 Government St, Baton Rouge, LA 70806. BEST VARIETIES: HONOR ROLL COMPILER Floyd Lawson, 20719 Madrona Ave., Torrance, CA 90503. BOOSTER FUND: Send contributions to Shirley Berger, 4343 Schumacher Rd. - 196E, Sebring, FL 33872-2639. BOYCE EDENS RESEARCH FUND: Send contributions to Marlene Buck, 17235 N. 106th Ave., Sun City, AZ 85373-1958. BUILDING MAINTENANCE FUND: Send contributions to Mary Walbrick, 5235 Kingston Dr., Wichita Falls, TX 76310-3029 COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES: Kent Stork, 2501 E. 23td Ave. S„ Fremont, NE 68025. COMMERCIAL SALES & EXHIBITS: For information on convention entries or sales room, contact Pat Richards, 15105 S. Seminole Dr., Olathe, KS 66062-3004. CONVENTION AWARDS: Jan. issue. Send suggestions or contributions for convention awards to Sue Hoffinann, 801 N. Villier CL, Virginia Beach, VA CONVENTION PROGRAM: Send S] interesting speakers to Linda Owens, Convention Director, 1762 Stemwood Drive. Columbus, OH 43228. If interested ii in your area, contact Convention Director. FUTURE CONVENTION DATES: Tucson, AZ - April 11-18, 2004. Cincinnati, OH - April 16-23,2005 CULTURE FOLDERS: (postpaid): 100 to 400 - $10.50 per 100; 500 to 900 $9.25 per 100; 1000 and over - $7.00 per 100. SHORT VERSION OF CULTURE FOLDER: (postpaid): 500 to 1,000 $23.00 per 500; 1,500 and up $21.00 per 500. JUDGING SCHOOL: To register a judging school, send request to Elinor Skelton, 3910 Larchwood Rd., Falk Church, VA 22041. A registration fee of $15 is required. LIBRARY: Order AVSA slide programs and packets from AVSA Office, 2375 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77702. list in September issue. If you have ideas for a library program or slides to donate, write Ann Nicholas, 3113 Deerfield Dr., Denton, TX 76208-3428. Requests must be in writing. List top 3 choices. MAGAZINE: Copyrighted 2003, The African Violet Society of America, Inc., aB rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, property of AVSA and must not be reprinted without Editor’s permission. AVM EDITOR: Ruth Rumsey, 2375 North StreeL Beaumont, TX 77702; 409-839-4725; 1-800-770-2872; FAX 409-839-4329. E-mail rrumsey@earthlink.net ARTICLES BY MEMBERS, COLUMNISTS AND MEMORIALS: Send to Editor. Please Note: Deadlines - Articles and Columnists: Jan. issue - OcL 1; Mar. issue - Dec. 1; May issue - Feb. 1; July issue - Apr 1; Sept, issue - June 1; Nov. issue - Aug. 1. COMING EVENTS: Send to Editor. Coming Events Deadlines: - Jan. issue - Nov. 1; Mar. issue - Jan. 1; May issue - Mar. 1; July issue - May 1; Sept issue - July 1; Nov. issue - Sept 1. ADVERTISING MANAGER: Advertising rates and information: Judith Carter, 1825 W. Lincoln St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012. E-mail avmads@valometcom ADVERTISING DEADLINES: Jan./Feb. issue - Nov. 1; Mar./Apr. issue - Jan. 1; May/June issue - Mar. 1; July/Aug. issue - May 1; Sept/Oct issue - July 1; Nov./Dec. issue - Sept. 1. “AND THE WINNERS ARE...”: Send show results to Mary Corondan, 7205 Dillon Ct, Plano, IX 75024. BACK ISSUES: Complete your set now. Request price list of available issues from Beaumont office. Send SASE for list CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Send new address at least 30 days before it is to take effect, along with old address, to AVSA office in Beaumont. QUESTION BOX: Ralph Robinson, P. 0. Box 9, Naples, NY 14512 and Dorothy Kosowsky, 712 Cunningham Dr., Whittier, CA 90601. MASTER VARIETY LIST: MVL SUPPLEMENTS: will be published in the AVM. Send any correction 1220 Stretford Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60130. MEMBERSHIP CARDS: Sent to Associate Members a Renewing members receive card o d New Members only, er of AVM. OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE: AVSA Secretary, Nancy Hayes, 9 Cobblestone Rd., Bloomfield, CT 06002-3003. PLANT REGIST^TION: Janice Bruns, 1220 Stratford Ln„ Hanover Park, IL RESEARCH: Send suggested projects for scientific research or names of interested, qualified potential research personnel to Dr. Jeff Smith, 3014 W. Amherst Rd., Munde, IN 47304. SHOW ENTRY TAGS: 100 - $8.00 postpaid. Order from AVSA Office. SHOW SCHEDULE APPROVER: For information on Shows, AVSA Awards and Approving Schedules write to: Patricia Sutton, 1707 S. 77 E Ave., Tulsa, OK 74112. E-mail sutpa01@woridnetatt.neL Do not send Show Schedules by E-mail - this address is for information ONLY. QUESTIONS ON HYBRIDIZING: Dr. Jeff Smith, “In Search of New Violets’* The Indiana Academy, Ball State University, Munde, IN 47306. Web site: avsa.org Prepay your dues for up to 3 years and receive Membership Discount: $25 Individual (USA) 1 Year $49 -2 Years $73 -3 Years $27.50 Individual (International) 1 Year $53.00 - 2 Years $79.50 - 3 Years stage is oakl £2Sf 265) * pubUs fi hed bi - rnonthI y : March- May, July, September. November. 8 15 3 non ? K> S organization, at 2375 North Street Beaumont TX 77702 and at additional mailing offices. " $25 ‘°° P® year whKh K mduded m membership dues. • Copyright 2003 The African Violet Society of America, Inc POSTMASTER: Please send change of address form 3579 to African Violet Magazine, 2375 North Street Beaumont TX 77702 African Violet The Magazine exclusively dedicated to the growing of beautiful African violets. January • February Volume 57 Number 1 CONTENTS FEATURES AV International Web Sites.5 A Violet Saga - Agatha Garrison.10 2004 AVSA Board of Directors Nominees.16 Downsizing - Jeremy Clark.20 Keeping Hack of Your Plants - Claude Norton.22 Container Gardens - Phyllis King.23 Violet Water Myths? - Byron Borck.24 Why Remove Suckers/Side Shoots? - Sue Gardner.27 Judges’ Class.30 COMING EVENT DEADLINES.30 Petiole Rot - or a Disorder by any Other Name - Sue Haffher.31 Rerooting that neck - Sue Gardner.39 Liquid Lyson and Powdery Mildew - Marie Montague.... 39 Mather No. 21 - A New Species Clone - Dr. Jeff Smith. ... 40 Where to Grow African Violets.43 How to Assess a “Good” African Violet - Margaret Triylor.. 44 More About Broad Mites Up Close and Personal! - Allison R. Brigham.45 Repotting a Plant - Sheila Walton.46 The Journey for Trilly Time Winners - Paris Merriam.47 Student’s Artwork Exhibited at a Violet Show - Mary Ann Switzer.48 AVSA College Scholarship - Dr. Elmer Godeny.49 Tips from the Potter’s Comer - Georgetta Brickley.49 Variegated African Violets - Pat Hancock.50 All Earthlings Trike Note! - Dixie Convention - Joyce Stenger.51 Planting by Moon Signs.52 Those (*&A%$#@) Mealies! - Sharon Holtzman.53 Dive into Design - Madaline Whittaker.54 Anything Can Go Wrong.54 Trailers - Joan Halford. 55 Ups for Growing Under Lights - Sue Gardner.55 DEPARTMENTS Index of Ads.2 Officers & Staff.2 President’s Message - Janet Riemer.3 Editor’s Notes - Ruth Rumsey.4 Office Update - Jenny Daugereau.5 For Beginners - Elmer Godeny.6 Question Box - Ralph Robinson.8 “And the Winners Are..- Mary Corondan.11 In Search of New Violets - Dr. Jeff Smith.12 Boyce Edens Research Fund - Marlene J. Buck.13 A Family Portrait - Georgene Albrecht.14 AVSA Booster Fund - Shirley Berger.17 Registration Report - Janice Bruns.18 Vintage Violets - Barbara Elkin.19 AVSA Most Wanted - Barbara Elkin.19 AVSA Building Maintenance Fund - Mary Walbrick.20 AVSA Affiliates - Bev Promersberger.21 Thinking Small - Pat Richards.26 Showcase.28 Showcase.32 Showcase.36 Shows & Judges - Bill Foster.38 Coming Events.42 CONVENTION The Old Pueblo - Nina Lazzeroni.7 How to Say It in TUcson.11 AVSA Luncheon Auction - Edna Rourke.15 Fun Facts About TUcson.31 2004 Convention Awards - Sue Hoffmann.. 34 COVER Thunder Surprise From Best AVSA Collection Miniatures and Semiminiatures AVSA 2003 National Show Exhibited by: Anne Nicholas Hybridized by: S. Sanders Semiminiature Photo Credit: Winston J. Goretsky Index of Advertisers African Rainforest Conservancy .... African Violet and Gesneriad News. . .56 AGGS . Alannah’s Greenhouses. . American Orchid Society**; . AVS of Canada . Bayou Violets _ 4 . An Belisle’s Violet House . 14 . Beverly’s Violets & Gifts..§( % Bluebird Greenhouses .m. ..... Cape Cod Violetry. Cryptanthus Society. T. jfew" Donnie’s Violets.*..i. 4k , ■£% Growing toShow . | Hobby Greenhouse . Indoor Gardening Supplier. .. . Jan’s Wodishop . W. JoS Violets ... aa Lyndon LyonGreenhouses . NeptuiiesHanTst . Op&mara/Selective Gardener Pat’s Pets. ... ... Physan 20 . ft Rob’s Violets . . Inside Back Cover Shirley’s House of Violets . Sonja’s Violets .. & 'fravis’ Violets . cd VioletsFun Photo Journal . Violet Gallery _ Violet Obsessions .... 5g Violet Perfection .... 5g Violet Showcase ... Volkmann Brothers. 2 African Violet Magazine OFFICERS Janet Riemer, President 256 Pennington-Harbourton Rd. Pennington, NJ 08534-4007 email: J_Riemer@comcast.net Linda Owens, 1st VP 1762 Stemwood Dr„ Columbus, OH 43228 email Ldowens215@aol.com Joyce Stork, 2nd VP 2501 E. 23rd Ave. S, Fremont, NE 68025 Ron Davidson, 3rd VP 941 F. M. 2377, Red Oak, IX 75154 email chiefrond@aol.com Nancy Hayes, Secretary 9 Cobblestone Rd., Bloomfield, CT 06002 Gary Gordon, Treasurer 5202 Links Lane, Leesberg, FL 34748 email ggordonl20@aol.com John E. (jack) Wilson, Immediate Past President 114 Pine Valley Court, DeBary, FL 32713-2300 email cagmo@aoI.com STAFF Ruth Rumsey, Editor 2375 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77702 email numsey@earthlink.net Judith Carter, Advertising Manager 1825 W. Lincoln St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012 email avmads@valomet.com Barbara Pershing, Publications 8134 Buck Ridge, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 email barbara.pershing@uni.edu Floyd Lawson, Best Varieties, Honor Roll 20719 Madrona Ave., Torrance, CA 90503 email: floydll@earthlink.net Anna Jean Landgren, My Time 20 Calvin Circle, Evanston, IL 60301 email geoajl@aol.com Every attempt is made to keep articles technically correct Since the growing of fine African violets can be achieved in many ways, the methods and opinions expressed by writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AVSA. January • February 2004 Dear AVSA Members, The fall shows are now just memories (and photographs). If you were involved in any, or just visited some, I hope you enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed those I attended. Both the New York State African Violet Society and the Mid-Atlantic African Violet Society had great conventions and beautiful shows. It was a pleasure to join in the fun. Now, the new year is here. I hope that your holiday season was enjoyable. Whether you had family and friends visit, or just took a break from routine work, the holidays can renew our spirits and help us face the winter season. Those of you in the colder climes, will have to make sure your violets don’t get too chilled. With good luck and a helping hand from Mother Nature, we won’t have the dreadful storms with loss of power that threaten our plants. On dreary wintry days, our violets brighten our lives with their vibrant colors, helping us to keep a cheery outlook. To keep you apprised of progress on AVSA publications, above and beyond the African Violet Magazine , the revision of the culture brochure is in the hands of the Publication Committee for final review. It should be ready for distribution for spring affiliate shows. Correspondence with Pauline Bartholomew regarding her book Growing To Show continues, with details concerning the letter of transfer of publication rights still to be worked out. Plans are underway on how to meet the initial cost of printing. If you would like to help, a donation to the Booster Fund would be greatly appreciated. Slowly declining membership is still a major concern. Perhaps you were able to help by giving a gift membership to someone at Christmas. Not only does a gift membership provide the recipient with six beautiful and interesting issues of the AVM and give you a warm, wonderful feeling, but it helps AVSA as well. Memberships are great for birthdays and other special occasions too. Please consider it throughout the year. As you read this, the 2004 convention in Tticson, Arizona, is only a few months away. AVSA has never held a convention in the Southwest so this is your first opportunity to join in the fun there and see a beautiful, national show. The hosting group has been hard at work and plans for the big event sound wonderful. See the “purple pages" in the center of this issue to learn all the details. Be sure to check the new schedule which will allow an extra day to view the show. Come join us if you can. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Tticson. We’ll have “A Fiesta of Violets.” Happy Violeting, Janet Riemer AVSA President January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 3 & c/(fof i k Ky\ote& Ruth Rumsey AVM Editor 2375 North Street Beaumont, TX 77702 email: rrumsey@earthlink.net Happy New Yeaf; I hope your holidays were filled with family and fun. 2004 should be an exciting year for AVSA members, especially those planning to attend the April convention in Tticson, Arizona. In the center of this issue you’ll find the Purple Pages, your guide for all of the convention activities - interesting presentations, tours of the historic southwest, convention functions, and most importantly, for those of you planning to enter the national show - the show schedule. This issue also contains Elmer Godeny’s debut, as he replaces Cathy and A1 Comibe as writers of the “For Beginners" column. Elmer will be alternating with the Storks in sharing these duties. Many thanks to the Comibes for five years of valuable information, presented in a friendly and informative way. Elmer is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and it’s good to have a columnist from the southern part of the country contribute to this magazine. The last four pages of this issue contain the 2003 Annual Index, compiled by Bill and Katherine Paauwe. Many times, we receive phone calls from members looking for an article on a specific topic or by a certain author. We usually refer them to Bill’s carefully compiled index, which appears in each January issue. Articles of the previous year are sorted and listed by author, as well as title and subject The color photographs appearing in the AVM throughout the year are also alphabet¬ ized and listed here for your convenience. My dear friend from New Mexico, Agatha Garrison, let me know about the trouble she’d been having with her plants 4 African Violet Magazine J over an extended period of time. She was losing many of them, and when none of the conventional methods for treatment worked, she turned to her local agricultural extension office for help. Undaunted by this disaster, Agatha has shared her expe¬ riences with us on page 10, “A Violet Saga.” Read “Variegated African Violets”, by Pat Hancock, on page 50. Pat explains the importance of chlorophyll, light, pH, and temperature when growing beautiful variegated plants, like those from her “Buckeye” series of violets. She also gives us tips on repotting, putting down leaves, and the extra care needed when taking care of baby plants. Claude Norton, member of the Town and Country AVC of Michigan, sings the praises of Joe Bruns’ First Class program, “Keeping Thick of your Plants” on page 22. Having taken many orders for this fine program, I know how valuable it is to our members! Also, in this issue on page 16 are the 2004 nominees for AVSA Board of Directors. From various parts of the country, these are the folks you will be voting on at the Annual Meeting inTlicson. Dr. Jeff Smith, author of the “In Search of New Violets” column, has written a series of very informative articles for the AVM. The first in this series covers “Mather No. 21 - A New Species Clone.” (page 40). Over the next few months, Jeff will be covering other species clones, so be sure to look for them. Be sure to patronize the advertisers who regularly support the African Violet Magazine. January • February 2004 Jenny Daugereau AVSA Office Administrative Coordinator 2375 North Street Beaumont, TX 77702 email: avsa@earthlink.net Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. I hope you all had a great Holiday sea¬ son and a happy start to the New Year. 2003 was a wonder¬ ful year for AVSA. The Baton Rouge Convention was a great success, and we are now looking forward to the Tucson, AZ. Convention. I have never been to TUcson and am really look¬ ing forward to seeing the sights. The local groups there have been working very hard to make sure we all have the best time and the best show ever. Start getting those plants ready, and let’s all meet there to show our love and support for AVSA and the plant we all love. I always need help at the registration desk during con¬ vention. Check the schedule in the purple pages and find a time to help out. Email or call me with a time you would like to help. The registration desk is the best place to get to know our members. All will stop by to say hello and pick up their registration packets. It is a fun way to meet people and help AVSA. Email me at avsa@earthlink.net or call 800-770-2872 to sign up. Be sure to notice the changes we are making at conven¬ tion. The show will be open for two days this year. All the effort that went into growing those beautiful show plants will be appreciated by more people. We have a one day registration now, and our package deal that is a real money saver. Come join us and have a great experience with the nicest people in AVInternational Web Sites AV Friends Club http://groups.vahoo.com/group/AVFriendsClub AV International Sinningias httD://erouDs.vahoo.com/eroup/AVI Sinningias AV International Artistic Design http://groups.vahoo.com/grouD/AVI ArtisticDesien AV International Species httD://erouDs.vahoo.com/eroup/AVI SPECIES AV International Email Group http://groups.vahoo.com/grouD/AVIntemational AV International Streptocarpus Lovers httD://grouDs.vahoo.com/group/AVI Streps AV International Hybridizing http://groups.vahoo.com/group/AVI Hvbridisine Gesneriad Lovers Club http://groups.vahoo.com/group/GesneriadTnvprs AV International Photography http://eroups.vahoo.com/group/AVI Photography January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 5 the world, our AVSA members. I hope to see many of you there. Attention Affiliates: All U.S. and Canadian clubs have been billed for Affiliate Liability Insurance renewal. If your club did not receive the renewal letter and want to purchase the insurance, please contact me at avsa@earthlink.net or 800-770-2872. Canadians call 409-839-4725. Library Problem: Please make sure that you return the library rental slides and videos on time. When they are returned late, it is impossible for the next club scheduled to receive them when needed. Many clubs plan their entire meeting around that program, and it is a real shame when we are not able to provide the program they have reserved in advance. Also, when you do return the programs, even if there is no balance due, please enclose at least one copy of the invoice. This helps us to determine who rented the program and makes it much easier to check the slide program back in. Remember to order in writing at least 6 weeks in advance of the date you need to receive it. Any orders received after that time may not be honored. Always give a second choice in case the one you choose is not available. We will send you a confirmation notice to let you know which program you will get. Thank you for your help addressing these library matters. * £fteainner& Elmer Godeny 7004 Government Street Baton Rouge, LA 70806 email: ekgprof@cox.net Temperature & Humidity I am starting 2004 with my first column in the AVM. I am replacing (as if anyone could) Al and Cathy Comibe. A1 and Cathy have given invaluable information in this column for five years; their advice will be greatly missed. I hope I can fill their shoes and make them proud. I would like to thank Ruth Rumsey and Janet Riemer for their confidence, and I look forward to working with Joyce and Kent Stork on this column. One of the reasons I was asked to be a columnist for the AVM is because I grow African violets in Louisiana. We southern growers may have different growing perspectives than growers from the rest of the United States, due to dif¬ ferent climate conditions. As you all know, Louisiana is hot and humid. Therefore, I will cover temperature and humidi¬ ty in my first column. To be successful in growing African violets in the home, it is important to know and understand the environment in which African violets grow naturally. African violet species are found in the Usambra mountain district of Tanzania in East Africa. Depending on the species, the plants can be found in high mountain regions (7000 ft) to the low foothills of the region. Although this area is considered tropical, wild African violets tolerate a large temperature range because of the temperature differences at different altitudes. African violet species grow under tree canopies and are therefore protected from the hot sun. The plants can usually be found in a fairly humid place, in or near decaying forest material, in a rock ledge near a waterfall, or growing near a riverbank. As with any living organism that has been hybridized and genetically altered for generations, African violets have become soft as compared to their wild siblings. The hybrids we grow in our homes today would not be able to grow in the harsh conditions of East Africa. 6 African Violet Magazine Temperature Although African violets in the wild can grow in temper¬ atures between 40 and 80 degrees F, today’s hybrid plants prefer temperatures ranging from 65 to 75 degrees F. The plants can tolerate temperatures above 75 degrees F but growth will slow down at 60 degrees F and stop around 50 degrees F. When plants are exposed to excessively high tem¬ peratures (>80F) for extended periods of time, flower produc¬ tion will decline, and blossoms that do open will be smaller than usual. Bloom stalks will also droop, and the blossoms will shrivel up and turn brown within a few days at higher temperatures. Like other living organisms, the metabolism of the plant will increase during higher temperature exposure, resulting in a greater loss of water through the leaves, tran¬ spiration. To compensate for increased transpiration, the plant will increase its water uptake through its roots. In time, the plant will not be able to keep up with the water loss, and inad¬ equate amounts of water reach the leaves, resulting in plant wilting. Another consequence of high temperatures is that the plant will absorb too much fertilizer with the increased water uptake. This will result in burning of the edges of new foliage in the crown. As temperatures decrease, the metabolism of African vio¬ lets also decreases. As temperatures approach 60 degrees F, plant growth will slow. Few flowers will be produced at low temperatures, and blossoms that do open will be discolored and deformed. The foliage will become turgid and curl down¬ ward at temperatures below 60 degrees F. The plant will stop growing and eventually die if temperatures fall below 50 degrees F. Humidity Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air that can January • February 2004 be measured using a hygrometer. African violets have thick, fleshy leaves that require high humidity. In nature, wild African violets thrive in humidity between 60 and 80%. It would be difficult to live in a house with 70% humidity, so the African violet hobbyist should try to maintain humidity levels between 40 and 60%, the higher the better. The only disadvantage to high humidity levels is an increased growth of fungi and other pests. For example, pow¬ dery mildew; however, good air circulation will resolve much of that problem. Most humidity problems occur when levels get too low. Proper humidity promotes good plant growth and large blossoms. As the humidity levels drop, plant growth will decline, and the foliage will lose its normal healthy lus¬ ter and sheen. More importantly, low humidity levels will affect the blossoms: blooms will be sparse and small. In low humidity, many buds will dry up before they open. Successful Growing Optimal temperatures and humidity levels for successful growth of African violets in the home are not difficult to maintain because these levels are comfortable for most of us. When dealing with temperature and humidity, the general rule of thumb is: if you are comfortable, your African violets will be comfortable. However, to be successful in growing these plants, you must always consider the microenviron¬ ment of the plant (the conditions immediately surrounding the plant). For example, although you may maintain your household temperature at 72 degrees F, the ballast in the flu¬ orescent light a few inches from the plant may be giving off heat and raising the temperature on that plant. Further, when growing plants on a windowsill, the temperature between the window and a curtain may be quite different than the temper¬ ature in the rest of the room. It is suggested that a few ther¬ mometers and hygrometers (inexpensive combinations can be purchased) be placed around the African violet growing area. This allows the grower to determine the temperatures and relative humidity levels of the plants’ microenvironment. Temperatures in growing areas are easily controlled with central air conditioning and heat. However, do not place the plants in the direct exposure of an air vent (this can change the microenvironment). Like you, African violets do not like drafts. Good air circulation is also important in maintaining the microenvironment temperatures consistent with room temperatures. Humidity levels are relatively easy to control as well. Most homes are generally quite dry, especially in the winter months. Heated air holds more moisture than colder air so as the temperature increases, the relative humidity decreases. Therefore, many homes dry out in the winter months when the heating system is on. To increase the humidity in the plant area, bowls of water can be placed among the plants. Humidifiers and cool vaporizers can be placed in the room to increase the humidity. The plants can also be placed on capillary mats or on trays covered with wet pebbles or sand. Growers who wick water do not generally have a humidity problem. Regardless of where you live, African violets can be grown in the house with relatively little care. However, it is the growers’ responsibility to make sure the temperature and humidity ranges are optimal for good growth of the plants. The Old Pueblo Anyone wanting a look Mexican culture will want American name for the ancient settlement on the Santa Cruz River was “stjukshon,” pronounced like Tucson, which loosely translated means “springs at the foot of the black hill.” The San Xavier Mission south of TUcson was established in 1700 by a Jesuit priest, with the present structure being built between 1783 and 1797 by the Franciscans. It received National Historic Landmark status in 1963. The Mission is located on the Tohono O’odham Reservation and is still the main church and school of the Tohono O’odham people. During the mid 1990’s, painstaking work was done to remove centuries of dirt and grime from the interior walls, revealing the beauty of die carvings, arches, alter, and murals. The Arizona State Museum is on the University of Arizona campus and is the region’s oldest and largest anthro¬ pology museum. Its exhibits tell the history of the south- January • February 2004 by Nina Lazzeroni o both Native American and western cultures from pre-historic mammoth hunters to pres- explore TUcson. The Native ent day Native American and northern Mexico peoples. It is “must see” for those interested in the TUCSON 2004 native cultures. The University of Arizona is just three miles from the convention hotel and easily reached by city bus. TUcson’s Native American and Mexican roots are ever present through¬ out the city. Mexican-Americans make up a large portion of the population with Spanish being widely spoken and Native American languages occasionally heard as well. Low, pueblo-style buildings with adobe walls and tiled roofs predominate, and interiors of many homes and businesses are decorated in a southwestern style. Mexican restaurants are prevalent, serving some of the best Mexican food in the country. You will want to plan to spend a few extra days in the Old Pueblo (as TUcson is affectionately called) to enjoy the culture of this southwestern city. African Violet Magazine 7 Ralph Robinson P.O. Box 9 Naples, NY 14512 email: robsviolet@aol.com Dorothy Kosowsky 712 Cunningham Dr. Whittier, CA 90601 email: dot3joe@earthlink.net As is always the case, we are for too busy to reply to mail (or e-mail), though we do read all of it Should you want a per¬ sonal reply, we are more than willing to answer phone calls made during our normal business hours (12-5 pm EST), since we can work and talk at the same time. For those with access to the internet, we can be reached at robsviolet@aol.com or via our web-site at www.robsviolet.com . The web-site also con¬ tains a wealth of cultural information. /QUESTION: I’ve only recently gotten serious about y/growing African violets. How often do you trans¬ plant them, and how do you know when they need it? Do you go to a larger pot each time? ANSWER: Most violets need repotting at least once every six months. By this time, a standard-size variety originally potted as a plantlet off of a leaf cutting into a 2" or 2 1/2" pot will be root-bound and in need of a larger pot. Pot this plant into a 4" pot at this time. Fill the 4" pot with soil, make a hole in the center the size of the smaller pot (you can use an empty pot to make a “mold”), then simply drop the plant into the hole. Be careful not to water too much, at least until the plant begins to fill the larger pot with new roots. Six months later, this violet will need repotting again, but not into a larger pot (unless you intend to disbud it and grow it for show as a much larger plant). Since the root system on most standard size varieties grown as a “house plant”, shouldn’t exceed 4", there’s no need to use a larger pot. This time, the purpose of repotting is to freshen the soil, encour¬ age new root growth, and to bury the “neck” (bare stem) that has developed over time as lower, older leaves have been removed. To disturb the plant and root system as little as pos¬ sible, remove soil and roots from the bottom of the root-ball equal to the length of the neck above the soil. Now lower the plant into the same-size pot and add soil to the top to cover the neck. The lowest row of leaves should be at soil level and even with the pot rim. For miniature and semiminiature varieties, the process is 8 African Violet Magazine the same, except that maximum