All these wonderful posts bring tears to my eyes. You are all so caring and willing to share your hearts, your love of these plants and the tremendous knowledge you have. What a great bunch of DGer's. Noid on picture. Elaine
New to site and mostly new to African Violets, too
I wish I had more babies to send out to everyone who needs them..........but I just sent out my last babies.......so it will be awhile before I have more babies and duplicates.............
Anna got the only box where everything was broken.......sorry, Anna. Everyone else sent me pictures to show me not a broken leaf............
Gail, not everything was broken! Not at all! Only two plants has broken leaves and one of them only had a couple broken out of lots of total leaves. I took your advice and planted the one with several leaves lost a bit deeper and I planted one of the leaves that came off of it so between all that I think I'll be lucky and it will be fine.
I know but I wanted you to have a Two-W marne so badly (smiling)
You are so sweet to care but it really is going to be just fine I can tell. I followed your instructions and planted her more deeply and she's looking good. I don't know how quickly they let you know they are not happy but so far so good. I am forever optimistic that both the plant will be fine and I'll have lots of babies from the leaf I put down too.
Speaking of babies, my Bob Serbin babies are coming along and getting quite a lot bigger. They are not the size of nickels yet, but about the size of a large blueberry. I guess another month or so and I'll be taking out the babies and growing my first plant from leaf to plant.
Don't be in a big hurry to divide them. I have on occasion let them go into first flower buds up then shook them all up pulling them apart. Yep they did not even know I molested them and went right on into open bloom.
Teazviolets on ebay told me she sometimes didn't pot up for 6 months from sticking the leaf until separation.........I have never gone that long.........but am letting mine get really big this time.......
it's been about a week since I got your leaves and plants Gail and all is OK I guess. I mean nothing seems wrong and all are ok. The ones Lynn sent me are all OK too but I guess it's really early to tell much isn't it? I am just glad I haven't killed any of the plants and really hope I do not.
Just let them grow until they need a bigger pot...........I would think.........they don't need a bigger pot until the width of the plant is 21/2 times the size of the pot........
Sorry I am late but welcome to Av's... Please remember we were all in your shoes in the beginning and had to learn.. And learn we did with the help of others and reading... This group is wonderful and the most caring people you will have the good fortune to call them your friends....
I also can tell you that I did not keep my plants away from new ones. Last year allot of the ladies and gents can tell you I paid for that deeply...LOL I went crazy when I had thrips and had to cut every bloom off for 3 months and use chemicals to kill the little pests... Now I put new flowers in a different room. So see you can teach an old dog new tricks :-)
I also am not much of and Av person as I kill them...LOL Now give me a leave from and av and I can grow it crazy... but it is dead once it is big...LOL
Once again Welcome.
Hugs,
Susan
I wish I would make myself isolate as I know it is best..........but I don't.............but am very careful about who I order from............mainly David Thompson and GreenDragon Trading Post (FRed)........never gotten any bugs from them..............
Gail,
What is Admire Pro? Never heard of that one... I am shocked that you don't isolate! Even those stupid fungus gnats drive me crazy.. I played with some of my plants today... I should be sent to my room for not taking care of them better... Some of them are alive but they are thick, is hard to say what they look like but kinda woody... Oh well they live they live they die they die...LOLOL
Ok going to run as I got leaves today from Jim, so I have to put them up in water and label them... All have a good night...
Hugs,
Susan
Admire Pro has that same chemical, Imidacloprid, that is in Marathon and Bayer's Advanced Tree and Shrub. It is only for mealy bugs in the soil and it only lasts about 6 or 8 weeks. I haven't used it in a while, but like it because I can pour the solution over in the pot and then leave the rest in the bottom of the tray overnight. Those mealies can't escape it!! (LOL)
I bought it on line in a pint size although you just use 1/2 tsp per gallon (I think)...................you can still get small amounts from Cape Cod I think.................be sure and shake really well before using or it changes the dilution rate.
ive used merit 75 for mealeys ,takes out the foliar and soil ones good,
I think we had this discussion before where I mentioned that Wallace Wells from gphiles said he uses 1 tsp of Bayers for his gessies..............and my bayer bottle says Merit on it...........all the same product (right, Jim?)
no,this stuff is a powder
i use this stuff
http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/merit-75-wp-oz-jar-p-300.html?osCsid=6d704eef89459bc0b0465a054593f538
I have never had a mealy problem,but what do you use for mite prevention ? I used to use Kelthane,sometimes with Malathion.Right now I use nothing.
I have seen Avid and Marathon in quanities for $70-$100 dollars,but don't know where to find a smaller amount.
Lynn
Lynn - you can get both in smaller quantities from Cape Cod. That's where I got mine.
Thanks,Nichole.
I'll give him a call.