pot sizes should be no more than 2" or 2 1/4" for miniatures and 2 1/2" for semiminis. In all cases, repotting is best done when the plant requires it, even if it’s still in bloom. The longer you wait, the longer the neck becomes, and the more of the root system needs to be removed to lower the plant enough in the pot. This increases the likelihood of the plant going into “shock” or growing poorly after repotting. Regular, gradual reportings are easiest to do and the best for the plant. y^UESTION: You’ve told me that you can ship only yr plant crowns into my country with no roots or soil How can I successfully root these? ANSWER: For many countries, such as Russia, most in Southeastern Asia, and the Caribbean, it is not possible to send potted plants. Only cuttings, or the plant crowns (the top of the violet with all roots and soil removed), can be shipped. Surprisingly, this can be quite easily and successfully done. As soon as possible after receipt, root the crown much as you would a large sucker. Fill a small pot (2" or 2 1/2") with soil and moisten (wet, but not so ggy ) Make a small “divot”, or hole, in the surface center. Drop the crown into die hole and firm the soil around it. It’s important that the crown is in the soil firmly - it doesn’t easily “pop out” when you touch it. To do this, you might need to remove a few more leaves. If you can’t, press the crown as deep into the hole as possible. So long as the very tiny center of the plant isn’t totally buried, the plant will eventually grow out. After rooting the crown, place in a clear plastic container, like a sandwich bag or deli con¬ tainer, seal it, and wait about four weeks before removing. You’ll then have a small (rooted) plant! Do the same if you’d like to root suckers, especially those taken from chimeras - those that you can’t propagate true from leaf cuttings. Or; do this if you’ve divided a multi- crowned plant, and some of those crowns ended up without roots. You might also want to intentionally remove and root a crown if you have received a plant you suspect may have January • February 2004 soil-borne problems like soil mealybug (though doing so isn’t a foolproof solution), or if you have to “restart” a plant gone so long without repotting that its neck is too long to bury. {QUESTION: Should. I ever remove leaves from my y violet? I would guess so but, other than removing obviously dead ones, I have no idea how to decide. Which ones need to be removed? ANSWER: Yes. Most (non trailing) varieties only need to have 3 or 4 rows of leaves since blooms are produced only from these leaves. This means a total of no more than a dozen or so leaves. Some larger plants grown for exhibition may have more but, even then, not as many as you might think. Their large size is due more to the size of the leaves rather than the number of them. For some varieties, espe¬ cially those with very wavy, girl, or ruffled leaves, removing excess foliage is even more important. If outer leaves are never removed on these varieties, new growth becomes very crowded in the center as there becomes no place for it to grow, and the leaves that are produced can be distorted or misshapen. Further, bloom stalks that are produced have a hard time finding their way up through the foliage. How to decide which leaves to remove? Plant “symme¬ try” or “form” is important, but this is a concept that can be difficult for some to grasp (not everyone has an “eye” for this). Instead, here are a couple of never-fail, easy to under¬ stand rules that can be followed. Rule #1: always groom from the bottom up. The first leaf to be removed is always that leaf that is growing from the lowest point on the plant. Look at the plant from the side (not from the top), and determine which leaf is (or leaves are) growing from the lowest point. This is the oldest leaf on the plant and is the first to be removed. Now you can look at the plant from overhead. If it doesn’t have the shape you want, remove another. Which one? Repeat rule #1. Rule #2: looking from above, leaves hidden beneath other leaves are unnecessary and can be removed (assuming twisted and out of place leaves have been properly arranged). These leaves are invariably older leaves, growing beneath younger ones, that add nothing to the symmetry of the plant. Removing them will not even be noticed, since leaves above them already occupy the same space! Finally, be certain to remove leaves being produced from the axils between existing leaves - these are suckers! The only place where new growth should appear is from the crown, or top, of the plant (except on trailers). Removing suckers as soon as they appear not only improves symmetry and overall appearance, but it will encourage your plant to produce more flowers, sooner. S\UESTION: We live in an old home, and most of the windows are quite old I'm afraid that my win- dowWmil be much too cold for growing violets in the mid¬ dle of winter. Any suggestions on what I can grow there? ANSWER: Actually, violets will tolerate a good deal of cold. We grow some on the windowsills of our greenhouse January • February 2004 that, on some very cold days, will be covered with ice on the inside. Most violets will easily tolerate temperatures down to 60f degrees before showing signs of distress. Below this tem¬ perature, you might notice crowded growth in the plant cen¬ ter, and hairy, brittle leaves. It will just “stop growing” and only reluctantly flower. Even then, the occasional night down to 50F degrees or so should irreparably harm most varieties. One solution would be growing some of the Saintpaulia (African violet) species, many of which will actually prefer your cool windowsill - it will remind them of their native habit high in the mountains of East Africa. Another solution is to grow some African violet relatives, such as Streptocarpus or Chirita. These are two very easy to grow gesneriads that thrive in cool conditions. Care for both is sim¬ ilar to violets, but they'll easily tolerate your chilly win¬ dowsill. If space is a consideration, you might try growing a couple of the miniature species of Chirita , like C. gemella, or C. tamiana (probably one of the easiest of all plants to grow and bloom). Another good choice would be Petrocosmea , most of which are very small in size and will grow and bloom well in a cool location. There are other choices, but these are some of the easiest to find and grow. /QUESTION: Which varieties are easiest to grow? ANSWER: This is a very commonly asked question, and one that’s almost impossible to answer, except to say, “it depends”. It depends upon what you like, what suits your growing environment, and your space. All else equal, plants that do the best are those that get cared for the best. “Favorites” become favorites because they are often the most looked-at and cared-for. So, grow varieties you like - if you don’t like a plant, it likely won’t do well. Having said that, choose varieties that suit your environ¬ ment and space the best. Those with limited space might want to grow miniature or semiminiature varieties. Don’t grow more plants than your space will allow. Hiding a small mini between or beneath a larger standard doesn’t do it much good. It’s not surprising that minis grown this way don’t do well! Crowding large plants together won’t help either - give them some room to grow to their desired size. Have lots of good windows but no windowsill space? Tty growing trailing African violets in hanging baskets. Variegated varieties will look their best in cooler temperatures. If your conditions are too warm (consis¬ tently above 80 F degrees), you may lose much of the varie¬ gation on many varieties, especially if crown-variegated. Still, these varieties may be lovely even without the variegation and can be grown for the blooms alone. If you’re neglectful about watering and tend to let your plants wilt, larger growing plants may be easier than smaller ones. Larger plants will take longer to die than smaller ones - there’s just more of them to kill. A self-watering system, such as wicking, self-watering pots, or capillary matting might be for you if this is the case. Trailing varieties may be easier if you tend to be neglectful about grooming and repot- African Violet Magazine 9 ting. Though grooming is beneficial, there’s no need to worry about suckers on a trailer - the more the better! When buying from a commercial grower, ask them for recommendations, since they will have more experience growing these varieties than you will. After growing many different varieties, notice who the hybridizer was of your best-performing varieties. It’s quite likely that the hybridizer has growing conditions similar to yours. When adding to your collection, you might want to select more from this hybridizer. The best advice is to join a violet club (if you don’t already belong to one) and ask other members who have similar growing conditions and preferences to yours. Better yet, pay them a visit! See how they grow their plants. See how their growing environment may be similar or different from yours, and see what kinds of varieties do best for them. Name of columnist replying is in bold print A Violet Saga by Agatha Garrison : an African violet It In July 1977 my sister Hazel gave n was not named, but had beauti¬ ful pink blooms. Just a few weeks later, I bought four more! 1 later read an article written by a lady from Boston, in Yankee Magazine. She included photographs of African violets, and asked anyone interested to write to her. So, I did. When I received her answer, she included a folder with an application to join the African Violet Society of America, which I did. After I moved to New Mexico, 1 looked around for local African violet club to Then, I met Peggy Staat. She invited me to her home, and wow, I was hooked! I joined the AAVC in 1986. Over the past twenty six years, I have had the usual setbacks with thrips, springtails, black flies, and of course, weather problems. All growers who live in the southwest know about the humidity problems. During the fall of 2001, my real problems began. My plants began to have hard centers, and the leaves were deformed. They grew small with no blooms. Thinking it might be mites, I began to call for help. I first contacted my club, then Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses. There, I spoke with my friend Paul Sorano 10 African Violet Magazine call the local Agriculture Extension Office. When I contacted them, they asked me to bring in a plant. I took three! The manger took the plants and examined them with a microscope. He could find no mites or insects of any kind. He removed one leaf from each plant and sent them to New Mexico State Agriculture College. The report that came back said they were not sure what the problem was, but would contin¬ ue checking. They thought it looked like a virus. At that time, I began to search in all had for information. In the Handbook for Growers, Exhibitors, and on pages 33 and 34, there are two viruses listed under viral disease: Mosaic Virus and Stunt Virus. I still am not sure, but it appeared that my plants were suffering from Stunt Virus. The took said no cure existed and to ilants! I destroyed more than fifty of my African violet plants, which was so hard for me to do. At a local nursery, I bought a meter to check soil pH, humidity, and light, and another one to check the water. I began repotting and sterilizing all my pots and mixing new soil. Then I cleaned all the plant stands with Lysol, washed the walls, and sprayed everything with Lysol. I started over and ordered new plants. Now my African violets are again growing and blooming. They look healthy and happy - and so am I! January • February 2004 / nd lAe (ovifte/ss ai*e PH Ui _ )■ Mary J. Corondan 7205 Dillon Court Plano, TX 75024 AV COUNCIL OF FLORIDA, FL - Winners: Best AVSA Standard Collection: Frozen in Time, Sedona, The Alps; 2nd Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Dean’s Bunny Blue, Ness’ Cranberry Swirl, Ness’ Crinkle Blue; Best in Show/Best Standard: Ness’ Silk Reflection; Best Species: Saintpaulia ionantha-, Best Gesneriad: Episcia ‘Peppermint Brocade’; Horticulture Sweepstakes, Phyllis King. Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Irish Flirt, Ness’ Crinkle Blue, Rob’s Boogie Woogie; Best Semiminiature: Ness’ Crinkle Blue, Christel Collier. Best Miniature: Ness’ Angel Blush, Charlene Boses. Best Trailer: Rob’s Lilli Pilli, Shirley Berger. Best Design-, Design Sweepstakes, Bob Green. SWEETWATER AVS, NY - Winners: Best AVSA Standard Collection: Granger’s Desert Dawn, Bud’s Jane, Mindi’s Tears; Best Standard: Granger’s Desert Storm, Jane Weber. 2nd Best AVSA Standard Collection: Ghost Dance, Fantasy Maker, Ness’ Coral Sunset, Eleanore Hull. Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Little Pro, Rob’s Dandy Lion, Boo Man, Bud Weber. 2nd Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Teen Sweetheart, Persian Lace, Aca’s Merry Mary; Horticulture Sweepstakes, William Papawe. Best in Show/Best Species: Saintpaulia Sigi Falls, Joyce Rodler. Best Semiminiature: Rob’s Cool Fruit; Best Miniature: Rob’s Twinkle Pink; Best Trailer: Lyon’s Pinky Wink, Eileen Montgomery. Best Gesneriad: Streptocarpus ‘Bristol’s Petticoats’, Nancy Platnick. Best Design, Annette Hershkowitz. Design Sweepstakes, Marilyn Heinrich. VOLUNTEER STATE AV COUNCIL, TN - Winners: Best AVSA Standard Collection: Kev’s Heavenly Star, Apache Delight, Rebel’s Valiant; Best Species: Saintpaulia ionantha ; Horticulture Sweepstakes, Geneva Stagg. Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Lyon’s June Bug, Irish Flirt, Rob’s Seduction; Best in Show/Best Standard: L’Heure Blue; Best Semiminiature: Rob’s Seduction: Best Miniature: Rob’s Rinky Dink, Brenda Brasfield. 2nd Best AVSA Mini/Semi Collection: Optimara Little Pawnee, Optimara Little Cherokee, Optimara Little Ottawa, Mike Ramsey. Best Trailer: Rob’s Boolaroo, Judy EUis. Best Gesneriad: Achimenes ‘Thratella’, Marian Zoller. Best Design: Ginger Ilardi. Design Sweepstakes, Betty Ferguson. How to Say It in Tucson In the TUcson area, Spanish words are pronounced with a Mexican accent. The “LL” (L-yah) does not keep both the “L” sound and the “Yah” sound. The “L” sound is silent, and so one only pronounces the “Yah.” The garden plant, “Bougainvillea,” on the East Coast is “Boo-gan-vil-yah.” Here in Tucson it is “Boo-gan-vee-yah.” The animal is a “Yama” not a “L-yah-ma,” or even a “Lama.” January • February 2004 Another tongue-tripper is our wonderful giant cactus, the saguaro, “sa-hua-ro.” The “G,” in this case, is pronounced like an “H.” And one of the sightseeing desti¬ nations just south of TUcson is the Mission San Xavier del Bac. The “X” also is pronounced as an “H,” San “Hah-vee- air.” But if you find a word with an “H,” you don’t say it at all! It is a silent letter. The ranch house, or “hacienda” is an “Ah-see-en-da.” African Violet Magazine 11 Dr. Jeff Smith The Indiana Academy Ball State University Muncie, IN 47306 email: JSmith4@bsu.edu I recently received an e-mail from a person who was inter¬ ested in studying African violet mutations or sports. In answer to their questions, I drew up a list of some observations about sports. Since several of this month’s questions deal with sports, the list may have some extra relevance. 1. Sports are more common in fantasy blooms than other types because of the nature of the fantasy mutation (a transposons or jumping gene). Most of these sports are loss of the fantasy gene giving solid colored flowers. 2. Stress, either environmental or chemical, increases the incidence of sporting. To avoid sports, keep your growing conditions consistent To increase the likelihood of sports, stress the leaf cuttings as much as possible. 3. Plants with red backed leaves, especially in the heterozy¬ gous condition, are more prone to sports. The sports are usually green leafed plants that have lost the red leaf back¬ ing. Changes in flower color may or may not also be linked to the loss of the red leaf backed trait (a genetic dominant). 4. Some coral shade flowers seem to be more prone to sports than non-coral shade colors. For example, ‘Bob Serbin’ is a coral red that seems to sport frequently. 5. Placing a leaf very deeply into the rooting medium seems to increase the incidence of sporting. This is likely because of the additional stress the new baby plant undergoes in growing up through the rooting medium. /I# 7 am interested in the production of “ baskets’’ on tntitos. This is where the bloom stalk hasfowers, but also produces a miniature crown. Since these “baskets ” or crowns can be rooted to reproduce die plant, I’d like to know how they are inherited A* I’ve seen bloom stalks produce crowns before, but this is the first time I’ve heard the phenomenon called a “basket” I’ve seen this on a few plants in my collection, mostly on the species plants. You are correct that they can be an easy way to start a new plant. I would speculate that the ability to produce a “basket” is 12 African Violet Magazine similar to the production of stolons in other plants such as epis- cias or strawberries. The new crown is a vegetative meristem or growth point. The production of these crowns is likely due to a change in a genetic control gene of some sort. I’ve not seen any studies that show how this trait is inherited. If you want to encourage this trait in new hybrids, I’d sug¬ gest crossing to a trailer that frequently produces “baskets”. The trait may be linked to the trailing growth habit and disap¬ pear in the first generation unless the other parent is also a trailer. Inbreeding the FI offspring should produce some plants that also produce “baskets”. I’d like to hear about the outcome of your crosses if you should choose the experiment with this 0 ^Sometimes a crown on a trailer will sport to a new 9 type. If leaves are taken from this crown, will they produce the original plant or the new sport? A: I would expect the leaves from the sport to produce more plants with the same mutation. Once the DNA of a plant has changed by sporting, it is unusual (although not entirety unknown) to have it revert back to the original type. /l# 7 recently acquired a plant of Saintpaulia ‘Botanika’ Jjjf* an< t am intrigued by its unusualjlowers. Do you know Iftnis mutation can be inherited? A No, I am unaware of any hybridizing attempts with Saintpaulia ‘Botanika’, and I don’t know if the mutation can be based on to offspring. Given the extreme mutation of the flower parts (the petals are modified into pollen sacs and the stamens are overly expressed) I wouldn’t be surprised if the plant was sterile. If you are able to get seed using this plant as a parent, please let me know the outcome. f\+Many of my wasp flowered plants tend to lose their crowns. Is this a genetic trait? A* Wasp flowered plants represent an extreme mutation or sport in both flower shape and in their bustled foliage. When Unitary • FEBRUARY 2004 the plants are stressed, they do tend to lose the crown entire¬ ly, or produce multiple crowns. This seems to be a common genetic weakness associated or linked with the wasp mutation, and I’m not sure that there is much that can be done about it. However, I’ve seen pictures of some new wasp hybrids that show promise in having fewer problems with this annoying growth habit. Perhaps the best cure is to keep the plants in good growing conditions that limit stress. With the renewed interest in wasp plants, hybridizers may be able to improve the plants with this trait and breed out the problem. 0 How can 1 produce a trailer with crown variegation jj/# and single stick-tightflowers? A: I would start with a plant that trails and also has crown variegation. Or, you could cross a good trailer onto a crown variegated plant. If the variegated plant is used as the seed parent, the offspring will show the variegation. If a good FI is backcrossed to the trailer parent, you should improve the trailing ability of the offspring while maintaining the crown variegation. The single stick-tight blooms will be another considera¬ tion. I would suggest finding a plant that has this trait to use as one of the parents. This bloom type is dominant to single- droppers, but recessive to semi-doubles and doubles. If one parent has single stick-tight blooms and the other has semi¬ double flowers, you should get a good percentage of offspring with stick-tight flowers. If the FI offspring are all semi-dou¬ bles or doubles, back cross the best offspring to the stick-tight parent. The trick will be in working with both traits at the same time. Choose your parent plants carefully. Ideally, one parent would show trailing with semi-double flowers and the other a crown variegated plant with stick-tight blooms. This would allow you to work with both traits at the same time. Good luck! Boyce Edens Research Fund Marlene J. Buck • 17235 N. 106th Avenue • Sun City, AZ 85373-1958 Donations received from August 1, 2003 - September, 2003 Montrose African Violet Society, Montrose, CA_$50.00 Sundowners AVC Madison, WI.$25.00 In memory of Nadine Parsons, a longtime valuable member of MAVS San Fernando Valley AVS, Panorama City, CA.25.00 In memory of Helen Dalton Hoosier African Violet Society, Crown Point, IN.10.00 In memory ofUllie Roszkowski a charter member ojHAVS Windsor African Violet Society, Windsor, CT.50.00 In memory of Don Ness who has made so many important contributions to African violets and the African Violet Society of America African Violet Council of Southern CA.25.00 In memory of Nadine Parsons Annette N Hershkowitz, Commack, NY.3.00 Gloria Clyne, Syracuse, NY.10.00 Don & Jane Jepsen, Golden, CO.100.00 In loving memory of our son, David Jepsen, member of the Rocky Mountain AV Council and AVSA San Fernando Valley AVS, Panorama City, CA.25.00 In memory of Gladys Cunningham, a longtime member First AVS of Denton, TX.10.00 In memory ofGlennis Crouch, a charter member of our club. She passed away at the age of 91 TUcson AVS, TUcson, AZ.50.00 Frankie Barnett, Oklahoma City, OK.5.00 Louise King, Sun City, AZ.10.00 Karyn Cichocki, Lafayette, NJ.5.00 Martha George, Oklahoma City, OK.10.00 Joanna Mellert, Ellicott City, MD.5.00 Selective Gardener Catalog, Nashville, TN.23.00 Shirley McKenna, Redwood City, CA.10.00 Natalie Dann, North Brunswick, NJ.5.00 Elizabeth C. Evans, Memphis, TN.5.00 Dara Gribi, Livermore, CA.5.00 Joni Hartzler, Lutz, FL.2.00 Evelyn E. Stein, Tlacy, CA.10.00 George P. Stein, llacy, CA.10.00 Eloise Thompson, Blacksburg VA.5.00 Linda Holifield, Bedford, TX.5.00 Sara Opie, Callington, England.5.00 January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 13 {SbrtTCUt M ^ Georgene Albrecht ^F£^T 101 Oak Heights Drive jkjT \. Oakdale, PA 15071 email: georgena@verizon.net ii Episcia ‘Peppermint Brocade’ The colorful ‘pink-green-creme’ leaves of this Cleo-type episcia love to grow in a terrarium. The sensitive leaves grow best when given a comfort cushion of whole sphagnum moss on top of the growing medium. They also need some of this moss, chopped in small pieces, in the soil mixture. Any good African-violet soil mix will do well. Rain or distilled water is preferred in any terrarium. Very little, if any, fertilizer should be used. These handsome episcias can’t use much fertilizer, and they should never have moisture on the foliage. Temperatures above 80 degrees will cause “wash-out” of the pigmentation. Never let the temperature go below 65 degrees because growth stops and rot sets in. Fresh soil is appreciated every six to nine months. The plant will probably have out-grown its container by then. Also, remember to remove all spent blossoms because they will cause a rot as they decompose on the foliage. The orange flower is not great with the foliage, so it looks better removed. FRIEND AFAR Laveme Cottet from Fresno, California recognized me as a speaker from the San Jose convention back in the early ‘90’s. What a remarkable memory! She and I had the good fortune to travel with the American Rose Society through the gardens of the United Kingdom. Can you believe she even remembered my slide program? Well, we did not see a lot of gesneriads. 14 African Violet Magazine Once we were only twenty miles from Dibley’s, the fabulous Streptocarpus growers. They win gold at the Chelsea Flower Show. Laveme designed a fantastic rose arrangement for the World Rose Conference in Glasgow. Imagine traveling over there with all your design materials and getting who-knows- what rose material. What a great job! We had the most won¬ derful time. She knows Barbara Elkin, Barbara Gordon, Gary Beck, and the California growers and enjoys entering the shows. Our violets and plants create instant friendships. We were so impressed with the people, gardens, and food. Royal Princess Anne was our sponsor. She is a truly humble woman who does great charity work without publicity or pre¬ tense. At a luncheon, she socialized with all of us on a one-to- one basis. Her body guard said that she was exhausted from a long tour of the AIDS hospitals of Africa. She inspired me to try to do something nice for someone everyday. My extra plants are going to go to a nursing home nearby. Life is too short not to share the beauty of our plants. ACHIMENES REVIEW Ingrid Bowman has e-mailed me in regard to the statement I made in a previous column about Achimenes being pest free. She purchased two already growing instead of the usual unplanted rhizomes. Later, she noticed mealybug infestation on one, and later the other one produced them too. She thinks January • February 2004 they were in the soil and is trying to use Safer’s Insecticidal Soap and Q-tips dipped in alcohol. So, I stand corrected. Achimenes do become infested. I will let you know what success she had in controlling them. EXHIBITION Our local club lost the meeting and exhibit room in our local library so we moved the show to a Galleria Mall. It was fantastic. We simplified everything. The show was only one long day. There wasn’t even a schedule. We just placed our plants on the beautiful tables with a tag that gave the name of the grower and plant. The variegated foliage and colorful ges- neriads created a real buzz. We got at least six or seven new members and sold hundreds of plants. Children under the age of twelve got a free leaf to pot up and we gave away African Violet Magazines, donated by Nan Walther, to those who pur¬ chased two or more plants. A free plant was given to anyone who joined us. We have simplified membership, too. We have only household memberships for a set fee of $12. This pays for the newsletter. TWenty percent of sales go to the club. We had only two hours to set up the show before the stores opened. They have already asked us to come back next year because of all the great publicity we did for the Galleria name. Ninety percent of our membership does not want a judged show, and I feel badly for the couple who do. They are driving to Ohio to show their plants. We lost many members because we pushed “growing for show” too much. It is much more important, this day and age, to promote the social and educa¬ tional aspect of growing our beautiful plants. Perhaps some day we will have the treasury and membership to support a judged show. I will never forget the last judged show we had at Phipps Conservatory. Eileen Lott and a team from Ohio judged. It scored 99 points. We were so proud. Then the heat moved in and baked everything. Such is life. AVSA LUNCHEON AUCTION Edna Rourke 99 Old Stratford Road Shelton, CT 06484-6129 (203)-926 9716 email: Apapillon@aol.com A Special Request to all Members, Commercials, Hybridizers and Affiliates The seventh annual luncheon auction will take place on Friday, April 16,2004. If you haven’t done so already, won’t you consider doing a violet - related item or craft to auction? Your donations have always made the auction a success, and we rely on your help and support. As always, anyone making a donation will be listed at the auction and thanks to them will be extended in an article in the African Violet Magazine. Remember, you must attend the luncheon in order to attend the auction. Won’t you join us? Please let me know if you will be donating an item. A description of the item donated along with its approximate value and whether you are sending them on or bringing them to convention would be most appreciated. Again my thanks for your help and support. I look forward to hearing from you. January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 15 2004 dVM BOdRD Of DIReCTORS NOMINeCS Marjorie Bullard In 19921 received my first African vio¬ let in an assorted basket of plantings. This was the first step on a path which continues today; through this magnificent flower I have found an entirely new world populated with wonderfully delightful people. I am a member of the local Corpus Christi AVS, having served as officer and show chair. My first state convention for LSAVC was in 1994 and I found more violets and more people. The Texas LSAVC has allowed me to have even more fim as I am a co-editor of the LSAVC Newsletter and have served as Convention Chair, Judges Chair, and Rosettes Chair. I am an AVSA Advanced Judge and try to judge in the state and nation¬ al conventions. I attended my first national AVSA convention in 1999 in Houston, and each I have attended national con¬ vention since. I am currently a member of the AVSA Internet Committee, and of the AVSA Publication Committee. I have three children and five grandchildren. I am an Engineering Coordinator, devising and controlling systems for documents and interface between Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality. I have worked in various areas in this company for over 25 years. I find real-time manufacturing very interest¬ ing and challenging; the job has been many things, but never boring. I have six stands of violets and still love them! I also enjoy very much the new doors the computer has opened into violets. I am a member of the AVConnectionn, AV International, and several of the other on-line AV groups, and I correspond with members from these groups. I am a compul¬ sive reader - bouncing between mysteries and science fiction. I take photos of all the shows I visit and try to post as many as possible in a photo album on-line, with plans to someday get them better organized. A lot of ideas - not near as much time!! Christel Collier I love everything about African violets! Most of all, I like the excitement of a well organized AV show with the many glam¬ orous plants all in place! About fifteen years ago, I learned how to grow African violets and make them bloom. My husband kept bringing poor, beat up African violets with spent blossoms and broken leaves home from his grocery store. When they recovered and bloomed again, I kept one for myself and sent the rest back to the store. So began my collec¬ tion and addiction to African violets. Over the years, my col¬ lection has grown to approximately 225 - 250 varieties of 16 African Violet Magazine African violets and Gesneriads. I soon found the local AV chib and very dear friends and mentors who were always willing to answer my many questions. I have held every office in the local violet club. Presently, I am the Treasurer for First Lakeland AVS. For the Florida Council, I have served as President, VP, Membership chair, Awards chair, Treasurer, and Show chair for three Florida Council shows. I also had the honor to serve as DAVS Convention Treasurer and Assistant to the Judges’ chair for the AVSA convention in Thmpa, FL. Recently, I have been Entries chairperson for local clubs and Florida State Convention shows. Another very rewarding activity of mine is to conduct work shops in retirement homes which usually always turn into a re-potting party of African violets which look like palm trees. 1 try to give all of the participants a blooming plant. It gives me so much satisfaction to see the happiness in the residents’ eyes when they receive them. Bom in Berlin, Germany, I came to the US fifty years ago to many my husband whom I met in Berlin when he was sta¬ tioned there with the US Armed Forces. We have always lived in Lakeland, FL. We have 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren. I retired as St Laboratory Technician in Research/Development from IMC Global Phosphate Co. Sue Ramser Sue Ramser, of Wichita Falls, Texas, has been a member of the First African Violet Society of Wichita Falls for thirty-two years. She has served as show chairman. Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President nine times. As member of the Lone Star African Violet Council, Sue has served as newsletter editor twice, Parliamentarian, Secretary, Vice President, and President. She is also active in the North Texas African Violet Judges Council, having served as corresponding secretary, Secretary, Vice President, and President. Sue has served as a member of the AVSA classification committee, aide to the president for the 1988 AVSA Convention in Dallas, vice chairman of the AVSA A®&» Committee, elected director, AVSA Sales and Promotion Tti# Volunteer Coordinator, Secretary of the Shows and ju^ Committee, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Policies an Procedures Committee, and AVSA Secretary. Sue is an AVS Life Member, Master Judge, Teacher, and in 1993 compile “Teaching Tools". Sue is a graduate of die University of North Texas, DenK*j- with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Her hus^A Charies ’ » a Professor of Management at Midwestern State January • February 2004 University in Wichita Falls. They have four children. Sue’s other interests include sewing and knitting. Edna Rourke Edna Rourke has been a member of AVSA for 27 years and a life member since 2001. She has served AVSA and local African violet organizations for many years. She is a senior judge and currendy serves on the Affiliate Committee and AVSA Convention Committee. She is a past AVSA Director and is the Chairman of the annual Auction. A resident of Shelton, Connecticut, Edna has held various offices in the Nutmeg State African Violet Society including Treasurer and President. She is President of the Naugatonic African Violet Society and a member of Mid-Atlantic African Violet Society, Tti State, and Tfistate Judges Council, as well as AGGS. Edna and her husband, Al, have just celebrated their 30th anniversary and have two sons. She currently works as an administrative assistant for the Shelton School System. In addition to growing and showing African violets and gesneriads, Edna is an avid reader who also enjoys painting and needlework. Roger Wheeler Roger Wheeler, a resident of Shelton, Connecticut, has been a member of AVSA for 25 years and has attended 17 conven¬ tions. Roger has served all offices of both Nutmeg State and Naugatonic African Violet Societies. He currently serves as treasurer of both societies. Roger is a senior judge. Roger also is a member of Empire State AVS, Mid-Atlantic AVS, Dixie AVS, Tti-State and the fri-State Judges Council, as well as AGGS and New England AGGS. Roger is a Navy veteran, having served in the Mediterranean area. Roger is fluent in Greek and Arabic. He currently is a Social Security Administration Claims Representative. Roger is an avid UCONN fan and attends all football games and men’s and women’s basketball games. He also enjoys traveling the US by car. AVSA BOOSTER FUND Shirley Berger • 4343 Schumacher Rd-196E • Sebring, FL 33872 CONTRIBUTIONS: August 1 , 2003 - September 30,2003 Annette N. Hershkowitz, Commack, NY . . .. $3.00 Elizabeth C. Evans, Memphis, TN. . $5.00 P. M. McKee, NSW, Australia. . .. 10.00 Selective Gardener Catalog, Nashville, TN . . 20.00 Marvin K. Nester, Lakeland, FL . _5.00 Sundowner’s AVS, Middleton, WI. . 25.00 Walter J. Golba, Jr., South Hadley, MA. . .. 10.00 Omaha AVS, Council Bluffs, IA. . 50.00 Glenn Hodges, Lenexa, KS. . .. 15.00 In memory of Richard Sip, a long-time member Betsy Branson, Flourtown, PA. _5.00 Julie Brown, lUcson AVS, Tticson, AZ. .50.00 Windsor AVS. Windsor, CT. . . . 50.00 African Violet Council of Florida. . 50.00 In memory of Ruth Warren In loving memory of Dora DiLorenzo, charter member North Star AVC, Minneapolis, MN. . .. 20.00 First Lakeland AVS, Lakeland, FL. , 50.00 In memory ofLeonne McAlindon In memory of beloved member Dora DiLorenzo Cheryl Gagnon, San Leandro, CA. . .. 10.00 Cristel Collier, Lakeland, FL . 10.00 Gloria Clyne, Syracuse, NY. . .. 10.00 In loving memory of Dora DiLorenzo Karen Cichocki, Lafayette, NJ. _5.00 Mid-Polk AVS, Wmter Haven, FL. . 10.00 Sharon McKenna . . .. 10.00 In memory of Irene Gasperson, Rita Hilton’s mother Jeanna Mellert, Ellicatt City, MD. _5.00 Betty Callahan, Fairless Hills, PA . . 25.00 Martha George, Oklahoma City, OK. . .. 10.00 In memory of Marion Allen, long-timefriend and Colleen Harambasic, Inver Grove Heights, MN . . _5.00 active member of the Lower Bucks County AVS Natalie Dann, North Brunswick, NJ. _5.00 Linda Holifield, Bedford, TX. . . 5.00 The Unpredictable’s AVS, Blue Springs, MO ... . . .. 10.00 Sarah Opie, Harrowbarrow Callington, England .. . . .5.00 Elizabeth Scott AVS, TUscola, JL. . .. 30.00 Emerald Necklace AVC, Brighton, MA. . .3.00 In memory of Eileen Peer, former member respected Brenda M. Brasfield, Olive Branch, MS . . 10.00 for her enthusiastic participation. TOTAL: $530.00 January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 17 eyitifration ^Report Janice Bruns 1220 Stratford Lane Hanover Park, IL 60133 email: janice@qwip.net A name reservation costs $1.00 and is valid for two years, after which time it may be extended two years for an additional $1.00. Registration of the plant is $5.00 unless completed within the reservation period, in which case the balance is then $4.00. Please make check payable to AVSA Hortense Pittman - Celina, TX •aoud Puff (9260) 8/14/03 (H. Pitt™, Singie-semidoubl Medium S"*"’ SW foliage. Miniatur C0B . f ?“ Drea i m < 9261 > 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Single-semi £!££ * Ught *"«• ^ ovate ’^"n^ 6 ^^ 03 la Pittman > Single-semidoi _ wafy ^mWniaJtf egated ** “ d « •Country Romance (9263) 8/14/03 m mcuium green, cream and pink plain S •Country Wonder (9264) 8/14/03 Va m ri l U ted d0 “ b,e bU T ndy/White Med T Sir" and ^ p°m >emiminiature r ’ ^uumuuarare ’ H “ s daTbto^ww 2 tt 67 4 rs‘ H ' r Semiminiature S Uark green ^wuuuuduire ° ' *Mi’ Sherri’ (9268> 8/14/03 m dw Wled/purple foitasy.^^^ ovate. Semiminiature ^ gTOn 30(1 -v. w^uuioiniature - i Glow (9269) 8/14/03 Whitt star/yeUowmaridngs.M^S ^ e d. Semiminiature ® reen * *Sassy Angel (9271) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Semidoufe coral-pink pansy. Variegated green and white, plain, ovate. Semiminiature *Sassy Honey (9272) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Semido# lavender and purple pansy. Variegated green and whfe plain, ovate. Semiminiature •Sassy Splash (9273) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Sticktitesi$ light pink pansy. Variegated green and white, plat Semiminiature •Sassy Wonder (9274) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Single-semi- double lavender pansy. Variegated green and white, plain. Miniature •Sundown Cowboy (9275) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Semidouble fuchsia pansy. Variegated green and wbfe plain. Semiminiature ‘Sunshine Lady (9276) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Double pB*| Variegated medium green and cream, Semiminiature ‘Super Boy (9277) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Semidouble bbe frilled. Medium green, wavy. Semiminiature ‘Teen Fantasy (9278) 8/14/03 (H. Pittman) Sticktite®# purple/darker fantasy. Dark green, plain, pointed. St* miniature Barbara Werness - Coon Rapids, MN . S°ra Kalissa (9279) 8/18/03 (B. Werness) Single--* double white frilled pansy/purple eye and overlay, S® 01 edge. Medium green. Semiminiature NAME RESERVATIONS Nelly Levine - Arvada, CO *KyleD.* fc*hy Coraibe - Santa Cruz, CA Micheline * • FebkiW^ January Barbara Elkin Vintage Violets Committee 2855 Gayle Lane Auburn, CA 95602-9674 email: bjabar@earthlink.net Having returned from China, I am now bilingual. I don’t know how to spell their words, but I can say them. “LeHow” means “hello”, “sheshay” means “Thank you”, and “No Thank you” is “bullshay”. Now that we have that done, we can say that China in September is beautiful. Weather warm and humid. People very gracious. I felt comfortable and could speak all the language I needed. What more do you need other than Hello, Thank you, and No-Thank you? We visited thousands of Terracotta Soldiers, walked the Great Wall in the rain, cruised the Yangtze River, went through the Three Gorges Dam and locks, and saw the most fantastic mountain range in Lijane. You know, the mountains you see in all of the China pictures. Straight up with no way to scale them. All this beauty, but not one violet did I see. I looked for chiritas; they are from China you know, but found nothing. Let’s say I don’t want to visit our Chinese restaurant any¬ time soon either. Bring on the beefsteak, I say. Most of the names below on the Wanted List are either hybrids of Dates or Baker. Please, whoever is growing these oldies, speak up. Baker’s Hot lips Beach Comber Bonnice Cobalt Halo Columbella Coral Halo Creme de Menthe Dalliance Dates Fanfare Dates jubilee Dates Mystique Dark Crystal Dippity Doo Elizabethan Ruffle Eternal Snow Evajean AVSA Most Wanted First Recital Flash Back Fleur De Mais Fruit Salad Fudge Marble Great White Way Helen K Jade Imperial Halo Intensified Pride Ivory Venus Katja Krista Lynn Limelight Lime Ricky Limelhffy Mary Louise Midnight Wave Mint Julep Miriam Steel Nancy Ann Ontario Sport Peek A Boo Pennsylvania Purple Peppermint Candy Peppermint Frost Pink Fingers Pink Owl Pink Proliffity Pony Thil Poodle Top Puppy Love (Baker) Pussycat Quiet Reflection Rachel (Baker) Rose Embroidery Sabrina Show Off Snow Owl Southern Comfort Thelma Unsinger Toyland Sport Tra LaLa Tweedle Dee Virgo Wild Wing Wrangler’s Ricochet Romance Zuri January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 19 Downsizing by Jeremy Clark Wingina, Virginia jeremy@jeremysviolets.com Anybody who is addicted to violets has at one time or another run into this problem. After seeing the title of this article, another violet lover said, “Are you talking about getting rid of some of your vio¬ lets? I hate that." That is exactly what I am talking about! When you have so many violets you are simply running out of space! You’ve pawned your violets off to all of your friends, coworkers, etc., and you still have no room. The time has come to “downsize” your collection, as hard as it may be. You hate to do it, but unless you have a greenhouse, it’s virtually impossible to grow all the varieties you like. This is my proposed course of action. Your first and most obvious consideration is that you can name the violets you know you’ll want to keep. That’s the easy pan, unless of course that means your whole collection' Your second consideration deals with your African violet buying habits'. How often do you buy violets? Every week? how far 310,18 y™ A**® . addicnon has gone this will vary, since space is so pre- aous. you need to be veiy selective as to what you purchase if you always warn the latest and greatest hybrids, tty buying only two or three a year. This will slow you down and mate your collection even more worthwhile because you have put a lot of thought into what your looking for. Thus, you wfl appreciate the special varieties that you do buy a lot more. Another option is to cull your collection of the larger plants and grow miniatures or semi-minis. They don’t take up nearly as much space as standards, and you may like some of the mini varieties more than some of your standards! If you’ve never given thought to growing minis or evea wanting to grow them, this is a perfect opportunity to “test the waters”. What this eventually comes down to is that you have to get rid of some of your violets! Heck, you may even be doing yourself a favor! You might have some that you thought woe appealing at one time and just don’t like it anymore. Or maybe there are some that you’ve just lost interest in all togethet Maybe ones you really don’t pay attention to, or some that at way too big for your growing space. In the end, it simply comes down to what you can and cannot live without Get rid of those violets and make some room! From growing minis to only buying a few violets aye® the choice is yours. Maryw^^sS^SMaintenance Fund E ttiail MW^v " ^ * Wichita Ms, Texas 76310- ma,l. MWalbnck@aol.com . Fax: 775-243-0836 Donations Received ^8 August 2003 Selective Gardener Catalog, Nashville, tn Cen-T*x AVC (Disbanned). Copperas Cove' TO. . 20 00 TheUnpredictable-sA^Bk^pr^ Jo .**.00 Kaiyn Cichoda, Lafayette, NJ . . Gloria Clvne. Syracuse, NY. .. Natalie Dann. North Brunswick, Nj. 10 00 Elizabeth C. Evans, Memphis, tn .. * *. . . Martha George, Oklahoma CftyOK. . Shirley McKenna, Redwood City. CA. 10 00 Eva Tferry, HagarviUe, AR.. .. B. Tboker. Red Bank, NJ .. .10.00 Garden State AV Club, Allentown, NJ.^ In lieu tf Judging Expenses: Lauren Brown, Lee Borey, Florence Friedman, Bob Kurzynski, Jan Murasko, Frank Senna orth Texas AV Judges Council, Mesquite, .. l0 ' In memoiy ofGlennis Crouch ^ Sundowners AV club, Middleton, WI. The AVS of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY. Ticson AVS, Tucson, AZ. 1:310013 ingle, Simpsonville, SC. . Linda Holifieid, Bedford, TX.. Yen Yu Kao, Taipei, Hsien, Taiwan . rare Laforest, PQ, Canada . . S«ah Opie, Cornwall, England" '. Howard Royce, Belmar, NJ. 0ISe Thompson, Blacksburg, VA.. . . AVSA AFFILIATES Bev Promersberger - Affiliate Committee 7992 Otis Way, Pensacola, FL 32506 Promers22@hotmail.com Strive For the A+, Part I As students, we learned that a “C” grade is average, the grade received for doing just enough to “get by”. To get a “B”, an “A”, or even an “A+”, one has to do more. It is no different with any job, project, or responsibility in an affiliate club. I challenge every affiliate member to strive for the “A+”. The end result should be an “A+” club that not only attracts members but keeps them. I recommend that each affiliate member use the following principles or guidelines to evaluate his job or responsibility. Some examples are included; all guidelines can be applied to any affil¬ iate office or chairmanship. 1. Accept the right job This may sound simple, but, it is amazing how often people accept jobs that they are not suited for, don’t have the capability to do, or they are not available at the time necessary to do the job. Some jobs require organizational abilities and are accepted by unorganized members. Knowledgeable growers better fulfill some jobs. Others jobs require that the member attend the meet¬ ings regularly. Evaluate. Can you attend meetings regularly, or, do you work or have family commitments that would interfere? You might be better suited to a chairmanship that does not require faithful attendance. Tty publicity. You can do an “A+” job by checking into radio, television, flyers, and other possibilities from home. Attendance of the Membership Chairman should not be overlooked. He needs to be available in order to meet visitors, encourage membership, and to inform the visitors of member¬ ship requirements. The AVSA Representative needs to be present to keep visi¬ tors and members informed of AVSA and its importance. 2. Plan ahead Whatever job a person accepts, he should take the time to plan ahead. Most jobs require some planning; some require more planning than others. A president should plan each meeting well in advance with a detailed agenda. This gives him the time to research questions that may come up while putting the agenda together. It gives him time to make sure that he has all the information needed rather than having to consult with members prior to the meet¬ ing. It would be wise to lay out a calendar of requirements in the beginning; for example, when certain donations are usually con¬ sidered, when a nominating committee should be appointed, dates for the club members to remember, etc. The job of the Program Chairman is one of the most demanding. It takes time to schedule programs for a year, make sure that the speakers are assigned, and to have the yearbook or list of programs for the members by die first annual meeting. A last minute attempt to plan the programs usually results in only January • February 2004 a “C” grade. Strive for the “A+”. Knowing what the program is in advance encourages members to attend. Gift and plant exchanges should be announced well in advance so that mem¬ bers have the time to plan ahead. The Secretary needs to have the minutes ready before the meeting. They should be prepared as soon as possible after a meeting. If there are questions, he has time to research them. The Publicity Chairman should make his plans immediately. Deadlines for publications vary and are usually earlier than one anticipates. Plan and check the dates early; then place them on a ‘working calendar’. Anyone who is in charge of plant sales, shows, exhibits, etc., should make sure that the facility is available when wanted. This allows time for publicity, participation, and enough notice for the members to bring plants into bloom. 3. Do the job Remember that accepting a job is a commitment. A member lets the whole club down when he doesn’t complete the job. • Are you a member who has an email address in my direc¬ tory contact list? Are you listed as the contact on the affili¬ ate web site for your club? That means that when you receive affiliate correspondence from me, it is your responsi¬ bility to share that correspondence with your members and to notify me of any changes of your club information on the web site in a timely manner, especially changes in email addresses. • Are you the club treasurer? It is your responsibility, not only to collect the money, but to keep accurate records. Find out when your affiliate dues should be sent to the AVSA office and make notes for those who continue as chib treasurer after you. • Are you responsible for the yearbook? It is important to make sure that it is ready to distribute at the first meeting of your club year so the members can see what is planned. To be continued... I want to thank you all for the wonderful attendance and sharing of information at the Affiliate Meeting in Baton Rouge. The topic focused on getting new members, both for AVSA and the Affiliate. If you were unable to join us, please check out the Affiliate columns in the January, May, and September AVM issues of 1999. There are schedule changes for the upcoming convention in TUcson. The day and time for the Affiliate Meeting has changed and is combined with a meal - breakfast. Anyone can attend the hope that those of you who have not been able to arrive early enough in the past to attend the Affiliate Meeting will take advantage of the new day and time. African Violet Magazine 21 Keeping Track Of Your Plants by Claude Norton Town & Country AVC of Michigan Do you have trouble keeping track of your plants? Do you ever wonder if you still have a certain plant and, if so, where it is? I used to have that problem. I kept a record of my plants in a spiral notebook divided into three sections. One section was for mature plants, another section was for baby plants, and the third section was for starters like leaves etc. I tried to keep the sections alphabetical as much as possible. I think you can see the problem with this system already. When you acquired a new plant, you either added it on to the end of the list to keep your notebook neat or you squeezed the new arrival in between two other entries to maintain your alphabetical listing. Worse yet, what happens when a starter plant becomes a baby and moves into the next category or when one of your mature plants dies? More scratching out and moving things around. Ultimately, you end up with a notebook that is illegible and useless. What is the solution? Actually, there are a couple of solutions. One perfectly good solution is to open up your Word Perfect or MS Word program; whichever you prefer, and type in your lists of plants which you can then save and print out. With a system such as this, it is much easier to add new names or subtract old ones of varieties that you no longer wish to keep. Making and saving lists with your word processor is a good way to account for your plants, but there is an even bet¬ ter way to do it. We use Quicken or MS Money to keep track of our financial and household accounts. These programs are designed for that purpose specifically. Why not use a program especially designed for your plants? The AVSA has just such a program and it’s called “First Class.” It has many features that would not be available to you just using a word proces¬ sor. For example, it has photos, descriptions and other data on many of the registered plants. These lists are updated and available for downloading at regular intervals. First Class may be used to search for African violet culti- vars found in the AVSA’s African Violet Master List of Species and Cultivars, its supplements, and the registration reports in the African Violet Magazine. When the program is opened, the first thing that you will see is the master list on the right hand side of the screen. You may scroll this list looking for a particular violet, or you may type the name of the violet in the box provided at the top of the list. If you should type a letter U M”, the list will scroll to the beginning of the M’s. If the violet you are looking for is present, the data will appear in the box to the right of the master list, and if there is a photo for the violet, it will appear in the box at the bottom of the screen. Sometimes there is an alternate photo, in which case, a little green light will go on to the right of the photo, and clicking on this box will bring forth an alternate photo of the plant 22 African Viot ft Mac,a7tof The Search Tab allows you to set certain criteria. For example, if you were to type “pink” in the search box the program will list every cultivar with pink in its name. Even fragments of words can be used. If you were to type “ink’, you would find any and all violets with that fragment to its name. You can also search using the hybridizer field as the search criterion. If you are looking for a plant hybridized by a certain individual, listing his or her name in the hybridizer field will produce a list of every one of his or her plants in There are many other ways to search. If you were to check the Photo box, the search will return only cultivars with photos associated with them. Or, you may ch00 ^ search only for plants for which you have written notes- C on the “Notes” box. Searching is limited only by your imagi¬ nation. The Print Tab allows you to print descriptions of p you are interested in and save them in a text file. It also P® mits you to print labels for your plants complete with data the plant. ^ But now we come to the good part, your own plants. Click on the User Database tab and you can enter ings of your own plants. You can include descriptions o foliage and flowers. You can include other information as the hybridizer, where, when, and from whom you atJP® the plant. You can even include a photo of your plant, program is the complete database for the violet hobbyist- ^ can’t go wrong for the $25.00 price tag, available nu AVSA Office in Beaumont, TX. I am sony to say that ^ gram is not available in an Apple version yet. Now, somebody would write a program for orchids... , __ - t?chhiiarY 2004 There are four kinds of container gardens: terrariums, dish gardens, natural gardens, and bottle gardens, although it is rare to see a bottle garden in one of our area shows, and I’ve never done one, so I’ll omit that category from this article. All container gardens are miniature scenes or landscapes. For African violet shows, these gardens must contain at least one blooming African violet plant along with other plants. If you are creating a container garden, it will be viewed from the front, but it needs to be effective from all sides. With the exception of the possible use of a piece of driftwood for line material and height, all plants must be rooted and living, with no cut material used. The first thing you should do is READ YOUR SCHEDULE. From the show schedule, you will determine whether there should be a theme used in your container garden. Then look for an appropriate container. Terrariums can be square, round, rectangular, or any other shape, but must have a cover. The container should be free of scratches, soil particles and stains. Dish gardens are created in low containers, without enclosure. A natural garden is a planting in something natural, such as a piece of lava, a seashell, driftwood, a gourd, or some similar object found in nature. If the object you have chosen for your natural garden does not have pockets for inserting plants, you may have to do some carving to make them work. The same elements and principles of design apply to the container gardens as to other exhibits in the Design Division of a show. In all container gardens, you have to consider the space you are going to fill. You don’t want to have your planting look skimpy or overcrowded. You want your creation to have good balance. It can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. When you are planning your miniature landscape, you will want to use a variety of plants for contrast in height, texture, and color of the foliage, with some having shiny leaves and others with a dull finish. The combination of plants used must be compatible with African violets - for example, you would definitely not want to use January • February 2004 a cactus plant in a container garden for one of our African violet shows. When I am creating a container garden, I try not to use more than five different varieties of plants, although I may use several plants of the same variety. I think using more varieties makes the planting look sort of haphazard. Be very sure that all plants you use are disease and bug free, and well-grown. If you are using accessories, they must be of the right scale for the planting and appropriate to the class title or theme of the show. Remember to “keep it simple" - do not over accessorize. You will need to build up the landscape to lead the eye. If you have a river (or the illusion of one) it should go into the scene, not across it. You can make meadows, woods, valleys, and cliffs in miniature landscapes for terrariums and dish gardens, just by the way you use rocks, wood, and your planting medium; however, you don’t want to have multiple or divided planting areas. You want the design to “flow.” Because of the types of containers provided by Mother Nature such as driftwood or lava rock, natural gardens MAY have more than one planting area or pocket. One suggestion I have is that you make cuttings of several varieties of plants, two to three months before you will need them, to have plenty of planting material to use in your garden. Another is to create our garden at least a week or two before a show to give it time to sort of “get settled in.” If you plant too far in advance and don’t give the container garden enough light, the plants will begin to elongate and get leggy which will disturb your proportion and scale. You will probably want to leave putting in an African violet until the last minute, so put an empty pot of the appropriate size into the scene where you want to place it just before the show. Good luck! From The Florida Connection publication of the AV Council of Florida African Violet Magazine 23 When l started growing violets seriously many years ago, I was told “how to", “you must do this", and “never do that". After months of research and asking the right questions, I started weeding out the facts from the myths regarding water and the African violet Recent internet postings dealt with the subject of water. Is one type of water and method for applying it better than another? Do I need to use aged water or room temperature water? Does foliar feeding really work? Grandmother always said not to get water on the leaves. I must confess that 1 do not let my water stand or use water that is at room temperature. The water I use is warm water from the tap with fertilizers added. I stuck my arm in water that had sat overnight and come to room temperature. It was cold! The temperature of the water must have been down in the 65° range. Knowing violets like air temperature in the 70’s, what about the water? What temperature is the water for plants that are being wicked? A friend of mine works for our local water agency as a supervisor. She has dealt with many types of water problems from industrial waste water to balancing pH. I asked her about the chlorine added to water. Her comment was, after laughing at me, “There is not enough chlorine added to the water to harm a violet”. She went on to say, “Think about your garden. You use water right out of the tap. Does the chlorine harm your garden?” By the way, she has some mar¬ velous violets at work from fellow workers who brought them in about dead and asked for help. Now I must add, please check with your water agency and see how much chlorine is added to the water in your area. Can you taste it as it comes out of the tap? In our area we can’t. Are we going to a tot of extra work that is not really needed by letting the water “age” and come to room temperature? 24 African Violet Magazine One of Dr. Jeff Smith’s articles on foliar feeding got me thinking and wondering. Can violets absorb nutrients through the leaves? Dr. Smith felt, after his experiments, that foliar feeding did very little for the plants. He did observe that the soil sometimes became dry, and he commented that if the plants were stressed for lack of water, the effects of fbSar feeding might not be seen. I also wonder: If the experiment had been continued for a longer time and used several violet varieties, might it have shown different results? In one of Dr. Charles Cole’s presentations at the Sacramento AVSA Convention, he stated that a plants growth will be affected by the amount of water that the plant receives. If a plant is dry, it does not have the necessary mechanics in its cells to carry on the growth process. Osmosis is the chief means by which nutrients in fluids pass in and out of plant and animal cells. Many ies have shown that plants, as well as animals, can absom well as excrete fluids through their leaves and skins. Water on a violet’s leaves was once thought to harmful to the plant. Now we know that a warm water ^ cleans the leaves and makes the plant grow better. ^ not sure how to do this, ask a fellow club member demonstration. pj, The proof in all this, I feel, is how your plants ^ your plants grow and bloom the way you’d like them _ you believe that aging water, or warm tap water, or wi or top watering, or bottom watering works - they do or So, keep on growing your way. ^ Water and how it’s applied are just two of the many ^ ables of violet culture. Find out what works for y° u l doing it! From the California Council January • Feb rUARY What’s Missing From This Picture? Chances are, few of today’s garden centers know as much about growing African Violets as you do. No doubt, this explains why so many knowledge¬ able Violet growers have a hard time finding the products they need. For anyone who knows what it takes to grow beautiful, full-blooming African Violets, it can be like putting together a puzzle, only to find there’s a piece missing. We know the feeling. That’s why we started the Selective Gardener, a plant care supplier that specializes in products for African Violets. Everything You Need to Grow Beautiful, Full-Blooming African Violets The Selective Gardener makes it easy to get the products you need. As a plant care supplier that specializes in African Violets, the Selective Gardener carries a full line of plant care products with brand names like Optimara. • Fully-dissolving, urea-free fertilizers • Self-watering devices such as the Watermaid and the new, spill-proof Optimara WaterShip • Ultralight, pH-balanced potting media • Pots, trays and plant covers • Show accessories and more From Leaf Cuttings to Finished Violets In addition to plant care products, the Selective Gardener offers African Violets in several pot sizes, including genuine Miniatures. You can also order leaf cuttings from all of the available Optimara and Rhapsodie varieties. Copyright 1998. Optim A Complete African Violet Resource The Selective Gardener is a complete African Violet resource. Send for the Selective Gardener catalog, and you will find offers for plant care products, Violets and leaf cuttings, even books and posters. Or go online, and you will find even more. At the Selective Gardener’s internet site (http://www. selectivegardener.com), you will have access to a number of resources not available anywhere else. • Growing tips from the world famous Holtkamp Greenhouses • Complete interactive Violet identification guide • Links to other useful sites such as Doctor Optimara, a symptom-based, interactive guide for diagnosing pests and pathogens • Reviews of African Violet products (Tip: If you do not have access to the internet, try your public library. Many libraries, now, provide computers for public use, as well as helpful assistance for anyone wanting to go online.) Gardener Pat Richards 15105 S. Seminole Drive Olathe, KS 66062-3004 email: Patter257@aol.com January. In the northern hemisphere, cold, bleak, anticli- mactic. January. In the violet world, a time for rebirth, peaked interest, and planning. January. A new African Violet Magazine from which planning can be done, either to attend the AVSA convention in TUcson, or to order new cul- tivars from the many hybridizers and commercials. It is with this in mind we discuss selection of cultivars, both new and old! WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Do you want variety? Do you want uniqueness? Do you want showplants? Are you nostalgic? Do you want easy? Perhaps you even want a mix of several or all of the above. Regardless, there is a mini or a semi for you (actually, there are several!) and a supplier out there for you. For variety, select a commercial who doesn’t do a lot of hybridizing. Lisa DiMambro at Chestnut Country Violets comes to mind. Also, because she grows a lot of different varieties, she keeps on hand a lot of vintage varieties. Lisa also exhibits and does very well at national conventions, so she carries a good selection of showplants. Unique? The first commercial which comes to mind is Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses headed up by Paul Sorano. Paul is well known for putting out exquisite plants with exquisite blooms. The classic ‘Irish Flirt’ comes to mind with its wonderful double green “cabbage” like blooms. It’s tremendously heavy blooming, with foliage that is not incredibly easy to grow. It and its sister, ‘Sassy Sister’, is a minor image except hav¬ ing a pink bloom with wide green edge. All would agree these cultivars set the standard for uniqueness. Two recent introductions are ‘Plumberry Glow’, with very attractive dark variegated foliage topped by lovely plum colored thumbprint blooms. ‘Crystal Blue’ was introduced last year, and it is simply ethereal: blooms of blue and white with a soft yellow eye seemingly made of sheer silk arise on a lovely variegated plant, giving it an absolutely “take your breath away" look. Showplants? I always think of Hortense Pittman’s plants: perfectly symmetrical plants which will stay in size and 26 African Violet Magazine which are extremely heavy blooming with very little coaxing. Names such as ‘Little Pro’, ‘Definitely Danyl’, ‘Petite Jewel’, ‘Winnergreen’, ‘Magic Blue’, ‘Precious Pink’ are just a few , which immediately come to mind. Showplants and unique? Think of her girl foliage varieties such as ‘Petite Blarney’ and ‘Peppermint Girl’. While Hortense doesn’t sell, her plants are available from Shirley’s House of Violets, Chestnut Country Violets, Cape Cod Violets, and The Violet House, among oth¬ ers. Another great place to go for showplants is Rob’s Violets. Here you get a lot of everything: heavy blooming showplants as well as unique corals, fantasys, crown variegation, reds and chimeras, and easy, tried and true varieties. Just think of ‘Rob’s Mad Cat’, ‘Rob’s Mango Mongo’, ‘Rob’s Love Bite’, ‘Rob’s Boogie Woogie’, ‘Rob’s Squeeze Toy’ and ‘Rob’s Fuddy Duddy’ to get you motivated! Nostalgia? Try Marsha Belisle of the Violet House. She carries many, many cultivars, including Jimmy Dates’ wasp hybrids, Ethel Champions’ lovely “TYinket” variegates, as well as many of the wonderful Ness varieties. Also strong in that area is John Cook at Cape Cod Violets, with his amazing collection of rare and hard to find violets as well as the best newer cultivars. As far as easy, how about TYavis’ Violets? Travis Davis stocks a little bit of something for everyone, but mostly, those which grow and do well year after year after year: a lot of Pittman, a lot of Rob’s, and a lot of Lyons. And for someone with a lot of the esoteric cultivars, try going to Shirley’s House of Violets, Shirley Sanders, proprieter. Now we’re talking about the unique, mostly show plants hybridized by Shirley’s brother Dean Hobbs: ‘Dean’s Blue Bunny’, ‘Dean’s Ivory Lace’, ‘Dean’s Peach Frost* to name a few. Shirley carries many of Hortense’s new and older vari¬ eties, plus she has begun hybridizing on her own and now carries her own line of “Shirl’s” plants. They have wonderful foliage and tend to put on a head of bloom reminiscent of ke cream cones! I might also mention Violet Perfection by Gini McCaru^ which carries a moderate variety of exceptional minis an semis, and Bluebird Greenhouse operated by ^ ie Glembocki. January • February 2004 PLANT OR LEAF? Most commercials offer the choice of purchasing by plant or leaf. If given the choice, what do you buy? If you want quick performance, get a plant, but if you’re patient and want good results, try a leaf! By using a leaf, you can get a plant which is used to your environment, your soil, and over the long run, will do better. Plants come in the grower’s soil, which often is quite different from yours with respect to con¬ stitution, how hard it is packed, whether it’s been wicked or not, and overall root structure. When new plants arrive, it is advisable to wait a couple of days to allow them to recover from the shock of the transfer, and then transplant them into your own soil. At the same time they can be shaped up to improve symmetry, and leaves damaged in shipment can be removed. Basically, your bright, new plants can get off to a fresh start! As for a leaf, usually the commercial will send two. If their ends haven’t been wrapped, don’t panic, as this may have allowed your leaf to begin forming the callus necessary for rooting. If your leaf is limp from its journey, you can take it out of its baggie and place it in a bowl of warm water overnight. This will usually revive a wilted leaf. Another alter¬ native is to place a small amount of warm water in the bag¬ gie, take a deep breath, blow into the baggie (a lot of hot, moist air and beneficial C02), and seal it up. This also helps restore a weakened leaf to good condition. Once the leaf is ready to plant, examine the end of the petiole. You may want to recut it 1) if it’s too long, 2) if it’s cut at the wrong angle, or 3) it it’s ragged, damaged, or oth¬ erwise questionable. If you recut, be sure it is done at a slant, with the exposed face of the slant toward the front of the leaf; if you cut with the exposed slant to the back of the leaf, the plandets will come up behind the leaf! Now, where to put the leaf? Many growers place it in separate pots among their regular collection. Others devote a specific growing area to propagation. Some place their leaves in shallow dishes, oth¬ ers in enclosed containers. As for me, I prefer die latter, using small, clear salad bar or bakery containers with a hinged lid. They are cleaned out; then fresh, moist soil is put in about 1-1 1/2" deep, and the leaves are placed in rows within the container. A permanent marker is used to mark the name of the leaf on the top of the container. The benefit to doing this is you should not have to water or monitor the leaves until it’s time to transplant, because you have created a mini, self-watering terrarium. For those of us with hectic lives, this is wonderful! There is some debate as to what type of soil to use to start your leaves. Some individuals prefer pure vermiculite, others a half and half mix of vermiculite and perlite, while others place the leaf directly into the same potting mix as the rest of their collection. I prefer the latter, as again, the plandet has to go through less culture shock when transplanted, and also, it’s one less mix I have to prepare and store. Bottom line is, though, do what works for you! As far as fertilization, once plandets have begun to come up, within 6-8 weeks depending on light and temperature, you can fertilize with a weak fertil¬ izer solution. Once the leaves of the plandets reach about the size of a dime, or your pinkie fingernail, it’s time to move them into their own pot. From this point on, they should really take off, as they’re now receiving individualized attention with all the perks: fertilizer, great growing medium, good air circulation, and plenty of light. Within a short period, you should have a lovely, blooming plant! ARIZONA! Convention should be very exciting this year as we trav¬ el to exotic TUcson, Arizona. This issue of the AVM is filled with convention information which should spark your interest in attending. Be sure and look over your collection, identify and start working with a mini or a semi you can bring with you for the show, and start saving those pennies to purchase the great new varieties the attending commercials will have on hand. Take care! WHY REMOVE SUCKERS/SIDE-SHOOTS? by Sue Gardner Some people wonder why we bother to remove suckers, also called side-shoots, on a standard African violet They suggest that it is best to allow the plant to grow as it likes. If however, suckers are allowed to develop, the plant will become an untidy mass of leaves. This will block light from reaching the center leaves. Why is that important? It is known that African violets usually produce flowers in the axils of the center three rows of leaves. From experience I have found that the crown or center leaves need to receive light to stimulate flower bud production. So keep the center January • February 2004 leaves open to the light. Why can we grow trailers which flower if the above is true? 'ftailers have smaller leaves which are further apart which allows more light to penetrate. If, however you allow a trailer to become too bushy, flowering will be restricted. That is why leaves are pruned to open the plant to light pro¬ ducing optimum flowering. From the Newsletter of the Early Mom AV Group, Australia African Violet Magazine 27 Louisiana Lagniappe New Cultivar2003 Hybridized & Exhibited by: Kent Stork Standard 28 African Violet Magazine January* February 2004 Rob's Slap Happy 2nd Best New Cultivar 200JAVSA National Show Exhibited & Hybridized by -. Ralph Robinson Semiminiature In September a review class and exam was held in Austin, Texas for Judges. It was very enlightening. These are some of the things the Teacher, Meredith Hall, mentioned. 1. The AVSA rule changes are published in the Shows and Judges column of the African Violet Magazine. Most of the changes appear in the September/October issue. Update your Handbook immediately with any rule changes. 2. Leam the reason for the Handbook and the stated purposes of the AVSA . 3. The handbook has illustrations of the various types of blooms and foliage. Leam these (to be called a “Geneva Edge" the band must be white!) 4. The Classification Committee disqualifies entries with bugs such as: mealy bugs, thrips, and mites. The speaker point¬ ed out that mites are not insects, but a member of the spi¬ der family, and most insecticides will not kill them. 5. Powdery mildew is a fungus and can appear overnight on a plant with poor air circulation. Exhibits showing powdery mildew will be eliminated from consideration for an award. 6. When preparing for an AVSA show event, there are a few things to remember. a. A club can apply for an AVSA award package only once a year. b. Application must be sent 2 months prior to the event, and 2 copies of the show schedule must be included in the request. c. The show schedule is the “law of the show”. 7. Only AVSA members in good standing (dues current) can be judges. Only AVSA members in good standing (dues current) can enter the AVSA collection class. 8. Plant must have been in your possession for three months prior to the show. 9. Awards: Violets are judged on merit. Points are deducted for spent blooms, baby leaves, blemishes, broken leaves, suckers, size of pot, centering in pot, etc. a. A violet must get 90 points to receive a blue ribbon. b. Only blue ribbon winners are eligible to be considered for AVSA awards or any other special award. c. Best in Show is chosen from the Best in Class and Best Collection winners. d. Judges cannot disqualify plants, but can “eliminate from consideration” for an award. Some of the rea¬ sons for elimination are pests, disease, wrong name, wrong size, flared top pot, etc. e. Judges may ask for reclassification for plants that have been placed in the wrong class. 10. Judges’ decisions are final unless they violate ASVA rules. If there is a question concerning a violation or judgment, the Show Chairman can recall the judges if they have not left the show. All three must be present to be recalled to reconsider a judgment. Otherwise, the original judgment is left standing. 11. A trailer must have at least three crowns to be considered. The are judged on form and not symmetry. 12. Species plants are not judged by the same standards as hybrids. 13. Judges may not pick plants up or handle in any manner. Before the exam portion of the review, several plants were displayed for judging, and Mrs. Hall went over each plant with comments and pointed out what would be deducted for various problems. It was a very educational experience. From The Victoria (Texas) AVS Newsletter Coming Events Deadlines January/February AVM - November 1 March/April AVM - January 1 May/June AVM - March 1 July/August AVM - May 1 September/October AVM - July 1 November/December AVM - September All events notices must be in writing. Submit by Email . Fax: 409.839.4329 or US Postal Service: AVSA Coining Events 2375 North St., Beaumont, TX 77702. 30 African Violet Magazine January • February 2004 PETIOLE ROT - OR A DISORDER BY ANY OTHER NAME by Sue Haffner (with help,from Helen Van Pelt Wilson’s *African Violet Book”) Most of us have seen this happen: some outer leaves of your violets turn brown and mushy where they droop over the edge of the pot. It’s a discouraging sight. A closer look may show an orange/brown or rust-colored lesion at the point where the leaf petiole touches the pot rim or lies in con¬ tact with the soil. Some stalks may already have shriveled and collapsed. (This petiole rot should not be confused with the normal gradual aging and yellowing of mature leaves as the plant grows.) This is generally considered to be a chemical injury, called “efflorescence disease.” It is apparendy caused by contact of the leaf stalks with fertilizer salts that collect on the surface of the soil and on the rim of the pot. Get rid of the incrustation as quickly as possible. Remove any affected leaves, cutting as far down on the stem as you can. Flush the soil with heavy watering, about three times in an hour will do it. Stir the top soil slighdy with a fork; then repot in a clean container of the same size. If you can, use cooled boiled water or distilled water for a couple of weeks after this. Good culture will minimize this trouble by keeping peti¬ oles sturdy and helping keep the leaves above the pot rims. Top watering will also keep fertilizer salts flushed down into the soil. Many of the problems we see with violets can be chalked up to problems of culture, not that of pests or diseases. If a plant under lights or in a window shows signs of being unhappy, move it to a different location. See if that helps. I have found that, especially in hot weather, some varieties react to excess heat and light by developing tight centers. These can usually be corrected by putting the plant in a north window or other lower-light situation. “Crystal Power," an article by Pam Kennedy in the Jan/Feb 2000 AVM, discusses the crust of orange-brown crystals that sometimes form around the edges of pots, or even along the edges of violet leaves. This is caused by fertilizer salt build-up. Left untreated, it can alter the pH of the potting mix, rendering it toxic for the plant. This imbalance can bum the delicate feeder roots. Petiole rot and tight centers can be symptoms of fertilizer imbalance. Wash away any crystals with lukewarm water, leach the potting mix until water is clear. Dry leaves gently with tissue or towel and drain excess water before putting the plant back on its reservoir. Frequent repotting will help avoid this problem. From the “AFRICAN VIO-LET-TER” publication of the Central California AVS, and the CA Council News Fun Facts About Tucson Did you know that -TUcson is the 30th largest city in the US and has a current population of 514,674 (June 2003) • The median age in TUcson is 35 years. • TUcson covers 226 square miles in land area. • Tucson sits at an elevation of 2,389 feet above sea level. • TUcson’s average annual precipitation is 11.24 inches. • TUcson has more sunshine than any other US city, approximately 350 days a year. • The average maximum temperature in TUcson is 83.4 degrees, the average minimum temperature is 53.6 degrees. • TUcson is the second most commonly mis-spelled city in the country after Pittsburgh. • Money Magazine ranked TUcson as one of the top 6 places to retire in the country. January • February 2004 TUcson placed 5th in MSN’s list of “Best Places for Outdoor Activities.” Bicycling Magazine ranked TUcson as the 3rd best bicy¬ cling city in the US. TUcson was ranked the number one city for spas and resorts by the Zagat Survey. Birder’s World Magazine ranked TUcson and southeast Arizona as the top bird watch¬ ing area in the country. African Violet Magazine 31 Little Jqyhawker Exhibited by: Martha Dyson Hybridized by : M. Gall Semiminiature Frozen In lime Exhibited by: Olive Ma Robinson Hybridized by: S. Sorano Standard 2004 32 African Violet Magazine January • February i AVSA CONVENTION SHOW SCHEDULE TUCSON, ARIZONA 2004 HORTICULTURE DIVISION-AMATEUR SECTION I - COLLECTIONS CLASS 1. AVSA Collection of three different registered standard varieties all of tiie same type (three single crown or three trailers) or three different species, regardless of type. 2. AVSA Collection of three different registered varieties of the same type (three single crown miniatures, three miniature trail¬ ers, three single crown semiminiatures, or three semiminiature trailers). 3. Holtkamp Memorial Collection of three registered Optimara and/or Rhapsodie plants, all of the same type: standard, minia- 4. Robinson Collection of three registered Rob’s Violets plants, all of the same type (three single crown miniatures, three minia¬ ture trailers, three single crown semiminiatures, or three semi- miniature trailers) or three standards. 5. Buckeye Collection of three registered standard Hancock (Buckeye series) plants. SECTION V - SEMIMINIATURE PLANTS, ANY TYPE BLOSSOM 31. Purple and all shades of blue 32. Pink and coral 33. Red and fuchsia 34. Orchid, lavender, white, and blush 35. AD edged 36. Multicolor and chimera 37. Fantasy 38. Purple and all shades of blue, variegated foliage. 39. Pink, coral red, and fuchsia, variegated foliage 40. Orchid, lavender, white, and blush, variegated foliage 41. Multicolor and chimera, variegated foliage 42. All edged, variegated foliage 43. Fantasy, variegated foliage SECTION VI - TRAILERS, SPECIES AND VINTAGE VIOLETS, ANY TYPE BLOSSOM, ANY FOLIAGE SECTION II - STANDARD PLANTS, ANY TYPE BLOSSOM, GREEN FOLIAGE 6. Dark blue and purple 7. light to medium blue 8. Light to medium {rink 9. Dark pink, rose, and coral 10. Red, wine, fuchsia, and plum 11. Lavender, mauve, orchii white, cream, and blush 12. Multicolor and chimera (all shades of blue and purple) 13. Multicolor and chimera (all shades of pink, red, and yellow) 14. Fantasy 15. All edged SECTION m - STANDARD PLANTS, ANY TYPE BLOSSOM, VARIEGATED FOLIAGE 16. Blue, purple, lavender, and orchid 17. Pink, red, fuchsia, coral and wine 18. White, cream, and blush 19. Multicolor and chimera 20. Fantasy and all edged SECTION IV - MINIATURE PLANTS, ANY TYPE BLOSSOM 21. Purple and ail shades of blue 22. Pink, coral, red, and fuchsia 23. Orchid, lavender, white, cream, and blush 24. Multicolor, chimera, and all edged 25. Fantasy 26. Purple and all shades of blue, variegated foliage 27. Pink, coral red, and fuchsia, variegated foliage 28. Orchid, lavender, white, and blush, variegated foliage 29. Multicolor, chimera, and Ml edged, variegated foliage 30. Fantasy, variegated foliage 45. Miniature trailers 46. Semiminiature trailers 47. Saintpaulia species and natural hybrids 48. Vintage Violets (must be at least 25 years old) SECTION VII - NEW CULTIVARS 49. Seedlings 50. Sports or mutants SECTION VIII AFRICAN VIOLET PLANT IN UNUSUAL CONTAINER 51. One African violet plant, either standard, miniature, or 52. One African violet trailer in container SECTION IX - GESNERIADS OTHER THAN AFRICAN VIOLETS 53. Miniatures (may be displayed in regular pots or growing in clear container, cover permitted; no single plant more than 5* in diameter) 54. Tuberous-rooted (Sinningia, Nautikxaiyx, Chiysothemis, etc.) 55. Scaly-rhizomed in bloom 56. Fibrous-rooted in bloom (Streptocarpus/Streptocarpella) 57. Fibrous-rooted in bloom (Long stemmed such as Aeschynanthus, Columnea, Nematanthus, etc) 58. Fibrous-rooted in bloom (All other blooming fibrous-rooted Chirita. Episcia, Petrocosmea, Alsobia, etc.) 59. Gesneriads grown for ornamental foliage (All Episda) 60. Gesneriads grown for ornamental foliage (Other than Episda) Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine A-1 DESIGN DIVISION SECTION X - INTERPRETIVE PLANT ARRANGEMENTS All entries in this section are to be designs using one or more blooming African violet plants, removed from their pots, with the root ball encased in plastic or some other material. Fresh cut, dried, treated, painted, and colored plant materials and any man-made materials are permitted. Artificial plant materials, live or dead creatures, and the American or other national flags are not per¬ mitted. Accessories, backdrops and/or draping are permitted. Tables in all classes are covered in white. Class 61. Fiesta of Violets - It’s party time! The show theme, “Fiesta of Votes”, celebrates the beauty of violets with a Southwestern flair. Fiesta is a Spanish word that means “Party". There is lively music, tasty food, and dancing. Create your show theme interpre¬ tation in a white niche 28*H X 21 1/2* W X151). limit 6 entries. Class 62. Old Tucson - Built in 1939 for the epic western movie “Arizona”. Old TUcson continues to preserve die frontier way of life of 100 years ago. It will take you back in time when the west was wild, complete with cowboys, horses, gunfights, dirt roads, wooden sidewalks, and hitching posts. If you want to create a western design, this is the one for you, and you can bet that those cowboys were at the fiestas too! Staged in white niches 28*H X 21 1/2"W X 15"D. Limit 6 entries. Class 63. Desert Sun - Hot, hot, hot! But it’s a dry heat The rays of the sun shine brightly onto the desert and the creatures that inhabit it Everyone Looks for a shade from the intense summer heat. To be staged in a white niche 28*H x 21-1/2"W x 15"D. Limit 6 entries. Class 64. Spanish Trail - For this design, use a trailing African violet, giving it a Spanish flair. Staged in white niches 28*H X 21 1/2 "W X I5*D. Limit 6 entries. Class 65. Spirit of the Southwest - There is a special feeling in the Southwest, an aura of serenity, timelessness, an instinct of survival This can be felt in tire warm rays of the sun, heard in die call of the gray hawk circling above, found in the smell of creosote after a summer rain. It b seen in the clear blue sky and in die rugged majesty of mountains. It is the “Spirit of the Southwest!” Staged in white niches 28*H X 21 1/2*W X 15"D. limit 6 entries. SECTION XI INTERPRETIVE FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS These designs will use fresh-cut African violet blossoms any color (except where specified). Fresh-cut, (hied, treated, painted materials, and manmade materials are permitted. No artificial plant materials, live or dead creatures, nor the American or other nation¬ al Sags are permitted. Accessories, backdrops, and/or draping are permitted unless restricted by individual classes Class 66. Mariachi Melody - Mariachi music plays a very important part in the Hispanic culture. The Mariachis are musi¬ cians, and they often stroll through the crowds playing guitars trumpets, and violins. Their outfits are very colorful, accented by gleaming silver buttons ami large-brimmed hats. Their music can be either upbeat or stow and sensual. This design is staged in a light¬ ed white niche 10”HX8*WX STL Background material required. Limit 10 entries. Class 6 7. San Xavier Mission Dei Bac - This mission was found- ed by Father Kino in 1692, and is known as “Tire White Dove of the Desert". Built entirety of burned brick covered with lime plas¬ ter, the structure is a series of domes and arches. A popular place for marriages and festivals, it is also a place of worship for Tbhono O’ohdam Indians. Use white blossoms for this design. Staged in a white niche that is 24"H X 18 1/2"W X 15"D. Limit 6 entries. Class 68. Desert Mirage - As the intense desert sun beats down on the parched earth, heat currents quiver skyward. Tb the weary, thirsty, lost soul, it looks like water ahead.He continues onward to discover it was just an illusion. Make your own mirage with an underwater design. Staged for viewing from the front only.Contames must not exceed 12" in width. No backdrops or underlay permit¬ ted. Limit 6 entries. Gass 69. Pinata Party - No fiesta is complete without a pina- ta. Pinatas are generally animal shaped and made of papier-mache using bright colorful tissue paper. They are filled with candy and hung from a tree. The children are then blindfolded and try to hit the pinata with a long stick to break the pinata open so the candy fells to the ground for all to enjoy. This design is a mobile. It may be suspended from a dowel or similar object laid across the top of the niche. Dowels or rods are to be supplied by the exhibitor. Staged in white niches 24"H X 18 1/2"W X 15 H D. Limit 6 entries. Class 70. Painted Desert - The Painted Desert is a region in Arizona that is known for its geographic formations and beautiful colors. This is a challenge design and all materials, blossoms, wf be provided. Just bring your design tools. Staged in white niches 24"H X 18 1/2 "W X 15"D. Limit 6 entries. SMALL INTERPRETIVE FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS Gass 71. Los Pocos Locos (the little crazies) After a couple of margaritas, you’ll be in the mood to create something a little crazy with a Southwestern flair Have fun with this one! A small arrange¬ ment staged in a white niche 8"H X 6 1/2"W X 4"D. Limit 8 entries. Gass 72. Rodeo Days - Celebrated by one and all, everyone loves the cowboy. Watching the bareback bull riders is thrilling! Band racing and calf roping are also exciting events. The rodeo down saves the cowboy from danger of the charging bulls. This is the time to celebrate the life of the rodeo wrangler A small arrangement staged in white niches 8"H X 6 1/2"W X 4’D. Limit 8 entries. Gass 73. Hot Salsa - A Mexican sauce that tingles the taste buds with the flavors of jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. To interpret this hot, spicy design, use red or coral blossoms. A small arrangement staged in niches 8"H X 6 1/2"W X 4T>. limit 8 entries. SECTION xn - CONTAINER GARDENS These designs are miniature gardens or landscapes with one or more blooming African violet plants and other growing plant spec- imens. AD plants must be planted in the container. See Gass fix con¬ tainer size. No cut plant materials, artificial plant materials, liveit* dead creatures, American or other national flags are permitted. Accessories are optional No limit on number of entries in each class, but only one entry by each exhibitor in each class. Gass 74. Mexican Adobe Patio - In the Southwest, the patio is an outdoor extension of the home that is designed for living and entertaining. Adobe is a day brick that is often used for walls and flooring. Trees, flowerbeds, and potted plants are used to create a comfortable and relaxing space. Depict the theme in a terrarium not to exceed 24” in length or width. Class 75. Sabino Canyon - An oasis in the desert, Sabino Canyon is a favorite picnic, hiking, and swimming area for Tdcsonans to get away from the desert heat Steep canyon walls rise up fr° m A-2 Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine the creek that is lined with cottonwood trees, leafy shrubs, and grass¬ es. There are several rock bridges that go over the creek as it winds through the canyon. Create this miniature scene in a shallow dish garden not to exceed 18". Class 76. The Desert Blooms - After the summer rains, the desert is full of color. The saguaro is the giant of the desert that towers over other plants, displaying beautiful white blossoms on top. Create a natural garden depicting the brilliant blooms of the desert flow¬ ers and shrubs that thrive among the cacti. Natural garden not to exceed 24" in any direction. SPECIAL EXHIBITS DIVISION SECTION Xm-Education Exhibit 77. Education exhibit (by invitation only) COMMERCIAL HORTICULTURE DIVISION SECTION XIV-SPECIMEN PLANTS A COLLECTIONS 78. AVSA Collections-Standard Plants 79. AVSA Coftections-Miniatures and Semiminiatures 80. Hoftkamp Coflections C. NEW CU1TIVARS (from seed or mutation) 81. Standard African Violets 82. Miniature African Violets 83. Semiminiature African Violets 84. African Violet Trailers (standard, miniature, semiminiature) E. SPECIMEN AFRICAN VIOLETS 85. Standards, plain green foliage, solid color and two-tone blossoms 86. Standards, plain green foliage, all other blossoms 87. Standards, variegated foliage 88. Miniatures, plain foliage 89. Miniatures, variegated foliage 90. Semiminiatures, plain green foliage, solid color and two- tone blossoms 91. Semiminiatures, plain green foliage, all other blossoms 92. Semiminiatures, variegated foliage 93. frailers, (standard, miniature, semiminiature) 94. Saintpaulia species G. GESNERIADS OTHER THAN AFRICAN VIOLETS 95. Fibrous-rooted gesneriads in bloom 96. All other gesneriads in bloom 97. Gesneriads grown for ornamental foliage SECTION XV-SPECIMEN PLANTS 98. Display Tables 99. Commercial Showcase-Horticulture only 100. Commercial Showcase-Horticulture plus-indudes a creative aspect HORTICULTURE DIVISION AMATEUR-RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. Only amateur AVSA members in good standing and registered at titis convention are eligible to enter exhibits in this division. 2. ENTRIES will be accepted on Wednesday, April 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1.00 to 6:00 p.m. If an entry is not entered by the owner, the name of the person making the entry must be on the back of the entry tag. Members ON TOUR ON WEDNESDAY ONLY, MUST turn in a list of their entries at the Convention registration desk on TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY and MUST receive a late pass to enter on WEDNESDAY, April 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. 3. Only dean, healthy plants which have been in the possession of the exhibitor for at least three months win be accepted. 4. Plants must be correctly named or they will be subject to correction by the classification committee. 5. Double potting, flared-top pots, supports, and collars will not be accepted. All pots must be non-decorative. DO NOT COVER POTS IN FOIL. Self-watering pots, such as Moist-Rite and Oyama, etc. may be entered in colors such as white, black, green, or any neutral tone. All other plants must be slip potted into pots in colors such as white, green, or any neutral tone. Slip potting means dropping the pot containing the plant into a dean pot of the same or just a fraction larger sized pot It is recommended that plastic be placed in the bottom of the outer pot to prevent leakage onto tire table covering. This must be worked out prior to entry. Exception: trailers, trailing species, trailing gesneriads, and gesneriads in protective containers may be exhibited in the containers in which they are growing. 6. An exhibitor may enter only one plant of each variety in classes 6 through 48. 7. An exhibitor may enter plants of the same variety in classes 1, 2,3,4,5,47,48,51, and 52 as these in classes 6 through 46. 8. All plants in classes 1 through 52 must be single-crown plants except trailers and some species, which may be multiple-crown. S. Amazon velutina, S. Amazon grotei. S. Sigi Falls, and S. House of Amani will be accepted in Class 47. 9. Any number of new cultivars may be entered, provided they have been originated by the exhibitor from hybridization, from purchased seed, or from mutation; or the released rights in writing from the hybridizer have been given to tire exhibitor for purchased seedlings. New cultivars may be entered by num¬ ber or name, and the entry tag must indicate whether it is a new cultivar from seed or mutation. A sport (mutant) may be exhibited as a “Sport of__If a name has been given to the sport, the name in parenthesis may follow, such as “Sport of ‘Valencia’ (‘Dale’s Dream’)New cultivars must not have been previously shown in an AVSA Convention Show. 10. Gesneriads (other than African violets) may be exhibited in protective containers, and natural-colored mulch may be used on the soil surface. 11. Exhibits will be judged by the merit method of judging. The decision of the judges will be final unless in conflict with AVSA rules or rules of the schedule. Only qualified AVSA judges will be permitted to serve as judges. 12. Only blue ribbon winners will be eligible to receive special awards. 13. Any Aftican violet entered in any of the collection classes, receiving a blue ribbon, will be eligible for other awards. Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine A-3 14. AD African violets entered in the Hofckamp Memorial Collection, Class 3, must be AVSA registered Optimara and/or Rhapsodie 3. plants and must be different plants of the same type. 15. AD African violets entered in die Robinson Collections, Class 4, and Buckeye Collections, Class 5, muss be AVSA registered. 16. Only one collection may be entered by an exhibitor in each class; AVSA Coflection, Class 1 and 2, Holtkamp Memorial Collection, Class 3, Robinson Collection, Class 4, Buckeye Collection. Class 5. 17. AVSA will afford all possible protection to exhibits, but will not be responsible for any damages or losses. 18. Entries must be checked out on Saturday night, April 17. Instructions on check out will be given at the convention. DESIGN DIVISION RULES AND REGULATIONS 1. Both amateur and commercial AVSA members in good stand¬ ing and registered at this convention are eligible to enter exhibits in this division. 2. Entries will be accepted on Wednesday, April 14 from 9:00 to 11:30 A.M. and 1:00 to 6:00 P.M. Members ON TOUR WEDNESDAY ONLY MUST turn in a list of design entries at the Convention registration desk on TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY and MUST receive a late pass to enter on WEDNESDAY, April 14 from 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. Design entries will be dosed on WEDNESDAY, at 9:00 P.M., and all designs must be in place for classification. Each exhibitor may have only one entry per class and is limited to a total of 8 entries in classes 61 through 73 (interpretive flower and plant arrangements) and one in each of the container garden dasses. 3. .Ml tables will be covered in white ctoths and all niches are white. 4. A written subtitle defining the exhibitor’s interpretation of any class may be written in black ink cm a white 3" x 5" index card. 5. Advance written reservations are required for ALL design class¬ es- Anyone desiring to enter designs must send a completed reservation blank (or copy) from this show schedule by regu¬ lar mail only, postmarked no earlier than February 3,2004 or la*er than March 25,2004 to: Betty Hazard, P.O. Box 309, Marana, AZ 85653. 6. No telephone reservations will be accepted. Persons wishing to cancel confirmed reservations or ask questions concerning schedule or staging of designs may call (520) 682-3154, e-mail NW8TtKsonAys@acicc«n, or write to die above address. Commercial Horticulture Division Rules and Regulations 1. Only commercial AVSA members in good standing and regis¬ tered at this convention are eligible to enter this Division, A commercial exhibitor may enter EITHER a display table OR a commercial showcase, but not both. Exhibitors in a commer¬ cial showcase class may also enter specimen horticulture. Section XIV. All commercial exhibitors are eligible to enter the Design Division. 2. For dates and times for entering exhibits, please refer to rule 2 under HORTICULTURE DIVISION AMATEUR. All plants must be correctly named and must have been in the possession of the exhibitor for at least three months prior to convention. All African violets must be in bloom and must be single crown plants, except trailers, some species. 4. In the Specimen Plant Section, exhibitors may enter any num¬ ber of plants in each class, but only one plant of the same vari¬ ety in the same class. Exhibitors may enter plants of the same variety in the AVSA Collections, classes 78 and 79 and the Holtkamp Memorial Collection, class 80, as are entered in the other classes. Exhibitors may enter one collection in each col¬ lection class. Plants entered in the Holtkamp Memorial Collection class must be AVSA registered Optimara/Rhapsodie plants. AVSA collections rules are the same as they are for amateurs. 5. Any African violet plant in Specimen Plant, Display Table, or Commercial Showcase sections may be designated as compet¬ ing for the AVSA Best New Cultivar Awards. Entries may be seedlings, sports, or mutants originated by the exhibitor, or rights and ownership to them released by the hybridizer, and must not have been previously shown in an AVSA Convention show. Each entry must be labeled “New Cultivar”. 6. Each display table shall contain 15 plants (no merchandise). Three, all of the same type, miniatures or semiminiatures, or minia¬ ture or semiminiature trailers shall count as a specimen plant and shall be judged as one unit. The display must be predom¬ inantly (at least 75%) African violets. Other gesneriads may be included in the 15 plants and will be judged as one unit 7. Exhibits in the Commercial Showcase Section will be allotted table space sufficient for their display. Table covers will be neu¬ tral. Exhibits in this section shall contain 6-10 plants, either miniature, semiminiature, standard, or trailing African violets, or other gesneriads. Showcases must be predominantly (mate than 50%) African violets or designs using African violets. Class 99, Commercial Showcase-Horticulture only shall be a col¬ lection of 6-10 plants with NO embellishment Class 100. Commercial Showcase-Horticulture plus must include a cre¬ ative aspect, and may indude designs (flower or plant arrange¬ ments or container gardens) incorporating African violets. Earn design will count as the equivalent of one entry. No merchan¬ dise will be allowed in this section. 8. In Commercial Showcases each entry in the exhibit will be judged. Class 99 shall use standard plant name and entry tags supplied by Entries. In Class 100, die exhibitor has the option to use the standard plant name tag provided by Entries, orto provide his own tag or diagram. Hie entry book number of earn plant or arrangement must appear on the tag or diagram. For class 100, no ribbon awards will be given, instead, each show¬ case with all blue ribbon exhibits will receive a rosette. A score sheet shall be given to each exhibitor showing how awards were determined. 9. A 6' table with three tiers will be furnished for each ex ®~7' in the Display Thble Section. Uniformly covered tables shall furnished. The exhibitor may provide their own coV ^ nf1 ^ Colored lights which distort or enhance die color of the P tan will not be permitted. . 10. Any shape and type of pot for specimen plants will be pet®*" ted except flared top pots. Supports and collars wffi mitted. Pots in the specimen plant section must be slip into clean, non-decorative pots in colors such as white, or any neutral tone. The bottom of tire pot containing the A-4 Supplement to fanuaiy • February 2004 African Violet Magazine must be completely covered with plastic or aluminum foil. The pot is then inserted into a pot of the same size or shape. The inside pot may be of any color and may extend above the rim of the outside pot Exceptions to slip potting are self contained reservoirs (i.e., Oyama, Moist Rite, etc.) in colors such as white, green, black, or any neutral tone. Pots in the Display Thble Section do not have to be covered and may be elevated and tilted with individual pot holders. 11. Prior to judging, signs, cards, or codes identifying the exhibitor may not be displayed on the display tables or commercial showcases. 12. Exhibits will be judged by the merit method of judging. The deci¬ sion of the judges is final unless in conflict with AVSA rules or rules of the schedule. Only qualified AVSA judges will be permitted to serve as judges. 13. Only blue ribbon winners will be eligible to receive awards. 14. Entries in the Display Tbble Section and the Commercial Showcase Section will not count toward Commercial Sweepstakes or Design Sweepstakes Awards. 15. Rosettes will be awarded as merited to the exhibitors receiving first, second, and third highest number of points in each Display Thble and Commercial Showcase class. An Honorable Mention Rosette will be awarded to die exhibitor receiving the fourth highest number of points. 16. AVSA will afford all possible protection to exhibits but will not be responsible for any damages or losses. 17. To reserve a display table, space for a commercial showcase, or for further information, contact Pat Richards, 15105 S. Seminole Dr., Olathe, KS 66062-3004. Phone (913)710-1388, e-mail, Patter257@aol.com. Reservations must be made no later than March 1, 2004. African Violet Society of America, Inc. 2004 Tours - Tucson, Arizona Tour#l NOGALES, MEXICO AND TUBAC, ARIZONA Monday, April 12,2004 830 am to 430 pm i is a chance to visit our neighbor, Mexico, 65 miles south of TUcson. We will stop in Nogales, Arizona, and walk across die border to Nogales, Sonora. A typ- * ical border town, Nogales has many shops and street } cost perfumes, and much more. Haggling 1 to be part of the shopping experience, but lately, most prices are fixed. Good shopping streets a ft's a good idea to walk in pairs or a group rather than singles. tr#2 SAN XAVIER MISSION AND THE ARIZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM “day, April 12, 2004 830 am to 430 pm The first stop wffl be at the beautiful San Xavier Mission, A located on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. The ft ft 1 mission, known as “The White Dove of the Desert", was completed in 1797 by Franciscan monks and still offers During the 1990’s, a major preservation by Tohono O’odham vendors. The tour will continue on to the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum situated 12 miles west of TUcson on the other side of the Thcson Mountains. The route to the museum is a scenic drive through own. The New York limes called the Desert Museum “one of a kind... .not to be missed.’’ Wear comfortable s the whole nm nearby TUmacacori Mission. During the 1940’s it became a haven for arts and craftspeople, and is now a picturesque community with a population of 1,200. You wffl be able to browse the quaint shops and galleries looking for s on your own. Wear o Visit on the web at w Cost $32.00 # / throughout the world with the goal of fostering an apprecia- "7^ research opportunities. It is a lovely spot. January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine A-5 Tour #5 SAN XAVIER MISSION AND THE AR1ZONA-SONORA DESERT MUSEUM (Repeat of tour #2) Wednesday, April 14,2004 8:30 am to 4:30 pm The first stop wi be at the beautiful San Xavier Mission, located on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. The j| | | mission, known as “The White Dove of the Desert”, was completed in 1797 by Franciscan monks and still offers . ... — -s ag . .—j daily mass. During the 1990’s, a major preservation | I | e ^ ort was ,3e g un 1 There will be time to explore the sanctuary and mission and browse the gift stop. Enjoy a treat of Indian fry bread and honey served up by Tohono O’odham vendors. Hie tour will continue on to the Arizona- t Museum situated 12 miles west of TUcson on the other side This is a rare opportunity to see a real wonder of the world Hie cave has shown a slight but worrisome warming trend since being opened to the public: further restrictions are being contemplated in the future. Note: This tour will be limited to the first forty-seven persons registering for the tour. A waiting list will be taken in the event of cancellations. Get your reservation in early if you \ pate in this ti ^ ' " Cost: $52.00 (includes a box lunch) This lovely spot provides a quiet retreat from the desert of TUcson. Visitors will ride a tram along Sabino Creek, crossing and re-crossing it several times as it winds up through the canyon. Saguaro cacti replaced many of the trees about 8000 years ago as the climate became warmer and drier. The canyon is a rare oasis veiy close to the city, fortunately surviving efforts to dam it full of water, mine it for gold and build a grand resort hired by the presence of water. Apaches and the Great Depression kept the canyon in its natural state until the New Deal programs CCC, WPA, and NRA built the roads, bridges, campgrounds and picnic are®. In addition to the tram ride, ambitious conventioneers can hike up the read or ride part way and walk part way. The driver of the tram provides infor- * at you are seeing. The top of the road is much You might like to have a sweater or light jacket along, the hotel about noon, in time for the opening of Thursday, April 15,2004 8:00 am to 4 JO pm. Located in the mile - high Mule Mountains, 93 miles jutheast of TUcson, Bisbee is an old mining town with tots of old worid charm. With the mining of copper; zinc, lead, and silver at its peak in the early 1900’s, Bisbee was home to 20,000 people and was the largest rity between San Francisco and St. Louis. After die mines dosed in the 1970’s, Bisbee evolved into a unique artist community with many galleries, antique shops, and coffee houses lodged in the well-pre¬ served tum-of-the-century Victorian buildings. Upon arrival in Bisbee, we will stop at the Queen Mine, where we will don hard hats, miner’s lights, and yellow slickers before boarding a train that will take us deep intoihe underground mine. (There are 32 steps leading down to the train.) This fas- When you enter the two main gal- giant stalagmites reaching up from the ground, sometimes meeting to fen - avms “ a ^ ^ ^ flr^atopnaedlsrdK Arizona Pa* State. Since these fomra- oonsare vay create and fragile, the park is catefuly toramltag access ^Dut70 auRuzes. While one group is going thraigh the toot, die others may STJL,. tom »■* interactive and a mum-screen video. Those interested in walking have either the short Hummingbird Hail, or the 2 mile, more strenuous, (SS We have secured 16 tickets each for the 12.-00,1220, and 12-40 tours hjrK±1,e f^ !th us. and eat tndivnduattv. Thf Veeirr., may tang their ovm wheekhais. prowled they a inches morn outer wheel to oute — of tile grades may be difficult te ■, with humidity of 97%. a Water n The mine can be chilly and damp with a temperature of 47 degrees year- round, so bring a sweater or light jacket After leaving the mine, we will stop to viewriie Lavender Pit, a massive open pit copfermine. cm your own. Wear comfortable shoes. The sky is crystal clear in Bisbee so bring a hat and sunscreen to block the sun. Visit on the web at www.bisbeearizona.com Cost: $40.00 Tour #9 GASLIGHT THEATER Friday, April 16,2004 5:30 pm to Pf- e in for an evening of light-hearted fun at Gaslight Theater! The clever melodramas and come®~> I there w! give you a chance to cheer the hero, boo me villain, and laugh until your sides ache! We will leavedte hotel at 5:30 and take in the early show. Casual fooa. such as pizza, chimichangas, snacks, ice cream, and varied beverages- available for purchase throughout the performance if you wish. Dress is casual and relaxed. i the internet; 1 Costs A-6 Supplement to January • February 2004 Afrka* Viourr Magazine MEAL FUNCTION SEATING Special meal requests must Reservations received on or before March 11, 2004 will receive table assignments. All reservations received after that date will have unreserved seating at meal functions. be made to the AVSA Office at time of registration. Requests made directly to the hotel will not be honored. New for 3004!!! On Friday and Saturday, there is a $5.00 admission fee to the show and sales room for those not resistered for the convention. You must have your name badge to avoid the fee. One Day Registration - If you cannot join us for the entire convention, you may want to take advantage of the one-day registration which will allow you to enter the sales and show room, attend presentations and attend meal functions on the day that you are there. Commuter Fee - It has become necessary to add a fee to those registrants who elect not to stay at the convention hotel. This fee does not apply to anyone staying at their principal residence. We are being forced to pay for more of our meeting space, tables, and other equipment which was at one time all complimentary. These charges increase when we don’t meet the room block for the hotel. This commuter fee is the equivalent of one night’s lodging. Don’t forget the AVSA Auction “Meet the Board of Directors” Luncheon This year we will again open the Wednesday Luncheon to all members. Meet your officers and board members in an informal setting. Luncheon! Avoid the crowds at the restaurants. Relax and dine with your friends. Come one, come all!! February 2004 African Violet Magazine A~7 58th Annual AVSA Convention & Show Sunday, April 11,2004 to Sunday, April 18, 2004 “A Fiesta of Violets” SUNDAY, April 11, 2004 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m, AVSA Convention Pre-Con 4.-00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Registration 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Information 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. to 4*30 p.m. 8:30 a,m. to 430 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. MONDAY, April 12, 2004 Registration Tour #1 - Nogales, Mexico and Tubac, AZ Tour #2 - San Xavier Mission and the Sonora Desert Museum 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 8:00 a.m. to Completion 830 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 ami. 2:00 pan. to 5:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 am. 7:30 a.m. to 330 p.m. 8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. 830 a.m. to 430 p.m. 830 a.m. to 430 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 10:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 2:00 pan. to 7:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 7:00 p.rn. to 7:45 p.m. 7:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. 8:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. 9:00 p.rn. 730 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. 7:00 am. to 11:00 am. 8.-00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. to 1230 noon TUESDAY, April 13, 2004 Registration Executive Board Meeting Tour #3 - Tombstone, AZ Tour #4 - Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park Information Convention Committee Meeting Shows and Judges Committee Meeting WEDNESDAY, April 14, 2004 Registration Judging School New Director’s Orientation Tour #5 - San Xavier Mission and the Sonora Desert Museum Tour #6 - Kartchner Caverns State Park Classification ami Entries Board of Director’s Meeting Information Ways & Means liable. Cincinnati Promotional Thbie “Meet the Board of Directors" Luncheon Classification and Entries AVSA Information and Sales Information Registration Awards Committee meeting Classification and Entries -FOR THOSE ON TOURS ONLY 2003 Baton Rouge Convention and New Introduction Slides Social Break y* ** Te “ You Ahow My violets". A Grower's Forum Design Work and Commercial Display Set-ups will close for the night THURSDAY, April 15, 2004 Des%n Exhibitors will be permitted to “touch up” designs and replace blossoms only Registration Information Tour #7 - Sabine Canyon A-8 Supplement to January • February 2004 African Viotet Magazine 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. to Completion 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 2:00 p.rn. to 4:00 p.m. 2.-00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. to Completion 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.rn. to 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. to Completion 9:30 p.m. to 12:00 m/n 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Tour #8 - Bisbee Judges and Clerks Instructions Judging of Show Hospitality Room Open AVSA Information and Sales Presentation #1 - “African Violet Boom in Russia” by Vladimer Kalgin Ways & Means Table, Cincinnati Promotional Table Commercial Sales Open AVSA Information and Sales Publications Committee Meeting Hospitality Room Open Information Registration Photography - Library and AVM Membership & Promotions Committee meeting Nominating Committee meeting Future Conventions Meeting Opening Reception (cash bar) Opening Dinner - Show awards will be announced Show opens to AVSA Convention Registrants Only FRIDAY, April 16, 2004 Showroom open to photographers only Teacher’s Breakfast 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 9:00 a.m. to 5.-00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 10:00 am. to 11:30 a.m. 10$0 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 10:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2:00 p.rn. to 4:00 p.m. 2:00 p.rn. to 4:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. 5-30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 7:15 am. to 9-.00 a.m. 8:00 am. to 12:00 noon 8*00 am. to 12:00 noon 9:00 am. to ll.-OOam. 9:00 am. to 11:00 am. 9:00 am. to 4:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 10:00 am. to 11:30 am. 10:00 am. to 11:30 am. Registration Affiliates Breakfast & Meeting Hospitality Room Open AVSA Information & Sales Show Room Open Commercial Sales Open . . _ Presentation #2 - "Hands on Design, Interpretive Flower Arrangements by Florence Naylor and Ann Wang „ Presentation #3 - “Advanced Judging Skills: Design by Paul Kroll, Jackie Jones and Pat Sutton Ways & Means Table, Cincinnati Promotional Table Luncheon and Auction AVSA Information & Sales panelists: Dorothy Kosowsky, Kent Stork, and Etaer Godeny President's Reception for Board of Directors Tour #9 - Gaslight Theater Commercial Dinner SATURDAY, April 17,2004 judges’ Breakfast and Workshop Information Hospitality Room Open AVSA Information & Sales Show Room Open S5SsasarK- a --'— 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 2:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 5:00 pjn. to 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. to Completion 8:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. 8:45 p.m. to 12:00 m/n 9:15 pjn. 12:00 m/n Agriculture Officials available to certify plant materials for transportation into controlled countries and states (time and day subject to change) Ways & Means Table, Cincinnati Promotional Table Violets “On Line” Meeting Presentation #8 - “Fighting Bugs without Killing Yourself* by Dr. Car! A. Olson Presentation #9 - “The Joy of Growing Trailing African Violets" by Shirley Sanders Hospitality Room Open Annual Membership Meeting and Open Forum President’s Reception and Hospitality Hour (cash bar) Installation Banquet Commercial Display Tables Checkout Commercial Sales Breakdown Entry Checkout Begins Show Room Closes 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 6.00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 6:00 a.m, to 12:00 noon 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon SUNDAY, April 18, 2004 Commercial Sales Breakdown Local Storage Clean-up Commercial Storage Clean-up Show Room Clean-up Board of Directors meeting DIRECTIONS TO THE DOUBLETREE HOTEL IN TUCSON, ARIZONA 445 South Alvemon Way Phone: (520) 881-4200 From the East on I-10: Exit at Alvemon Way - North. Carefully follow the signs to remain on Alvemon Way North. The Doubletree Hotel will be on your right approximately 1/2 mile after crossing 22nd Street From Tucson International Airport: After retrieving your baggage, use the “Courtesy Phone” for the Doubletree Hotel and request that you be picked up. It will take approximately 15-20 minutes for the lime to arrive. Please wait outside at the limousine pick-up area. From the North on I-10: Exit on 22nd Street (the last exit before con¬ struction} and travel east approximately 5 miles to Alvemon Way. Him left (north) and the Doubletree Hotel will be on your right in approx¬ imately 1/2 mile. Note; The reason the directions are via the Alvemon Exit, when travetingfixm the east is because the Palo Verde exit will be Otherwise the Palo Verde exit would be easier, since it winds around to become Alvemon Way as you drive north. A-10 Supplement to January - February 2004 African Violet Magazine TUCSON, AZ AVSA CONVENTION PRESENTATIONS Thursday, April 15,2004 By Vladimir Kalgin, Moscow, Russia Even African violets in Russia were v Russian growers and hybridizers did not h to visit violet shows or to acquire new hybrids developed by foreign hybridizers. There were few African violet chibs and shows in the country even three to five years ago. Today there are a number of growers, dubs, shows, and web sites which are boom¬ ing. Russian hybridizers offer a lot of very interesting hybrids. Vladimir Kalgin is ore of the Russian violet lovers who is enthusiastic about making Russia a better place for African violets. Vladimir will share what is happening there, identifying what growing methods are used, showing slides of the best Russian hybrids, and shar- Friday, April 16,2004 By Florence Naylor, Ventura, California; Ann Wang, Santa Paula, California Panelists: Dorothy Kosowsky, Whittier, California; Kent Stork, Fremont, Nebraska; Elmer Godeny, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Not just one champion grower, but three! They have a tot in common. All are columnists in the African Violet Magazine, regularly sharing tips for good grow¬ ing. All are consistently careful growers who expect perfection in the plants they Saturday, April 1 7 ,2004 10:00 to 11:30 am. By IX Bill Price, West Vancouver, British Columbia Do you have an indoor light garden filled with violets? Then you can easily grow other gesneriads with just a few adjustments! Learn what small changes need to be designers, Florence Naylor and Ann Wang, will lead process of assembling a flower arrangement Floret* since 1976 and attended many workshops as she learr she “practiced a tot won a tot, and had a tot of fun u fi the step-by-step n growing violets >f design. She says ttime.” Arm Wang has been a premier designer for more than 30 years, along with winning awards for her miniatures and semiminiatures. This is a fine opportunity for novices to leam Friday, April 16,2004 ItHJO to 11:30 a.nt By Paul Krofi, East Aurora, New Yorit* Jackie Jones, Durant Iowa; Pat Sutton. TUlsa, Oklahoma How does a judge team to make fair and objective decisions when assigned to the design division? How does a good design judge avoid the pitfall of making emo¬ tional rather than good decisions? One judge thinks the design is wonderful and the next thinks it deserves a red ribbon. Our talented panel of AVSA Judging School 10:00 to 11:30 ajn. 't easy growing violets in the arid Southwest! Bom in New York City, Ruth Loomis has lived most of her life in Flagstaff. With five grown children, and a career as a mathematician fear die U.S. Geological Survey, she also found time to master the art of growing African violets. She says, “Fl 2:30 p.m. o leam new skills from these marvelous o bring a knife (tfposs&te), but all other mate¬ rials and tools will be supplied. limit of 30 students. Saturday, April IS, 2004 Shirley Sanders, San Antonio, Texas hiriey and Sandy in the Commercial Sales Room for years, and nowyou wfflgettoheat the owner of Shirtey*s House ofVioiets takeout her favorite type of vr’— Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine A ll African Violet Society of America, Inc. 58th Annual Convention and Show April 11 - April 18,2004 - Doubletree Hotel - Tucson, AZ Call for 2004 Annual Meeting U Inc. will be held Saturday, April 17,2004, at 2:45 p.m. at D iy properly come before The Assembly. Call for 2004 Board of Directors Meeting Board of Directors Meetings will be held Wednesday, April 14,2004, 9:00 a.m. Call for 2004 Open Forum Meeting The 18th annual Open Forum meeting of the Board of Directors of the African Violet S< Hotel. TUcson, AZ. This will take place the first twenty minutes of the Annual Meeting members^tojrOTK and present any suggestions, ideas, questions, etc. Registration For Judging School For Students & Certificate Renewals An AVSA judging school will be held on Wednesday, April 14, for AV5A members who wish to t certificates. The lecture win be from 7:30 am-12:00 noon and must be attended in ord payable to AVSA. AVSA membership cards must be presented at the door Proof of three blue ribbons is r e Hotel, TUcson, AZ, for the pur- it 2:00 pm. The registration ft Student (istexam)_ Attention Judges n show, tf you would like to judge, [ 3: Bill Foster, AVSA . o exhibit in the . Applications received after March 15, _ Minis/Semis . . Master _AGGS _Nat’l Council -Specie^_Standards _Design _Commercial Attention Judges Clerks :lerte for the convention show. Any vacancies will be filled with AVSA members. This 1 “ ^{refe rence. Any remaining positions wffl be filled by AVSA u 3610 Gray Dr., Mesquite, TX 75150-2121. BS must be pos neans that AVSA mem- i die order in which die Bill Foster, AVSA Shows _ AVSA Member Design Division Reservations A-12 Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magatikf AVSA’s 58th Annual Convention & Show “Fiesta of Violets” April 11 - April 18, 2004 - Doubletree Hotel - Tucson, AZ AVSA Convention Registration Form NOTE: Each person registering must use a separate form. Xerox copies may be used if more are needed. Please send this completed pre-registration form, with your check, money order, or credit card number made out in the appropriate amount to the Tiifsnn Co n v ention Acc ount. Mail to: The AVSA Office - 2375 North Street, Beaumont, IX 77702. Refunds will be made upon written request ally if received by M atc h . 1 1, 2004 . There will be a $ 5 ; QQ paperwork fee charged fo r c ance llations . Registrations received after March 11,2004 will be $75.00. Following receipt of your Registration, you will receive confirmation from the AVSA Office which includes your convention registration, tours, presentations, meal information and any registration materials being mailed in advance of the convention. Street or P.O.Box PLEASE CHECK APPROPRIATE STATUS: □ Individual Member □ Life Member Honorary Life Member r child attending. Xerox copies may be used.) □ Commercial Member □ Board Member □ Affiliate President □ Non-Member (guest) Name to go on Badge_ i should be notified?_ ACCOMMODATIONS: If by plane, arrival day/date and time Package Deal (includes registration, both banquets, and Auction Luncheon. $144.00 Package not available after March 11, 2004) REGISTRATION- 2004 ’ each regLstration he $75.00 or $78.00 respectively. AVSA or Associate Member (Early Bird Discount).$50.00 AVSA or Associate Member (after March 11, 2004) .’ * ’ $75 oo Non-Member (Guest) (Early Kid Discount).. *' $53'oo Non-Member (Guest) (after March 11, 2004)... $ 78 00 International Member (Eariy Bird Discount).. ‘ $ 45 ’ 00 International Member (after March II, 2004).’ ’ ’ ’ ’ $70*00 NEW: Commuter fee - If you are not staying at the Doubletree Hotel or at your primary residence 5 your registration for the use of the hotel facilities. You MUST indicate , or the fee will be charged..$42.00 1 (allows registrant to participate for one day of convention) inuitaie: murs_Fn._Sat._ Total days marked_x. $ 25.00 TOTAL REGISTRATION Wed. “Meet die Board of Director's” l Thurs. Opening Dinner - Wt Fri. Teachers’ Breakfast - Southern Eggs Benedict. Fri. Affiliates Breakfast - Classic Continental . . . .* FrL Luncheon/Auctkm - Cobb Salad, Chicken and Soup . .i;,X; FrL Commercial Dinner-Roast Pork Loin. IT™ SaL Judges’ Breakfest - Cinnamon French Toast.’ . ..T? Sat installation Banquet - Prime Rib. 5lo-00 NEW: One day . $44.C OFFICE AT TIME OF REGBTRAHON. RCQUESTSMLADE DDRECTLY T to January • February 2004 African Viout Magazine TOURS (meals are included in Tours 4 and 6) _1. Mon. Apr 12 Nogales, Mexico and Tlibac AZ .$23.00 $. _2. Mon. Apr. 12 San Xavier Mission & Sonora Desert Museum.$30.00 $. _3. Hies. Apr. 13 Tombstone, AZ.$32.00 $. _4. Hies. Apr. 13 Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park .$45.00 $. _5. Wed. Apr. 14 San Xavier Mission & Sonora Desert Museum.$31.00 $. _6. Wed. Apr. 14 Kartschner Caverns (limited to 47 people).$52.00 $. _7. Thurs. Apt 15 Sabino Canyon.$22.00 $. _8. Thurs. Apr. 15 Bisbee.$40.00 $. _9. Fri. Apr. 16 Gaslight Theater.$35.00 $" TOTAL TOURS $_ Wednesday, April 14,2004 - 7:00 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Social Hour, Slides of 57th Baton Rouge Convention and New Introductions - 8:15 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. “Let Me Tell You About My Violets: A Grower’s Forum” Moderator: Jack Wilson Panelists: Dr. Ralph Robinson, Doris Brownlie, and Pat Hancock PRESENTATIONS: (Please check those presentations which you wish to attend) Thursday April 15, 2004 -1. 9:30 am.- 11:00 a.m. “African Violet Boom in Russia” by Vladimer Kalgin Friday, April 16, 2004 -2. 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. “Hands on Design, Interpretive Flower Arrangements” by Florence Naylor and Ann Wang -3. 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. “Advanced Judging Skills: Design” by Paul Kroll, Jackie Jones and Pat Sutton -4. 2:30 pan. - 4:00 p.m. “Hands on Design, Interpretive Flower Arrangements” by Florence Naylor and Ann Wang -5. 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p,m. “Growing to Show Panel Discussion” by Leonard Re, Moderator Panelists: Dorothy Kosowsky, Kent Stork and Elmer Godeny Saturday April 17,2004 -6. 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. “Compatible Gesneriads!” by Dr. Bill Price -7. 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. ‘Growing African Violets in the Arid Southwest” by Ruth Loomis -8. 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 pan. ‘Fighting Bugs without Killing Yourself by Dr. Carl A. Olson -9. LOO pm. - 2:30 pm. “The Joy of Growing Hailing African Violets” by Shirley Sanders PAYMENT Total Package $_ Total Registration (including commuter fee) $_ Total Meals $_ Total Tours $_ TOTAL PAYMENT ENCLOSED $_ NOTE: Cancellations must be received by March 11, 2004 to be entitled to a refund. There wifi be a $5.00 fee for all cancellations. Send payment and completed registration form to: Convention Registration AVSA Office, 2375 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77702-1 □ MasterCard#. Expires □ Check or Money Order Enclosed Signature (If using card) (409) 839-4725 AVSA 2004 Tucson Convention Grower’s Forum “Let Me Tell you About My Volets”.. . Grower’s Forum Wednesday, April 14, 2004.8:15 Moderator.Jack Wilson Panelists.Dr. Ralph Robinson, Doris Btownfe, and Pat Hancock This is YOUR opportunity to “ask the experts”. If you have questions about any aspect of growing African violets and other Gesneriads - horticulture, pests, diseases; hybridizing, soils, chemicals, planting techniques and perhaps even using African violets in designs - don’t miss this opportunity. This open forum is always a favorite among convention-goers. A-14 Supplement to Jamiaty • February 2004 African Violet Magazine Hotel Reservation 2004 AVSA Convention Show and Annual Membership Meeting The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle to/from the Hotel and Airport. Call hotel for pickup. Be sure to indicate flight arrival time on your registration form. CAMPGROUNDS If you are driving your RV to TUcson for the AVSA Convention and plan to stay at the convention hotel, you may park your RV on the south side of the hotel. If you will staying in your RV, the recommended RV park is the TUcson Meadows Mobile Home Park, 2121 S. Pantano Rd. Phone: (520) 298-8021 Make your reservations ASAP. TUcson is a busy place for tourists in April. America West Airlines has offered the convention a discount rate for the period April 3-23, 2004. Just mention CAMS Code 4104 Supplement to January • February 2004 African Vmurr Magaztne A-15 HOSTS - HOSTESSES Tucson and AVSA Need You! More individuals than ever before are needed to host the Tucson show room! The Show will be open to the public for two full days, and the public will be paying an admission fee. Hosts are needed to greet our guests as they enter the room, to verify that they have paid admission, to encourage them to ask questions, and to invite them to join AVSA (die cost of admission will be applied to their AVSA membership dues). This is an important job!! If you would be willing to serve for a one hour shift, please complete the coupon below by March 11, 2004, and send it to: Ester Hopkins, 2070 N. Camino Agreos, TUcson, AZ 85715 (520)722-0455, email: dhyannis@aol.com Name_ Address_ City_State_Zip_ Phone_ Preferred time: Friday ___or Saturday_ IS ROOM SHARING FOR YOU? Room sharing has become very successful. Are you interested in making your expenses less by sharing a room with someone? We offer this service to anyone interested. Name_____Address_ City ----State_Zip_ Phone. $92.00 Plus Thx of 11.5% Plus $1.00 _ Smoker_ No Preference_ ___ 26-50__ 51 and Over_ _ Departure Date:_ Any other considerations:_ ■. ; :•, - . : . _ Non-Smoker _ Age: Under 25 Arrival Date: _ When you have considered your plans and wish to share a sleeping room with someone, PLEASE contact the AVSA Office immediately. All requests must be made by March 7, 2004 so we may contact aU interested "violet friends” and meet the deadline for hotel reservations which is March 11, 2004. Please send requests to: AVSA Office, 2375 North Street, Beaumont, TX 77702-1722. Phone (800) 770-2872 WANTED! Slides for Social Hour Please share your slides of our 57th Baton Rouge, LA Convention. They will be shown at the Wednesday night social hour. Include any information about the slide (names, state, etc.). Slides sent h from the 2003 Baton Rouge Convention wilt be donated to the AVSA library, unless you request them to be returned. Please send your slides by March 11,2004 to: Nancy G. Hayes 9 Cobblestone Rd. Bloomfield, CT 06002-3003 ___ J A-16 Supplement to January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine Saintpaulia grandifolia M237 Saintpaulia intermedia Saintpaulia rupicola 2nd Best AVSA Collection 2003AVSA National Show Exhibited by.Janis Mink • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 33 2004 Convention Awards Tucson, Arizona Best African Violet in Show - $50 & Uri-color rosette 2nd Best African Violet in Show - $35 & rosette 3rd Best African Violet in Show - $25 fit rosette Best Trailer - $25 & rosette Best Semiminiature - $25 & rosette Best Miniature - $25 & rosette Best Species - $25 & rosette Best Vintage Violet - $25 & rosette Best Other Gesneriad - $25 & rosette Sweepstakes in Horticulture - $50 & rosette Sweepstakes Runner-up in Horticulture - $25 & rosette Best Standard Collection - $50 & Gold rosette 2nd Best Standard Collection - $25 fit Purple rosette Best Mini/Semimini Collection - $50 & Gold rosette 2nd Best Mini/Semimini Collection - $25 & Purple rosette Society Awards - Design Division Best Design in Show -$50 & Ui-color rosette 2nd Best Design in Show - $35 fit rosette 3rd Best Design in Show - $25 & rosette Sweepstakes in Design - $50 & rosette Sweepstakes Runner-up in Design - $25 & ros Best Commercial Display Thble - $125 & Blue rosette 2nd Best Commercial Display liable - $100 & Red rosette Best African Violet on a Display Me - $50 & rosette Best African Violet in Show - $50 fit rosette 2nd Best African Violet in Show - $35 & rosette 3rd Best African Violet in Show - $25 fit rosette Sweepstakes in Specimen Plants - $50 & rosette Best Other Gesneriad - $25 & rosette Best Standard Collection - $50 & Gold rosette 2nd Best Standard Collection - $25 & Purple rosette Best Mini/Semimini Collection - $50 & Gold rosette 2nd Best Mini/Semimini Collection - $25 & Purple rosette Best New Cultivar - $75, Blue rosette & plaque 2nd Best New Cultivar - $50 & Red rosette 3rd Best New Cultivar - $25 fit White rosette Best Holtkamp Collection - $300 & rosette 2nd Best Holtkamp Collection - $200 Si rosette 3rd Best Holtkamp Collection - $100 & rosette (Holtkamp Awards are courtesy of Holtkamp Greenhouses) Best New Introduction - $100 in memory of Frank Unari - Mary fit Art Boland (VA) 34 African Violet Magazine Specified Awards - Amateur Division Best Holtkamp Collection - $300, rosette & Coin 2nd Best Holtkamp Collection - $200 & rosette 3rd Best Holtkamp Collection - $100 & rosette (Holtkamp Awards are courtesy of Holtkamp Greenhouses) Best Robinson Collection - $150 & rosette 2nd Best Robinson Collection - $50 (Robinson Collection awards courtesy of The Violet Bam) Best Buckeye Collection - $150 - Pat’s Patch/ Pat Hancock (OH) 2nd Best Buckeye Collection - $50 - Pat’s Patch/ Pat Hancock (OH) Best African Violet in Show - Silver Memorial for Fannie & Elmer Hall - Ovella Hall (AR) Best Semiminiature - $25 - in memory of Fannie & Elmer Hall - Ovella Hall (AR) Best Species in Show - $50 - Cape Cod Violetry (MA) Best Species in Show - $10 - Debra Mischel (TX) Best Miniature in Show - $25 - St. Louis AV Judges Council (MO) Best Standard Chimera - $50 - Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses (NY) Best Standard, green foliage edged blossom - $25 - Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses (NY) Best Standard - Pink blossoms - $25 - Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses (NY) Best Vintage Violet - $25 - Janet Riemer (NJ) Best Other Gesneriad - $25 - in memory of Laura Shannon - Kaiyn Cichocki (NJ) Best Girl Foliage - $25 - Sue Hoffmann (VA) Best Variegated Standard - $25 - AV Club of Morris County (NJ) Best Standard Fantasy - $25 - TUcson AVS (AZ) Best Rhizomatous Gesneriad - $10 - Linda Neumann (OH) Best Sinningia - $25 - Ovella Hall (AR) Sp ecific Variety Awards - Amateur Horticulture Best Blue Boy - $10 - Nadine Tichy (TX) Best Lilian Jarrett Variegated (#2902) - $50 - in memory or Frank Unari - Anne Unari (PA) Best Mickey Mouse - $20 - Hans & Everdina Inpijn (CA) Best Everdina - $20 - Hans & Everdina Inpijn (CA) Best Maas’ Mark - $25 - in memory of Max Maas - Union County Chapter AVS (NJ) Best Maas’ Janet - $25 - Chris Leppard (Ml) Best Maas’ Janet - $25 - UiState AV Council (NJ) Best The King (Maas) - $25 - Janet Riemer (NJ) Best Buckeye Candy Kisses - $50 - Pat’s Patch/ Pat Hancock (OH) Best Alps - $100 - Kazuo Horikoshi (Tokyo, Japan) Best Concord - $100 - Kazuo Horikoshi (Tokyo, Japan) Best Nancy Hayes (trailer) - $25 - Nancy Hayes (CT) January • February 2004 Best Ness’ Candy Pink - $15 in memory of Don Ness - AVS of Minnesota (MN) Best Ness’ Crinkle Blue - $15 in memory of Don Ness - AVS of Minnesota (MN) Best Ness’ Crinkle Blue - rosette - Triangle AVS (NC) Best TUlsa Boy - $25 - AVS of Greater TUlsa (OK) Best Precious Pink - $50 - Hortense and Ray Pittman (TX) Best Dean’s Arctic Frost - $25 - Shirley & Sandy Sanders (TX) Best Irish Flirt - $50 - Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses (NY) Best Cutie (#7141) - $20 - Rocky Mountain AV Council (CO) Best Louisiana Lagniappe - $100 - The Baton Rouge Convention group/Elmer Godeny Specifie d Awards - Design Division Best Container Garden - $25 - Fran Russom (MO) Missouri Valley AV Council (MO) Nancy Amelung (MO) South Coast AVS (CA) Vicki & Warren Ringer (CA) AV Council of Southern California (CA) $20 donated by: Long Island AVS (NY) Thousand Oaks AVS (CA) AVC of Greater Kansas City (MO) Magic Knight AVS (TX) Lyrmhaven AVS (VA) $15 donated by: Richmond AVS (VA) Silvermine AVS (CT) Meredith Hall (TX) Other Awards - AmateurHorticulture or Undesicrnafori $100 donated by: Ohio State AVS (OH) William Sugg (TX) Lone Star AV Council (TX) $50 donated by: AV Council of Florida (FL) Bill Price (BC, Canada) First Austin AVS (TX) North Star AV Council (MN) Shirley’s House of Violets (TX) $25 donated by: Aipha AVS (TX) s Pring Branch AV Club (TX) John & Doris Brownlie (ON, Canada) oorothy Benge (LA) Bill & Gerri Goins (TX) Work shop/Janice Davidson (TX) ^ Polk AVS (FL) Dolores Gibbs (TX) typer Pinellas AVS (FL) Spartanburg (SC) r T? Texas AV Judges Council (TX) Paula Foster (TX) Fust Nighter AVS (TX) WS of Ro chester (NY) N^v Yo^ state AVS(NY) R.rif Linda ° WenS (° H ) Will Loomis (AZ) npredictables AVS (MO) ^Walbrick(TX) Elaine Re (CA) •nSKS.- January • February 2004 $10 donated by: Alice Easter (PA) Sue Ramser (TX) First AVS of Wichita Falls (TX) J.T. & Sylvia Leeds (TX) Ventura County AVS (CA) Other donations: $10 gift certificate - Violet Venture - Fay Wagman (NY) $25 donated by: Albuquerque AVC (NM) AVS of Greater TUlsa (OK) First AVS of Spartanburg (SC) Kathi Lahti (MN) Janet Riemer (NJ) $15 donated by: Charmion Woolfe (CA) Union County Chapter AVS (NJ) $10 donated by: A methyst AVC (MO) _ Thanks to all the individuals, clubs, and councils that have offered their generous award support for the 2004 show in TUcson. There is still time to add your name to this list with your contribution. To insure that you are listed in the convention souvenir book, please note the February 15, 2004 deadline. I look forward to hearing from you! * Send your check or money order payable in U.S. Funds and made out to “AV5A Awards” to: Sue Hoffmann, AVSA Awards Chairman, 2809 Forest Hills Court, Virginia Beach, VA 23454*. You can find a current list of all convention awards on our AVSA.org website. * Note the new address African Violet Magazine 35 Optimara Ontario II Exhibited by: TbnyHuUeman AVS of Canada2003National Show Hybridized by: Holtkamp Standard Streptocarpus Stained Glass* Exhibited by: Richard Nicholas Judges ’ Special Award 2003 AVSA National Show 2004 36 African Violet Magazine January • February < Rebels Stormy Sky Exhibited by: Nancy Ley 2003AVS of Canada National Show Hybridized by: R ■ Bonn Large January r * February 2004 African Violet Magazine 37 (HOW a/ulf/iu/cjex Bill Foster Shows and Judges Committee 3610 Gray Drive Mesquite, TX 75150 ^woz7.*bpfoster@airmail.net Happy New Year! I hope all of you had a great holiday season and will have a great 2004. If you were fortunate to receive cash as a Christmas gift, that can be the start of your fund to attend the AVSA Convention in TUcson. Speaking of the AVSA Convention, be sure to read everything about it in this issue of the AFRICAN VIOLET MAGAZINE. Look over the classes, and then check your plant stand to see what possibilities you have for the show. You might also look over the awards that have been sent in. Maybe your entries can also earn some money to help pay for the trip, and you always need a little extra to take all those new varieties home with you. If you would like to judge or clerk, send those coupons in early. Here are some questions that were received from the fall shows. A natural garden was shown with a large accessory out¬ side the container. This entry was given a special award even though the schedule stated that all accessories should be within the confines of the container. Should this have been given an award? NO! dearly, this was an oversight by the judges. Accessories, if used in any container garden SHOULD ALWAYS BE WITHIN THE CONTAINER even if it is not stat¬ ed in the schedule. This entry did not conform to the sched¬ ule and probably should not have been judged. Some judges will take off points for non-conformity rather than not judge it. Either way, it should not have received a special award. The schedule stated that dish gardens in this class were to be 14 inches or larger, and the entry winning a special award was smaller than 14 inches. Furthermore, a succulent was used for ground cover in the award winning entry. How do you feel about this? I feel really bad for those exhibitors who did conform to the schedule. About now 1 am feeling disappointed in the judges. If there was a class for smaller dish gardens, the entry could have been moved, but that would not help where the succulent was concerned. Were the other entries so bad that they had to award something that should probably not have been judged at all! A class for hanging arrangements stated that niches were provided. All exhibitors except for the one that was given a special award used rods that were provided. Should the winning exhibit have also used the rod that was provided? Unless the schedule stated that the rod must be used, no rule was broken. The exhibitor would be free to use some other method of suspending the arrangement unless the schedule stated that the rod must be used. The schedule called for the use of water in an interpretive flower arrangement. No water was visible in the winning arrangement. Is this another case of the exhibit not conform¬ ing to the schedule? If the schedule stated that water must be used in this arrangement, then the exhibit did not conform^ the schedule stated that water maty be used, it would be the exhibitor’s choice as to whether or not water was used. These questions could have come from anywhere so wherever you live, if you recognize any of the above, as judge or an exhibitor, you really need to be more thorough^ reading the schedule. It is just not fair to the exhibitors w have adhered to the rules of the schedule to lose to exhibitor who has not conformed to the schedule.Things , this should be brought up and discussed in your judge* councils. This is the purpose of having a judges’ couna '\ Take care of your plants, and I look forward to seeing many of you in TUcson. Please make this correction on the judges list that was published in the September/October issue of the AVM. Susan Hoffmann is a Senior Judge (X). Also correct her address to 2809 Forest Hills Court, Virginia Beach, VA 23454. Rerooting that Neck by Sue Gardner If you have an African violet with a long neck and you would prefer the neck to develop new roots before cutting off all the old roots, you may use the following method. Cut the bottom out of a polystyrene cup, then along the dotted line as shown below. Wrap polystyrene section around neck of plant and fill with potting mix or moist spaghnum peat moss. When roots have developed, you may cut off old roots using new roots to form the new rootball. In a few months when the new roots have developed, re-pot again without disturbing the roots too much. Just cut off part of the bottom and lower it in the pot so that more of the bare neck is now covered with potting mix. By re-potting regularly, you avoid the problem of a long bare neck which can look unsightly. Why look at a scruffy’ looking old stem when you could be seeing a lovely head of flowers! From the Newsletter of the Early Mom AV Group, Australia Liquid Lysol and Powdeiy Mildew by Marie Montague Powdery mildew was always a problem in my plant room. Since many of my stands are in the basement, against Wside walls, every winter with the first snow, powdery mildew was anticipated. There never was a problem with set ** 311(1 small plants on trays with covers. Here are some solutions I tried to solve this annual Problem: % plant stands were tented on three sides and on top ^ Plastic (with four sides tented, it was difficult to reach the plants.) The plants were warmer, but powdery , ™ew was still present. large, oscillating fan was kept running (not directly on ®e plants) for 24 hours a day. This kept the room cooler than { d like when working near the fan. Did it spread the Powdery mildew? At the first signs of powdery mildew, plants were washed ^ warm water and set away from light, where air cir- ^aated and there was less temperature fluctuation. At a wet tissue was used to wipe off minor powdery ^dew. a few leaves were marred, no matter how care- lAit,AW * February 2004 fill i was, and the plants eventually had to be placed back on plant stands. • Cans of Lysol spray were used. This also resulted in some marred leaves. Some, or all of these techniques might work for some growers, and all of them together did keep the powdery mildew at a reasonable level. None was a permanent solu¬ te years ago, a friend suggested using 1/4 tsp. of liquid Lysol without soap, in the brown-wrapped bottle, with 1/4 tsp. of dish detergent per gallon of water. This wasn’t avail¬ able in my area, so I used liquid Lysol with soap, 1/4 tsp., and skipped the detergent. All plants were treated in November with absolutely no problems. 1 expected to repeat this treatment throughout the winter, but it wasn’t necessary . Perhaps outside New England, more frequent treatment would be necessary. One treatment in November; and my stands have been free of powdery mildew for two years. From Ye Bay Stater, publication of the Bay State AVS African Violet Magazine 39 Mather No. 21 - A New Species Clone Dr. Jeff Smith Indiana Academy Ball State University Muncie, IN 47306 Jsmith4@bsu.edu Growers who are interested in the species may have seen or obtained a relatively new clone known as Mather No. 21. this clone has been available for a few years and has started to make appearances in shows. The purpose of this article is to describe the clone and its history so that show entry com¬ mittees can confirm the identity of plants they may be asked to classify. Mrs. Sylva Mather of Nairobi, Kenya collected a large number of Saintpaulia species with the goal of conserving these plants against extinction. Some of the plants were col¬ lected by Mrs. Mather herself; others were obtained through trade with other growers. After Mrs. Mather’s death in 1992, Mrs. S. A. Robertson of the National Museums of Kenya cataloged the plants. Specimens were sent to a variety of Places, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the National Museums of Kenya. Cuttings of some of the plants were sent in 1993 to Ms. P.L. VanderWiel, a graduate student at Iowa State University, for use in a possible DNA project with the Saintpaulia species. I obtained cuttings of Mather No. 21 from Iowa State University in 1996. The clone has smce been shared with a number of growers and is now available from a few commercial growers. Mrs. Robertson is responsible for giving the plant die No- 21” label. In the process of recording the plants in the collection after Mrs. Mather’s death, Mrs. Robertson gave some of the plants numbers. Hence, No. 21 was the twenty- , plant recorded. I use “Mather No. 21 ” as the label for this Pant in order to show its origin and history. Mrs. Mather’s information on the collection of No. 21 is Ve *y sparse. The only thing given for the plant is that it was a small trailer from Usambara Mountains”. No other infor- ^ on wa s given. Mrs. Robertson gave the plant a number in her specimen collection records. Mather No. 21 is a semi-miniature trailer with an excel- Q trailing habit. The leaves are 3-4 cm long (about 1 to 1 . “J^cs) and are about the same in width. They are heart- 10 ova l and are slightly pointed on the tips. The leaves J gamely toothed with the teeth being most prominent on °vver half of the leaves toward the tips. The leaves are arranged on the stems and usually show a strong af backing. The stems are usually reddish-green in ^ Because of the red leaf backing and reddish steins, the color °f the plant is dark green with olive overtones. *** flow ers of Mather No. 21 are about 1 cm in diame¬ ter and are usually found 2-5 per peduncle. The flowers are medium blue in color and are presented above the foliage. The plant is not especially floriferous, especially when compared to other Saintpaulia species such as 5. grandifolia or S. ionantha. However, a mature, well grown specimen may have 20-30 open flowers at one time. I have found Mather No. 21 to be an easy species to grow. Because of the strong red backing in the leaves, the plant is well adapted to low light conditions and will thrive on the ends of light stands or even on the floor besides the stand. However, stronger light is needed to promote flower¬ ing. I usually treat this plant as a “cool" species and grow it on the bottom plant shelves (where I have more space for trailers), but it may tolerate warmer temperatures too. I have used Mather No. 21 in hybridizing, and it has been an excellent parent. One of my hybrids, ’Yesterday’s Garland’, is a FI plant from Mather No. 21 X ’Ness’ Freckle Face’. The trailing habit was present in the FI plants, which is usually not the case when a trailer is crossed with a rosette plant. Mather No. 21 also contributes a good compact trailing form and dark green leaves to its offspring. I would highly recommend the use of this plant for further hybridization efforts, especially if crossed to miniatures to produce minia¬ ture and semi-miniature trailers. I have tried to classify Mather No. 21 to one of the estab¬ lished Saintpaulia species using the leaf hair characteristics key developed by Dr. Bill Burn. Mather No. 21 has appressed hairs, which bend at right angles so that the hairs parallel the leaf surface, and are characteristic of only a few Saintpaulia species. Mather No. 21 also has both long hairs (9-11 cells) and short hairs (3 cells). Its leaf hair formula is LASA (Long Appressed, Short Appressed). According to Dr. Bum’s key, the species that Mather No. 21 matches the closest is 5. grotei. Another species that is similar is 5. magungensis var. magungensis , but the number of short appressed is much higher per square cm in that species. Therefore, it appears that Mather No. 21 is likely a clone of 5. grotei, or perhaps a natural hybrid out of S. grotei Mather No. 21 makes an excellent show plant and has already appeared in several National AVSA shows. I would encourage the label for this plant to read “Mather No. 21 ” so that the identity and origin of the plant can be maintained. As this plant and other new clones make their way into collec¬ tions it will be important to maintain the accuracy of their African Violet Magazine 41 labels. Conservation efforts must not only protect a species, but also different genetic individuals or clones of a species. Diligence in the correctness of plant labels will help in these efforts. In conclusion, Mather No. 21 is an excellent species plant for your collection. It grows well in low light conditions, a cultural condition that is usually tough on growing African violets. The plant has excellent show potential as it shapes easily and the blooms make a pleasant contrast of blue against the dark foliage. The first attempts with hybridizing have produced some excellent offspring, so it makes a good parent in breeding programs. I would highly recommend this species clone to anyone interested in growing the Saintpwdia species. February 7 - ARIZONA Desert Sun AVS Display/Sale Spectrum Mall 19th Ave and Bethaby Home Rd Phoenix, AZ Hours: 10am - 4pm Info: Ann Stoetzer (623) 872-9020 February 7 & 8 - FLORIDA First Lakeland AVS Judged Show/Sale Christ Lutheran Church 2715 Lakeland Hills Blvd. Lakeland, FL Feb 7 - noon - 6pm Feb 8 - 12:30pm - 5pm Info: Kelly Patton {863)815-8595 Email: kpatton62@juno.com Mary Jane DiLorenzo (863)647- 1517 Email: mjhd922@webtv.net February 13 & 14 - LOUISIANA Top Choice AVS Sale Barnwell Center Shreveport, LA Feb 13 - 9am - 4:30pm Feb 14 - 1pm - 5pm Info: Jackie Merritt (318) 371 -0183 February 14 & 15 - MISSOURI AVC of Greater Kansas City Judged Show/Sale Loose Park Garden Center 5200 Pennsylvania Kansas City, MO Both Days: 10am - 3pm Info: Fred Inbody (816) 373 - 6915 Email: ksdkl@juno.com February 14 -16 FLORIDA Upperpinellas AVS 44th Annual Judged Show/Sale Sunken Gardens 1825 4th St. N. St. Pete, FL All Days: 10am - 4pm Info: Phyllis King (727) 398- 7450 Dawn Reynolds (727) 846 - 0099 Email: ED@UPAVS.org February 27 & 28 - FLORIDA Thmpa AVS 28th Annual AVSA Judged Show/Sale Farm Bureau 100 South Mulrennan Rd Valrico, FL Feb 27 - noon - 7pm Feb 28 - 9am - 5pm Info: Lynne Wilson (813) 251 - 1581 Email: tpalynne@tampabay.rr.com February 28 & 29 - OKLAHOMA AVS of Greater Thlsa Show/Sale Trisa Garden Center 2435 South Peoria Tulsa, OK March 5 & 6 - FLORIDA Central Florida AVS Show/Sale Beardall Center 800 Delaney Ave. Orlando, FL Mar 5 - noon - 4pm Mar 6 - 10am - 4pm Info: Evie Blakley (321) 269 - 3628 Email: eclendenningl40@cs.com Evelyn Briggs (407) 322 - 1409 Email: evbriggs@earthlink.net March 6&7-FLORIDA Fantasy AVC Annual AVSA Judged Show/Sale Oak Hill Hospital Enrichment Center 11375 Cortez Blvd. Brooksville, FL Mar 6 - 11am- 5pm Mar 7 - noon - 3pm Info: Ann Gramstorff (352) 666 - 1207 Email: annherbgra@aol.com March 13 - CALIFORNIA South Coast AVS Judged Show/Sale South Coast Botanic Garden 26300 Crenshaw Blvd. Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA Hours: 1 lam - 4pm Info: Jacquie Eisenhut (310) 325 - 2993 Email: jeisenhut@hotmail.com April 24 Sl 25 - CANADA Societe des Saintpaulia de Montreal Annual Judged Show/Sale Chalet du pare Maisonneuve 4601 Sherbrook Street Est Montreal, Quebec, Canada Both Days: 10am - 6pm Info: Monique Beaucage (514) 990 - 5701 Feb 28 - 10am - 4pm Feb 29 - noon - 4pm Info: Rose Howlett (918) 627 - 7395 monique_beaucage@hotmail.com 42 African Violet Magazine January •February 2004 WHERE TO GROW AFRICAN VIOLETS African violets can be grown successfully in a number of locations as long as the plant’s requirements are understood. Space: African violets need ample space to mature. Crowding plants cuts off proper air circulation and encourages the spread of pests and diseases. Temperature: Temperature is very important. A night, or dark, temperature of 60 to 70 degrees F and a day, or light, temperature 10 degrees higher is ideal. The difference in day and night temperature is important for good growth. Different varieties do better at different temperatures. Cooler tempera¬ tures intensify the amount of variegation in variegated vari¬ eties. When grown under lights, the variegated varieties are often grown on the lower shelves where the temperature is cooler. Cold: If the temperature goes below 60 degrees for a period of time, the foliage will curl downward and the flowers will be discolored and deformed. If the temperature goes below 50 degrees for a period of time, the plants stop growing and will eventually die. Heat: If the temperature goes above 85-90 degrees, plant growth also slows down (when plants are almost dormant they will require less fertilizer and light). Variegated plants will often lose their variegation and become green. Light: Light is essential for plant growth. Since plants ^ their own food from water, air, and light through photo¬ synthesis, light is more important than fertilizer. Cultivars dif- er in the amount of light they need. Plants with dark foliage nee d more light than plants with light or variegated Natural light: African violets can be grown in any win- w ^ a strong, bright light. Northern and eastern windows my not Pmvide enough light; southern and western windows provide too much. Since light intensity varies at different d/ ofthe it may be necessary to try growing plants in e rent locations. Since window light is one-sided, plants ^ould be turned on a regular basis. Many people give their dow-grown plants a quarter turn every three days, lieh ^Sht' African violets grow well under artificial “Snt. Growing under lights makes it easier to regulate the ts needs and to produce beautiful plants. Because of the heat of incandescent lights, African violets are generally grown under fluorescent lights. Cool white, cool white in combination with warm white, or special growing tubes can be used. Since the intensity of the light falls off with time, it is best to replace the tubes every 15 to 18 months for more even growing con¬ ditions. Since the light in the center of a fluorescent tube is stronger than that at the ends, plants that require more light are put in the center of the lights and plants that require less light are grown at the ends. Adjust the lights so they are 8 to 12 inches above the tops of the plants (miniature and semi- miniature varieties may have to be closer). Keep the lights on from 12 to 14 hours a day. If using wide spectrum lights, keep them on no more than 8 hours a day when new, and about 10 to 12 hours a day later. Watch plants to see if they need more or less light and if their growth is regular. Time clocks for auto¬ matically turning the lights on and off are a great convenience. Too little light: Indications of insufficient light are length¬ ening of the petioles and lack of bloom. Since bud formation is governed by light intensity, the most frequent reason for lack of bloom in African violets is not enough light. Too much light: Indications of too much light are short¬ ening of the petioles, curling up of the center leaves, and bleaching or yellowing of the foliage. One-sided light: If African violets are growing in a win¬ dow, they will need help to develop and maintain good sym¬ metry. A quarter turn every three days should keep plants symmetrical. Plants grown under artificial light may also have to be turned from time to time. Humidity: Since many African violets originally grew by streams or waterfalls, humidity is a very important factor in producing beautiful African violets. Proper humidity promotes large blossoms and good growth. If buds drop unopened, the chances are that the air is too dry. The recommended relative humidity for growing African violets is between 40 to 70 per¬ cent. Since the average home is quite dry, humidity can be increased by using a humidifier and placing the plants on trays covered with wet sand, pebbles, or capillary mats. From the AVSA Handbookfor Growers, Exhibitors, and fudges How to Assess a “Good” African Violet by Margaret Taylor We all would like to grow perfect African violets, and certainly, when we are preparing plants for show, we need to choose our show-hopefuls very carefully. Qualified judges seem to have an eye for a superior plant and will often be able to scan a whole table and immediately notice the best of the bunch. Sometimes in your own collection you will see a potential show specimen, which is asking to be given the time and effort to be something really special. It seems to say, "Look at me! Look at me!” plant and may look less than balanced over several rows of leaves. There is often another problem with bouquets in that the heavy flowering in the plant’s center will block the light, thus inhibiting normal growth. These plants are very hard to re-establish when flowering ceases. Halo patterns may be the best choice, but here again the flower stems must be strong enough to hold up heavy flowering without languishing on their sides. What to Look For A variety you have grown for a while and have gotten quirks it might have is a good start. Some varieties do better in different seasons; there¬ fore, be aware of the months running up to show time and select accordingly. Have you noticed that the varieties that top the list at show-time are often those which have proved winners in the past? A young plant in a three-inch pot will often show its excellence very early. It should have a flat, symmetrical, sturdy leaf pat¬ tern that does not show any soil. Now you have the back¬ ground you want That is a start. The All Important Flowers What flowering traits are present? Fewer than five buds per stem? Not enough. Are they single, semi-double, or dou¬ ble? Be sure singles are not the dropping variety as they can be messy. Semi doubles are a good choice. Doubles may be good if the flower stems are strong enough to hold the heav¬ ier weight of the flowers without drooping. Flowering patterns may be bouquets or halos. Both are attractive in their own way, however, since the flower stems only erupt from the axils of the second and third rows of leaves, bouquets may stand up very close to the center of the 44 African Violet Magazine to how they react to temper¬ atures. This is interesting as far as growing is concerned. Heavily variegated varieties usually take a long time to grow and to come into bloom. It is perhaps better to grow these for your own interest and when they happen to be at peak per¬ formance, then show them off at one of the monthly meet¬ ings of your club. If I have placed too much emphasis on perfection or showing purposes, be mindful that any plant, while M 0 # from perfect, is worthy of growing if you like it for £ sake. African violets are as individual as we are. Love the for themselves and enjoy! From African Violet News Official J ourn ^^ e African Violet - Gesneriad Society of NSW, January • February 2004 know any little Long Lasting Blooms Some varieties have very long-lasting blooms and appear to be ever-blooming. Some of the Rhapsodies and Optimaras have this trait. These make wonderful compact house- plants, but it may be hard to grow them to the large showy specimens that seem to do the best at shows. Some others do have a propensity to keep their flowers fresh for a very long time and are unlikely to wilt a day or two after first coming out Variegateds These may be reliably stable or variable according More About Broad Mites Up Close and Personal! by Allison R. Brigham avconnectionn@yahoogroups.com A question was asked whether or not the soil mix a grower began using about two years ago could be a source, or the source, of a recurring broad mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) infestation. I cannot imagine how it could be, or I should say it is strongly unlikely! First, adult mites get about in several ways. Outdoors they can be blown here and there or hitchhike on another organism and indoors the males scurry about carrying a pharate female or wait for us to move them about the room or to others’ homes from sales. If you can forget for a minute that these organisms do a lot of agricultural damage and simply focus on an unusual aspect of their life history, this particular male behavior is awe-inspir¬ ing. Adult male broad mites emerge from their already-brief pupal stage a day or so earlier than the females. They grab a female who is ready-to-emerge, or “pharate”. In winged insects such as moths or butterflies, you can often see the ready-to-emerge adult insect through the pupal skin. If you look at the ventral side of the insect, the way in which the legs are folded across the body within the pupal skin and the visible eyes well, it reminded some early, sleep-deprived entomologist of Egyptian sarcophagi and pharaohs! The male uses his long back two legs to hoist this female pupa upright onto his back, he heads for the upper (apical) regions of the plant, and he’s ready to mate the instant she emerges. The female lays her eggs (about 40 to 80) on the under¬ sides of leaves and in flowers - not in soil. At plant-room temperatures of 25 degrees C (77 degrees F) and high humidity, the eggs hatch in about two days. The complete life cycle (egg to egg) takes about five days under these con¬ ditions. The female can keep cranking out eggs for one to two weeks. So, broad mites do not have a soil-inhabiting portion of their life cycle, such as the pre-pupal and pupal stages of thnps The grower has several options: 1. Soil mix: Discontinue using the new mix or pasteurize it. 2. Confirm the identification of the current pest. During my years at a state-funded research agency in Illinois, the busiest taxonomists in our organization were the ones who identified species of mites, thrips, aphids, and caterpillars. Agricultural pests were job one! Adult mites are the realm of specialists, but there is an easy trick to confirm broad mites. The female lays a distinctive egg. If you see eggs on the undersides of leaves (10X magnification is sufficient) with what appears to you to be white spots or bumps, you’re safe in assuming broad mites are present. In your home, it’s reason¬ able that the mites are multivoltine (many generations per year) and that these are overlapping generations. So, there would always be some eggs present. Be prepared to try several different management strategies to achieve control. The first critical step is accurate identifica¬ tion of the problem. This could possibly be something different Then, review your options. There is no substitute for doing your homework. If you choose to go the ‘chemical’ route, it is especially critical because not all acariddes (=mitiddes) are effective against all spedes. Review toxicological and LD-50 (dosage as milligrams per kilo¬ gram of body weight that kills 50 percent of the test organisms) information to see if you can use the compound safely in your home. A Google internet search using the name of the compound + MSDS (for Material Safety Data Sheet) should get you started. Also, “broad mites” + miticides, or biocontrol, are good. Biocontrol is an option. Typically, you apply predatory mites. There was a well-written article in AVM several years back that described one woman’s battle with thrips and her ultimate victory using biocontrol. Find this and more information at From the Lone Star AVC Newsletter January • February 2004 REPOTTING A PLANT by Sheila Walton Why and when should you re-pot a plant? A plant can look all right in its pot when you first acquire it, but do you really know what is in the pot? Plants grown commercially experience very different conditions in huge glass-houses, compared to the conditions in hobby growers individual homes. The commercially grown African violets often have a heavier, sandy mix than we use. This doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re doing! Far from it; they have found this potting medium suits their method of grow¬ ing the plants in the quickest time so that they can be sold. Most hobby growers find a light African violet potting mix is best for their plants, as it does not seem to hold quite so much water. So changing the potting mix makes sense. Plants will always do better when they have had time to acclimate to your conditions. This may take a week or sometimes several months. After plants have been in their pots for a number of months, the potting mix starts to deteriorate, peat moss starts to break down, fer¬ tilizer salts start to build up, and the plant may have developed a neck (i.e. a bare piece of stem where old leaves have been removed). Most African violets will benefit from re-pot¬ ting annually. If growing well, it may be neces¬ sary to do it every six months. Experience and practice will teach you what is best for your plants. Having decided you need to re-pot your African violet, what is next? It is easier to work with a plant that is a lit¬ tle on the dry side. Leaves do not snap so easily and old potting mix falls off more readily with¬ out damaging the roots. Your plant can be off water for a week or two. If it still feels very wet, let it drain on newspaper. Next, assemble all the things you may require; newspaper to work on, different size pots, potting mix, a skewer or similar to lever your plant from the pot, wicks, brush to clean the plant when the job is done, something to remove old leaf stubs, such as an old knife, or a sucker-plucker’ (actually a ceramic tool which we find very useful for our violets). You may need a sharp knife if part of the root ball needs to be cut off. Action Stations. Spread the newspaper on your work bench. 46 African Violet Magazine It is much easier to wrap up the mess in paper than to brush it all off the table. Insert your skewer through the hole in the bottom/side of the pot and wiggle it about to loosen the plant. It should then be able to be levered up and out. Have a good look at the potting mix and the root system. This is a time to check that the mix does not have any unwanted guests such as soil mealy bugs. During one of the re-potting sessions in our club meeting, there was actually a live garden worm in one of the pots! If all looks all right, proceed to remove some of the old mix by gen¬ tly crumbling with your fingers. Remove any existing flowers and flower buds! I know it’s hard, but your plant will need all its energy to grow new roots to sustain its life - so give it a fair go! Remove any old leaves, marked leaves, or those that spoil the symmetry. This is a good opportunity to get your violet looking great. Scrape the stem to remove any scaly bits left from the leaves, and to promote root growth - new roots will come from the stem when it is covered with potting mix. Now you need to assess the size of the pot you are going to use. It may be the same size as before, but it could well be larger or smaller. African violets do not like a lot of unused potting mix around their roots. They like to be a bit pot-bound. It may be that having removed a lot of leaves it will he necessary to cut off part of the bottom of the stem and roots. This will not hurt the plant and will improve its long term survival prospects. Next write the name of the P^ ° n the side of the pot, together with the date. The date will help you to decide when it next needs re-potting or potting up to a larger size. Put a wick in your pot, even if you do not wick water at present as you may decide to in the future an the wick can be useful for draining as well as watering. Put a little African violet potting mix in the bottom of the pot. You will now have assess how big the root ball is compared to yoiff pot. If there is a reasonable size root ball, p your plant in the pot and fill in around the ’ If you have had to remove all the roots and oruj have a bare stem to plant in a smaller P°t ^ wfll find it easier to fill the pot and then hole in the middle with a pencil or similar, put your stem into the hole. Do not press _ potting mix down. Simply tap the pot on January‘February 2004 bench. This will settle the mix. The bottom row of leaves should be level with the top of the pot. The next step is a mat¬ ter of personal choice. You may either lightly water the plant from the top, or stand it in a saucer of water for 10-15 min- utes to let it soak up some moisture. Most growers would only use plain water for the first week or so and when they feel the plant is settled, start using fertilizer. Some growers put newly re-potted plants into a plastic bag for a week or two especially if most of the root system had to be removed. If you have an African violet that is very special to you - perhaps for sentimental reasons - and you feel a bit hesitant about re-potting it for the first time, take out some insurance. Thke one or two healthy leaves that are not too old and plant them. When the leaves have produced baby plants you know that if for any unforeseen reason your plant did not survive major surgery, you have the new offspring to take its place. Another way of being a little cautious with a plant with a very long neck is to re-pot it in stages, perhaps taking only 1" of 2" off the root-ball to start with and covering part of the bare neck. From the Newsletter of the Early Mom Group, Australia The Journey for rally Time Winners by Paris Merriam Irvine, California • parisminirose@yahoo.com I recently joined the African Violet Society of America, Inc. and I belong to the Tustana African Violet Society in Orange, California. I love to grow African violets, as this is my indoor Pknt of choice. Being a former rose grower and exhibitor in southern California, I research information on plants that do weD at shows. Every year, the AVSA publishes the Tilly Time Winners in their March/April issue of the African Violet Magazine. This format is quite similar to what the American jfose Society does with their publication naming the top exhi- “fo°n roses that have shown well during the year. Therefore, in researching the 2001 and 2002 issues of e AVM, the quest was on to find these plants, buy them, jjndgrow them in hopes of entering them in an African vio- show someday. My focus was on the standard African J*** ^ I thought I would have my best luck in growing ^ first. Pauline Bartholomew appears to recommend stan- & as well in her book Growing To Show. My adventure started in the spring of 2003 with a drive t0 beautiful coastal Carlsbad, California, for the T^ad African Violet Society show and sale. Here I was r )le to my first African violet show and have a chance to WJ™* of the Tilly Time winners. I found ‘Fisherman’s Jr- ‘Picasso’, and ‘Ode to Beauty’. The excitement of pig them home to grow and enjoy was worth the drive, °ne seeing many beautiful African violets displayed and tor all in one place! next st0 P was West Covina, California, for the *piH Valley AVS show and sale. Here I met Gini McCanne A ? er of Volet Perfection by Gini. I bought some beautiful violets from Gini and others in this club that added to ny m y Time collection. These African violets included {ANUary * February 2004 ‘Windy Day’, ‘Powwow’, and ‘Lela Marie’. Upon viewing the winners on the show table at this venue, I noticed the Best of Show winner was ‘Rising Tide’. The grower offered me a ‘Rising Tide’ for sale that looked just as good as the one that won Best of Show! Descanso Gardens, nestled in the foothills of La Canada, California, was the next stop for the Montrose AVS show and offered in their silent auction. I was also able to purchase •Harbor Blue’. This journey was worth the effort, as the grounds of Descanso Gardens are quite spectacular, and cer¬ tainly worth visiting. Off to the next show and sale in the high California desert, I met the friendly folks from the Happy Tails AVS in Apple Valley California. I continued to add to my collection of African violets and bought an ‘East Wind’, which won the Best of Show at this event. The last stop of this adventure was in Torrance, California, for the South Coast AVS show and sale Here I found a ‘Bertha’ that Leonard Re had for sale. I found some other plants as well, and I knew I was on my way to having a nice collection of African violets. I fell two short in getting all of the ThUy Time winners for 2001 and 2002 at the various shows and sales here in south¬ ern California. I continued my search and I found two ven¬ dors in the back of the African Violet Magazine. Tavis of tLs’ Violets sent me a plant of ‘Smooch Me’ and Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses will be sending me ‘The Alps’. y Although my quest for the Tally Time winners of 2001 and 2002 is complete, the search may continue once the winners are published for 2003! African Violet Magazine 47 Students’ Artwork Exhibited at Violet Show by Mary Ann Switzer • Chesterfield, Missouri MSLAVCPresident Nancy Amelung (on right) presents an African Violet to teacher Mrs. Kathy Standley (on left) pleased with her artwork had them on a table. Each stu¬ dent picked out a plant and car¬ ried it to their table. She was amazed that even the older boys, who sometimes have rather rough and tumble behavior, carried the plants so carefully. One of the children explained to me that the project actually took three art periods. The first day, the plants were drawn. Then, Mrs. Standley made photo copies of them. These copies were used in a les¬ son on watercolor one day and a lesson with colored pencils another day. The display brought in a lot of people who had not previ¬ ously attended our show. It was fun watching the children show their work to their families. They were so proud of their artwork. Every picture had charm. Maybe some of them will want to grow their own plants one day. Mrs. Standley and her husband spent a lot of time at the education¬ al table, asking ques- ; about wick water¬ ing, fertilizers, and grow¬ ing under artificial light Mrs. Standley wants to keep her plants growing. Maybe they will be used again next year in art classes. Perhaps these photos will inspire other art teachers to use African violets in their lesson plans. Maybe drawing Africa 11 violets could be a program at a club meeting. If there is a computer savvy club member, the drawings could be scanned into the computer and custom sta¬ tionery printed. Wouldn’t it be fun to use note cards featuring your own African violet artwork? As you can see, even the most naive draw¬ ings are charming. Art byZlatan Strbac January •February 2004 The 2003 annual show of the Metropolitan St. Louis African Violet Council was enhanced with a display of chil¬ dren’s artwork The beautiful African violets were drawn by children in the second, third, fourth, and fifth grades at Crestwood Elementary School in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Their art teacher is Mrs. Kathy Standley. The wonderful draw¬ ings of African violets were bordered with mattes of many colors and tastefully displayed by Mrs. Standley on a folding screen. This was a great tie in to our | show theme: “Violets Show \ Their Colors.” I Many of the children came to die show with their parents and grandparents. They wanted to show off their artwork and see more violets. Some of the children who came didn’t even have their art displayed. Mrs. Standley said that many of the pictures were given to their mothers and grand¬ mothers as gifts for Mother’s Day. Mrs. Standley explained that she had pur¬ chased African violets and AVSA COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP It is with great pleasure and pride that we announce the guidelines of the AVSA College Scholarship, available for the fourth year. The award is for $500 to $1000 which may be used for tuition, books, or fees. Applicants should be enrolled in a four year under¬ graduate program or in a graduate program of an accred¬ ited university or college. Applicants should be majoring in Ornamental Horticulture, Floriculture, or an equivalent program. Applicants should have a minimum “B” average and have comnleted at least 24 semester or quarter hour credits by the beginning of the spring, 2004 semester. This is a one-time award with the opportunity to reapply in subsequent years and is funded by the Boyce Edens Research Fund of AVSA. Applications can be downloaded from the AVSA web site, www.avsa.org . or may be ordered from the AVSA office: AVSA Scholarship Application, 2375 North St., Beaumont, TX 77702. Application deadline is March 1, 2004. AD complet¬ ed appUcations should be sent to Dr. Elmer Godeny, 7004 Government St, Baton Rouge, LA 70806. JOIN US IN TUCSON, ARIZONA FOR THE 58th ANNUAL AVSA CONVENTION AND SHOW APRIL 11-18, 2004 Tips From the Potter’s Comer .. i_.unf ttirtpv “hmwn in" bags work great for Here is a summary of wicking cord material. Nylon strings, fishing/sporting dept., discount stores 2 Car Penter twine, discount stores 3 ' Nylon yam 2 Nylon stockings, cut to 0.5" x 6" 5 > Acrylic yam 2 N ylon cord, fabric stores P Nylon cord, chains & ropes dept., home supply stores P Mason’s twine ) Seine line, fishing supply stores you know that Yoplait brand yogurt cups make awesome reservoirs for 2 inch "icked pots? They are ®2^totfc«ngover the bases are a bit ^ than the lops. J^AKy • Febo,,.,™ 7m , Did you know that tutkey “brown in" bags work great for sterilizing potting mix in your oven with less mess? And they “ ^ ^U^eraVe Mldering iron (under $10) works fnr mplfinp holes in Variegated African Violets by Pat Hancock • West Chester, OH How did we get variegated plants from the solid leaves of the species violets? African violets appear to be very fickle creatures and have the ability to sport, or mutate, in both foliage and flower. Hybridizers have made very good use of the violet’s ability to sport. The first double flower was a sport called ‘Duchess’, and the first white flower was another sport called ‘White Lady’. Three types of variegated foliage came from sports: “Crown” variegation, “Mosaic” variegation, and “Tommie Lou" variegation. “Tommie Lou” variegation is the type that I have been working with in my Buckeye series of varieties. Tommie Lou Oden planted a leaf of a plant called ‘White Pride'. When the baby plants came up, she noticed that one had a different type of foliage than that of the green-leafed parent. Fortunately, she had the insight to consider that it was a sport rather than a ‘sick baby’. After putting down leaves for about nine generations, she introduced the new plant as ‘Tommie Lou’. The ideal for this type of foliage had always been about 70% green and 30% cream. My idea of the ideal foliage is about 70% very dark green, 20% pink, and 10% cream. To achieve this, the pollen parent must have very dark, almost black foliage, and the leaves must be red backed. Chlorophyll Variegated plants can often be a bit more difficult to grow than solid green plants. Solid green plants have chlorophyll in all of their plant cells. Variegated plants contain less chlorophyll, as the pink or cream areas do not produce verv much J Chlorophyll is very important as it absorbs light and con verts it into plant energy through photosynthesis. In order t produce chlorophyll, plants need nitrogen, which they ge from the air and from fertilizers. Plants need air in the soil a well as bacteria. Bacteria help break down the nitrogen fron fertilizers into nitrates that can be absorbed by the roots The amount of bloom in an African violet is directly relat ed to the amount of chlorophyll in the plant. Variegated vio lets with more than 30% variegation produce less bloom There is a fine line to keeping the amount of variegation to b pleasing to the violet grower, but not so much that you los the mam purpose of blooming freely. African violets with leaves that become too white nee a 20/20/20 fertilizer, or a misting with fish emulsion Thos violets that become too green will need a fertilizer in whicl the middle number is higher. 50 African Violet Magazine Light and pH Other components for successful growing of variegated African violets are light and the correct pH. Variegated plants need ten to twelve hours of light per day. For my plants, I use two fluorescent tubes, one daylight white and one grow light, or one daylight white and one warm white. I have found that variegated African violets are affected a bit more by improper pH. The pH level in both water and soil should be close to 6.7. Temperature Temperature is also capable of affecting African violets. Bacteria are more active in warm temperatures and less active in cooler temperatures. A temperature of about 71°F is con¬ sidered best for variegated African violets. The lower shelves of a light stand are best for temperatures above 71 °F, while the higher shelves are best for temperatures below 71°F. Repotting Extra care is needed when repotting variegated African violets. Mold potting is best, as less roots are disturbed, and you lessen the chance of having spots appear in the cream areas of your leaves after repotting. Plants with necks can either be repotted into a deeper pot with as little abuse to the roots as possible or may be taken back to a crown and started over. Variegated plants are much more intolerant of roots being disturbed or cut off than solid green leaved plants. Also, more care must be taken not to overwater after repotting, as this can cause dark spots on variegated leaves. If you feel that you have overstressed your plant, enclose it in a plastic bag for a week. Putting Down Leaves When putting leaves down, choose those with as much green as possible and very little cream or pink. Prepare a cup of water containing two drops of Superthrive. Cut the end of the petiole from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. Soak the petiole in the Superthrive solution for about ten minutes. Fill half of a Solo cup with soil and the top half with extra course vermicu- lite. I have found that the baby plants will have better green color if soil is in the bottom of the cup. Make a hole in the ver- miculite and insert the leaf at a slight slant toward the back Cover with a plastic sandwich bag or place in a domed tray. Keep a close eye on variegated leaves for the first hvo weeks after planting. Cream areas on the leaves sometimes develop dark spots that could spread to the entire leaf Opening the bag and cutting off the areas that have started to rot will usually save the leaf. January • February 2004 After about one month, the leaf should be rooted. Open the bag and cut off the top half of the leaf. Water with fish emulsion water or a 20/20/20 fertilizer, using a weak solu¬ tion of about half the strength you would use on adult plants. Place in a tray with a dome. liking Care of the Babies Continue watering with fish emulsion water or weakened 20/20/20 water to keep them as green as possible. When the [fents have four leaves, it is time to pot them into Solo cups. Don’t worry about the variegation at this point. Variegation Never take babies that are too white off of the mother leaf uni you have misted them and the green color has improved. They will die if transplanted when they are too white. Misting To mist the variegated violet plants that become too white, use 1/4 teaspoon fish emulsion to one gallon of HOT water. You may mist the babies completely, but cover the crown on adult plants with a Kleenex or a used dryer sheet, luse a “used,” and cleaned, pump hair spray bottle, and mist once a week until they green up. Things I Would Have a Hard Time Living Without • Plastic Bags: Sandwich and gallon sizes. 1 use gallon bags to isolate new additions, separate plants that just don’t look right, and newly potted plants that have had a lot done to them. Sandwich bags are used to hold leaves and suckers. • Lava Rock and charcoal: Both of these help provide air spaces in the soil, thus providing nitrogen. • Dehydrated cow manure: Adds shine to leaves and pro¬ motes faster growth. • Powders of Sulphur: Rub on exposed necks w hen repot ting to prevent fungus and crown rot. • Baccto potting soil or some type of Humus: Add to the soil to promote beneficial bacteria. • GOOD WATER: This is so important. Rain water, dehu¬ midifier water, reverse osmosis water. Always a pH of 6.6 - 6.7. By paying a bit more attention to how your variegated plants are growing, it is possible to correct any problem that might be present. The reward of a plant that not only blooms well, but has beautiful foliage is well worth the AT T EARTHLINGS TAKE NOTE! le next Dixie AVS Convention and Show will be held at “ Hilton Houston - NASA Hotel located next to Johnson Hilton Houston - NASA Hotel located next to Johnson Center at 3000 NASA Road One in Nassau Bay, State fcxas, and Country of America on Planet Earth. The theme this _i. ....... A.t _ n\j5nipt planet. HA. His excellent presentation is entitled “Deep Space et Winners.” He will interpret successful selecting, grow 5 ld lowing beautiful horticulture. Pl f to have fun with Jane Rexilius from New "tfels, Texas. She is going to present “Red Rock Garde lars ", sharing how to create a dish garden design that is mediately ready for judging with the remarkable appe '°f being well established. Jary • February 2004 Listen carefully to special NASA speakers who will ^Creloutv^to^Phythyonwho include a space journey Far-out ^ Space center Housron. Or take “Sw* Kemah BoaIdwalk " ith ils spe f 1 ' y ndes along«“XfrL njoy a leisurely stroll through an shops and area** ^ « indude rides that departs Iron, a white sandy delightfully :RED w invited to bring their red out- tneal serve d- a u . feigns to be displayed in rare !l„ e r C dS tte cSS occasion. Earth contact data: ^488-0267 or jasstenger@aol.com. * African Violet Magazine 51 sPJei#fa9 Stgns Moot) to ffries Barren and dry, fiery and masculine. Used for destroying noxious growths, weeds, pests, etc., and for cultivating. Moon to Xa tfptfs Productive and moist, earthy and feminine. Used for plant¬ ing many crops, particularly potatoes and root crops, and when hardiness is important. Also used for lettuce, cabbage, and sim¬ ilar leafy vegetables. Moon to Q*mtot Barren and dry, airy and masculine. Used for destroying noxious growths, weeds and pests, and for cultivation. Moon to Concer Very fruitful and moist, watery and feminine. This is the most productive sign, used extensively for planting and irrigation. Moot) to Leo Barren and dry, fiery and masculine. This is the most barren sign, used only for killing weeds and for cultivation. Moon tt) 'Yfags Barren and moist, earthy and feminine. Good for cultiva¬ tion and destroying weeds and pests. Moon to Lflbpct Semi-fruitful and moist, airy and masculine. Used for planting many crops and producing good pulp growth and roots. A very good sign for flowers and vines. Also used for seeding hay, com fodder, etc. Moon to Scorpio Very fruitful and moist, watery and feminine. Nearly as productive as Cancer; used for the same purposes. Especially good for vine growth and sturdiness. Moon to Sc^lH'orltts Barren and dry, fiery and masculine. Used for planting onions, seeding hay, and for cultivation. Moot) to Coprlcort) Productive and dry, earthy and feminine. Used for plant¬ ing potatoes, tubers, etc. Moot) to Barren and dry, airy and masculine. Used for cultivation and destroying noxious growths, weeds, and pests. Moot) It) Pisces Very fruitful and moist, watery and feminine. Used along with Cancer and Scorpio, especially good for root growth. Reprinted with permission from L published by Llewellyn Publications, ISBN 0-7387-0070-3 January* February 2004 52 African Violet Magazine r THOSE (*&A%$#@) MEALIES by Sharon Holtzman # After probably t wcytfa rs. it was just brought to my atten¬ tion by a rhir d»,p ecsor^at I passed along a Streptocarpus plant with Soil Meajy,Bugs to another grower. The recipient vas a grc||jpnat I have always ad i m red b ecause she is so consdentious/and I was mortified, jKj^jprayed plants, I have drenched plants, I have added chemical's to my growing medium, I have pitched plants, I’ve swom^and I’ve cried, and even now I still find the occasion^^k bug. j^ J I thought being more selective whogPp acquired plant material would help. Nop?. I have mealie bugs in every dam plant that I have added to my inventory, and every one had to be thrown away. I thought that just buying leaves would do the trick. Nope, they showed up in babies that came up from the leaves. The straw that broke this camel’s back came when I found some mealie bugs in a “seedling”. The only conclusion that 1 could draw was that the mealies came in my ProMix BXI have pasteurized small amounts of peat in the oven from time to time but with no regularity because I couldn t ^d the smell. So there was no way for me to prove to ®yself that the ProMix was the culprit. Well, I’m going to find °ut once and for all...read on. First thing I did was to sow seed on top of the New Zeala nd Pellet Moss that was reconstituted using boiling water (and then cooled of course). These are germinating in a covered container that was iso sterilized with boiling water. 1 bought an electric Soil Pasteurizer/Sterilizer and have started to pasteurize my ProMix. It is steam pasteurized, held at , 160 degrees for 30 minutes. If I completely sterilize my ^ I am limited to what fertilizers I can use. If there are no raicrobes in my mix at all. I’m afraid that fertilizers with ^ may not be as effective, and I do occasionally like to use 30 Orchid fertilizer that does contain some urea. I’m also Washin g all of my perlite so that I do not confuse the dust-like P^cles with patches of mealie bugs. . , % seedlings will go from the moss to the each on its own reservoir to maturity, well isolated ^ other Plant material, and I will keep notes all along Way. 1 was very excited when my sterilizer arrived and to get started on cooking this peat. Imagine m y Pjj^ent to find that the contraption had no g chided in the instruction sheet was the suggestion R ? lst0rn ized metal tray made, and it gave the dime r* § packrat that I am, I just happened to have welded plant tray that was given to me by a en S ° 311(1 was collecting dust. Because it was larger towARy • February 2004 dimensions suggest J^ought it would be just perfect. I lined the tray mp» heavy-duty aluminum foil, filled the sterilizer, turned it on at the desired temperature, and waited. After one half hour had passed and there was no detectable odor, I thought “this is going to be great". My three cats circled the sterilizer like a feline wagon train through the _ l off, and my anticipation was build- Uftedth?lid. “Holy cow. Vesuvius revisited"!!! That stinky steam just billowed out, knocking me back on my heels and sending the cats retreating to the Eu a*™*** ** basement I am so grateful that my grandchiidrenwerenm within earshot because the litany of expienves t^ fiewfrom my ups would have caused me to lose my babysitting rights^ y bought if I could hurry up and cool Otis stuff, the steam would stop so 1 lifted the contraption to shake out the con- "n did you moss, and the tray that I was ta Snot contain all of it. With heavy rubber gloves. I ZSSSSZSSZSSZ *"*£■to be drawn was you never ” g “P 1 '^te^b« genius. After he offered to physical acnvny. he s a b»otm.sj ^ ^ quick]y h^ced with thesuggestion that I just sit the sterilizer in the re f ^Iw binSh I have since cooked a second tart wheelbarrow... B whee [barrow does wo* beautifully. the mix. cooling it in no time at all “ rSto an old tabtedoth that! can pick up and 1 toe plastic container. Over a two day penod. tt and vermicuUte for the being mixed wun r ’ 1 have the bugs finished broker'.. iust love it. WOr S? Cw®0 Company makes the electric soil sterilizer. ‘ tanWzed aeel and a « I L heating elements are sheathed -s-sr •*» [murids instructions included. African Violet Magazine 53 Dive into Design by Madaline Whittaker Submerge yourself with a new challenge by considering a design in underwater flower arrangement. My first thought was how difficult this category would be. After reading two excellent articles in the African Violet Magazine, one by Cathy Comibe, May 1988, and another by julie Adams, November 1988, I could visualize several good reasons for trying a design underwater. You can keep this type of arrangement simple. Therefore, you can concentrate on emphasizing the line and choosing color to set the mood or design style. The container serves as the niche. Your arrangement size will be based on this space, and points will be deducted if any plant material is touching the top or sides of the container. Above all, keep everything clear and uncluttered. You need a minimal amount of design material because everything you put into a container will be magnified con¬ siderably. The thickness of the glass and the shape of the container determines how much magnification will occur when water is added. A round bowl will magnify more than straight sided glass. Any pattern or design in the glass will be distracting to the design. Try different shaped containers to get the effect you want to achieve. The biggest problem I could think of was keeping everything stable and not floating away. 1 think Cathy Comibe came up with a magnificent solution - magnets! She suggests making a metal base and paint it with an enamel paint so it won’t rust. Then use stick-em on the base to anchor it down to the bottom of your bubble bowl. Next, glue small magnets to the bottoms of all of your accessories, pin frogs etc., with clear silicone sealer. Let the sealer dry completely. After partially filling your bubble bowl with distilled water, simply lower your materials onto the base and move them around as often as necessary. How easy it will now be for you to make adjustments to your design as well as to feel confident your arrangement will stay on the bottom. Now all you need to be concerned about is what design material to use. Points will be deducted if the water is cloudy or murky. Make sure everything that is put in your design container has been thoroughly rinsed to remove any dust or residues. Remove any damaged foliage and other imperfec¬ tions as well. For an easy test to see which materials hold up best, put different types of plant material that you might want to use in your design into separate glasses of water. Check the glasses daily for several days. Read your show schedule carefully to be sure you understand the information. Choose one or more possible containers. Look around for interesting items on which to base your design. Then start practicing. CA Council News Anything Can Go Wrong Does the old saying, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong at the worst possible moment” become your motto just before a show? One year, the thrips decide to take up residence in your collection, and the next mites decide to drop in for a snack. With our show rapidly approaching, it’s time to keep an extra keen eye on your plants. One problem that can and usually does present itself around show time is fertilizer buildup. Generally, fertilizer buildup occurs in plants with immature root systems (e.g., recently potted plantlets); however, mature plants are not immune. What are the causes? Obviously, overfeeding, especially with a high nitrogen fertilizer, is the primary cause, but a high alkaline content in your water and/or plants kept too wet can trigger a buildup. What should you look for? Look for a reddish crystal substance in the crowns of your plants. Often, crowns will 54 African Violet Magazine take on a "wet” looking appearance just prior to the formation of the crystals. What should you do? First, rinse the crowns and flush the soil with clear lukewarm water. Second, dab the center dry with a soft tissue or paper towel. Third, remove plants from their water source (if wick watering) or discontinue watering if you are hand watering. Keep the affected plant(s) on the dry side (not bone dry) for the next few weeks. 1 have found that plants immediately returned to their water source are likely to have a relapse of the same problem. How can you prevent fertilizer buildup? Avoid over¬ fertilizing (more isn’t better). Also, I have found that plants that are kept too wet are perfect targets. If you think your plants are too wet, they probably are. If you wick water, try using a thinner wicking material. If you hand water or mat water, try lightening up your soil mix by adding perlite. January • February 2004 TRAILERS by Joan Halford From her book “Growing African violets in Southern Africa” Nothing is easier than the propagation of a trailer. I see no fence in the beauty of trailers grown in natural light from that of ate grown under fluorescent lighting. They can be grown in exactly the same way as standard specimens, when you root leaves in a rooting medium of your tee. However, a far quicker way of multiplying trailers is to move a whole tip cutting, cut off the lower leaves, leaving a 1" and then planting this stub into a rooting medium. Cover the te and pot with a plastic bag as before, and in no time at all the tipcutting will root - voila! A new plant. If propagation is done by leaf, the plandets are removed from ie mother leaf when about 2" tall and potted into small pots. Care ®st be taken to prevent drying out at this crucial stage, lip teigs given extra humidity by being encased in plastic bags root ^ easily. As soon as the center crown elongates and produces six leaves, pinch out the top four crown leaves. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THAT ONE WOULD PINCH OUT ®0WN GROWTH. The pinching out encourages new side-shoots, which in time “ ecMne new crowns. A trailer should have a minimum of three Q5wns ’ hut there must only be one original plant in the pot More P r °duce more flowers, so this is the aim when growing tt * rS: to encourage more crowns to develop. Tty to get emerging aowns 10 lie evenly around the pot, all crowns emanating from the °w plant. The whole plant, no matter how many aowns it has, look rounded and balanced. The trailing branches may start to over the pot’s edge, but provided no bare stems are showing toey are neat and evenly spaced, leave them. If bare trailing stems start showing, cut them back. They will sprout again, and new growth will emerge at the stem nodules. The aim must be to achieve hill foliage, with form being a most important consideration. Sometimes very little pinching back or pruning is necessary: rieties differ! Move aowns, stake them in position, and after a ie they will stay where you want them. Use plastic drinking GROOMING A TRAILER If there is a gap, pinch out the crown nearest to the gap and it will produce new growth which will then fill in. Groom as you would for a standard plant, by removing marred or yellowed leaves. Wash foliage, dry off, and remove all old, spent blooms. It needs patience to groom a trailer, and there is a lot to do. but when it is done it is so worthwhile - it looks magnificent. When doing this grooming of a trailer, it is a good idea to me the leaves that are too laige ot too small, since Hying to keep all leaves the same size is the object of growing a good tiailet. Often a whole crown will develop larger than notmal leaves. Remove the entire oown if you can. as long as the removal oftfns latpr than normal crown (toes not destroy the rounded, balanced ***£"*£: If you have your trailers as hanging plants, and 1WI it difficult to remove them to water them every time, do try this simple method. Buy a few cheap shower caps and when u s time to water your trailers, pull the shower cap over the bottom of the pot The shower tap -P™* the and mess and save your floor from fertilizer marks. Tly it, it works. TIPS FOR GROWING UNDER LIGHTS , 031 ^Variegated plants need more light - place directly under 10 - find excepti ° Sns ' n . StStETSK* there is good air circulation 12 ' Sfhxl leve,s “ pUmtS under liShB are rffe*aan d shelves shouU ** 13 ' Lned weekly to ensure even growth. !4. SSl^sure to re-pot at regular intervals. From the Newsletter of the Forty Mom AV Group, Australia African Violet Magazine 55 Plants so that the top leaves are 10 -12" from the Wt tubes. feature violets need to be placed closer to lights, between 8 to 4* from tubes. ^ate the lights for 12-14 hours per day. (Reduce this if JJtonew tubes are used). Qean tubes with a damp sponge (when ‘“j“ ss «y. This will ensure you get the best out of your tubes. only one tube at a time to avoid trauma to pbnts. /T** tubes when ends are blackened as their effigy good results, replace one tube 10 weeks before S® 8 w hose leaves reach up need more light, so place *e £* eith « directly under the tubes ot even closer to tuto. T 1 * ^th tight centers are receiving too much ligh '■--ARY . to reduce intensity or reduce hours. February 2004 Hannah's greenhouses ‘mail-order specialists * Visit our online catalog to view our extensive selection of standard, miniature, semi-miniature, and trailing violets from over 90 premier hybridizers. We offer a large selection of streptocarpus and other interesting gesneriads, geraniums, begonias, and other flowering tropical plants. Ask to receive your $5.00 customer appreciation coupon! Want an African violet catalog? Send $1.00 to: Box 2 Box 1342 AV WORLD’S BEST SELLER AFRICAN VIOLET BEAUTIES ms LKT$1 ' Looking for Orchid Information? Log Oni Interact with other eager orchid enthusiasts by click¬ ing on Orchid Forum at OrchidWeb ®, developed especially as an informa¬ tion exchange platform for orchid growers throughout the world. The Ameri-can Orchid Society's popular web site has extensive plant-care tips, inspiring photographs, a calendar of orchid events, and other helpful orchid information. Founded in 1921, the AOS is the world's number-one orchid- information source — just ask 30,000 members worldwide. On¬ site membership application is available along with convenient, secured shopping in The AOS BookShop and Orchid Emporium. (561)404-2100 gf-AVMAG, 16700AO!i Lane ^7 Beach, FL 334464351 fte (561)404-2000 Fa> §» theAOS@aos.org Web s, All Library Requests Must Be Made in Writing to the African Violet Society of America Office . VISIT THE AVSA’S WEBSITE: www.AVSA.org Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, Inc. PO Box 249 Dept AV Dolgeville NY 13329 “Where The Violets Are!” Quality hybrids since 1954 African Violets, Aeschynanthus, Chiritas, Codonanthe. ; Columneas, Episcias, Kohlerias, Nematanthus. Orchids, j Rex Begonias, Streptocarpus, other assorted Gesneriads, J and SO much more! You’ll go CRAZY!!! & \ To receive our latest Catalog, please send: | $3.00 U S. / $5.00 International (US Funds) Our greenhouses are open year round. No appointments necessary! Call for hours! Phone (315) 429 8291 Visit our ivehsite at: www.lyndonlyon.com African Violet Magazine 5/ January • February 2004 You know Mfcofv Violets - jndw meet the restofthewr^';/ A merCcaw Gloxinia/ GemerCad/Society VUCtuyoriUne^ http://w\o\uTag^y.org/ igg Vtoletperfectfon/ly Cjuni/ PHYSAN 20“ Controls A mmm VIOLETS!!! QUALITY AFRICAN VIOLET VIOLET OBSESSIONS Happy New Year To All Our Violet Friends! Something New For 2004 BROWNLIE - ACA’S GOLDEN MOMENT - Beautiful white double blossoms with rays of yellow shining over the well shaped light green foliage. Standard R- BANN - REBEL’S AMY - Lovely single to semidouble pink pansy with purple fantasy over dark green girl, quilted, glossy, scalloped foliage. Semiminiature , , , stork - LOUISIANA LAGNIAPPE - Flashy bright fuchsia single/semidouble pansies edged with a band of deep plum glitter over glossy, medium/dark green, symmetrical foliage. Standard SORANO - NEON FANTASY - Deep purple double/semidbl pansy with frilled edge and hot pink fantasy puffs. Foliage is dark green, beige and rose variegation. Standard - PnTMAN - SUNSHINE LADY - Large double pink blossoms stand out over beautiful yellow and green Space does nor allow m name all the beautiful plants we have available. Our catalog is available to you for $2.00 with all the varieties ? we o«r catalog for some of Shirley’s new hybrids! They will be listed as Shirl’s. Plants of the customer’s choice $4.50 each. Minimum of 6 plants per order. Shipping and handling on up to 6 plants $8.00. Quantities over that amount check our catalog. i favfs- SHIRLEY’S CHOICE - 24 current and previous releases $24.00 plus $6.00 shipping and handling 50 leaves $44.00 plus $6.00 shipping and handling. Over 50 leaves add 10 cents per leaf to the 5- shipping. We wifl begin shipping in April where weather permits. Always include your phone number as we call our customers to give them the exart date that their order will leave the Violet House. Make check payable to Shirley Sanders 1034 Rayburn Dr. • San Antonio, TX 78221 • Telephone (210) 923-1093 January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 59 ^an J 'lAJorksliop (formerly Acne Creations) 1 Custom Made Award Ribbons and Rosettes n 2)auichon 941 FM 2377 Red Oak, Texas 75154 (972)617-1186 Fax (972) 617-1198 email: chiefron@aol.com .JoVcd Greco* Apex, NC At the Peak of Violetry 1 The Violet Showcase 3147 South Broadway Englewood, Colorado 80113 (303) 761 -1770 Established 1969 Unusual African Violets, Growing Supplies, Lighted Stands Open 10 AM - 5 PM (Mountain Time) Closed Tuesdays + Sundays Contact us for a free catalog or download a copy at: www.violetshowcase.com Shipping supplies year round and violets May - October CLASSIFIED ADS The Association for plant & flower people who grow in hobby greenhouses and windows! Quarterly Magazine Growing & Maintenance Help & Advice Hobby Greenhouse Association 8 Glen Terrace, Bedford, MA 01730-2048 Dues: USA $19 (Canada and Mexico, $21 US funds/MO) ($22 Overseas, US funds/MO) Sample magazine $3.50 Directory of Greenhouse Manu facture rs $2.50 60 African Violet Magazine January • February 2004 45 Third Street • West Sqyville, NY11796-1109 2003 Annual Index - Compiled by Bill Paauwe • January • February 2004 January • February 2004 African Violet Magazine 63 2004 The Violet Bam, home of 3 1753 00314 3 Rob’s Violets African Violets, Gesneriads, the Rare & Unusual 7-time winner, AVSA Best New Cultivar Award 9-time winner, AVSA Best Commercial Display Home to “Rob’s” miniature and “Ma’s” standard African violet hybrids! NEW AFRICAN VIOLETS FOR 2004 All grow and shape easily, are heavy bloomers, and a TWO NEW STANDARD CHIMERAS MA S TURNCOAT Large sdbl. blush-white to cream-pink stars w/distinctive blue purple pinwheel stripes. Excellent, dark, variegated foliage. Chimera. $15.00 MA S WICKED WITCH. Sdbl. cream pansies w/dark blue stripes, splashed white. Dark, variegated foliage. Very heavy and constant bloomer. Chimera. $15.00 LOOKING FOR THESE? NEW STREPTOCARPIJS FOR 2004 ctacular, and easy to grow are BRISTOL’S BLUEBONNET. Lovely periwinkle-blue blooms with OUR NEW MINIATURE VARIETIES BAHAMA HAMA Sdbl. hot-pink wMi frosted rose very dark c to be an all BRISOL’S GUM DROP. > BRISTOL ’S NOSE PRINT. Upper petals white, t $4.00 each. BRISTOL’S PAJAMA PARTY, this color. JL’SPI dark maroon si BRISm^SMBBONCANDY. Double bright pink round b with dark red veining on white throat. Very profuse and constant bloomer, it's aptly named. : Lightly fringed rose-pink b 100’S OF OTHER MINI, TRAILING, AND STANDARD VIOLETS, PLUS GESNERIM>S Including IEpiscias, Columnea, Nematanthus, Chirita, Begonias, Hoya, and truly miniatu re houseplants! PRICES: $4.50 each for standards, $4.00 each for all other plants^For shippingbeginmng April 15, add: Der order for shippinq Winter shipping by express mail only (call for details)—available to most areas. ^T^er lO dkrentvioteU or sLps (our choice), *30 plus shipping. We also ship wholesale. WE SHIP ANYWHERE (INTERNATIONALLY), ANYTIME- SAFE DEUVERY GUARANTEED! SEND $2 FOR FUIL-C0L0R CATALOG, OR VISIT US ONLINE AT WWW.ROBSUOLET.COM Dr. Ralph (Rob) & Olive Ma Robinson PO Box 9, Naples, NY 14512 Phone: 585-374-8592 Fax: 585-374-6947 Shop & Greenhouse open daily, 12-5 p.m. tsSfSijg Iliii