I have just had a first step success with Merit 75 WP on Mealybugs. It should continue in the pot and get any larva because the chemical far out lives the life cycle of the bugs. About two weeks ago I over sprayed the leaves on both sides permitting a drench from runoff. I dipped the pot and tray it sat on. An area of bench was sprayed in about a three foot radius. I will keep an eagle eye on this pot and near by pots. We elected to not treat the whole area because we found no evidence of activity beyond the target pot.
All the little babies you sent, Gail...are just fine! One of them is really, really big..but will leave it for a long while as you suggested...!
The leaves I have planted are still 'rooting'....except for two with mouse ears...!! I might even see another one with ears starting. When you look a 'thousand' times a day sometimes the 'ears' wiggle at me...:)
Everyone in the apt bldg I live in asks about them almost daily! My hopes are to be able to give a violet to each of them!
I do not have a clue as to what is what except for the few you labeled, Gail.......I will learn I am sure...or almost sure :)
They were all labeled I thought...........I will be happy to look them up for you on First Class..........if I didn't label them, something is wrong as I rarely miss a marker anymore except on baby streps.......you probably have trouble reading the black or red writing on the clear little containers........just read what you can and I can figure out because I know what I had and have.........
Now I write the name on a narrow piece of masking tape so everyone can read what they are............
I am finding it a bit difficult to quarantine my plants and reading the posts I must figure out how to do it easily because some of these stories are do worry me just a bit. I must not be overwatering because I'm not killing the plants that are in baggies as a way to keep them separate from my existing plant and leaf but it's really hard to keep a low lever of water so you do not get too much condensation and to keep the condensation off of the leaves because the leaves tough the sides of the baggies. I wish there was a better bag style that would stay away from the leaves better as every day I have to check them and make sure they are not too wet and if they need water I can only add a few drops otherwise it all ends up as condensation and then I have to take the plant out and clean it and let the plant dry some and my that is a lot of time!
One option - if budgets allow - would be to get a tray/dome just for quarantine purposes. I think Cape Cod sells a 12x9 inch permanest tray . . . domes are separate. Park Seed may sell the different size trays and domes, too. That way, your new plants would be separated from others, but not really. Just a thought.
Anna,
You could also put them in baggies with a few airholes poked into them.If something is covered in plastic and has been potted in moist.......not sopping wet soil.....it should not require any water for several days. When you use domes,as Nichole suggested,you can either buy the kind with tops that vent or leave the lid slightly ajar so they get just a little air.
IMHO,most AV leaves don't need to be domed and if they are make sure the mixture you use doesn't stay really wet or they will rot.(although sometimes even when the mama leaf rots babies will come up if there are plenty of roots).
Lynn
I don't even know how you keep them alive in zip lock bags, Anna.................
Go to Walmart and buy any container.......or go to your local deli and get some clear containers........or grocery store........that is just way too much humidity for plants that haven't even be domed when you got them.
I dome all my av leaves but I always leave the vents on the top open.................I often use the 1.19 shoe boxes from Walmart without the lid......
But then............I would rather replace my plants or treat them for whatever ails them than to not give the proper light and ventilation to grow................that is just me..........I don't isolate anything........
I can't think of a better way to get mealy bugs than having wet soil...........too wet and no cross ventiliation. I have ceiling fans in every gro stand room along with one other fan oscillating in each room............very crucial to keep that air moving..........
Each one of us has found success and failure.........but we keep trying to find what works in our own homes..........
The soil is almost dry like if you touched it it would barely register as being wet on your fingers. I knew that it would be hard to keep the moisture at a good level and it is. Recently I started checking them daily to wipe out any condensation. It seems that perfect is when there is only one small spot of superfine condensation drops but when the drops cover a whole side of the bag even if they are really fine and tiny then it's too much.
I haven't killed any yet but they are not all out of the woods yet. Two W Marne is not happy yet but I hope one of the leaves roots for me that way if I lose her I will have her replacement all ready to go.
Don't forget that I have one, too , and she will grow.........so don't worry about her too much. You can always have a leaf from mine.
You are very sweet Gail. I am remaining positive and hopeful that she will be just fine.
I received a badly damaged av in the mail from a good vendor. He told me not to pull another leaf off.........just don't take the other leaves off and try to get the plant to look right at this time. He said, "just let her grow and when she is grown, you can worry about the shape of her".
Wow......It's hard not to worry about how she looks now!!!
But just do it is the important thing.........let her fill in the center and keep growing. Six months from now you can shape her as you wish..................mine was a chimera and it almost killed me to take all the blooms off, but when you want foliage to grow, take the blooms off.
I am laughing so hard about Critter passing on a "disease" in a shady deal, LOL! I'm in that exact position... browsing VioletBarn.com and LyndonLyons and buying perlite.... you get the idea.... I'm probably incurable!!!
Since I just joined a bit ago- how can I go about trading leaves here- do we just Dmail each other? And, can I offer to buy some leaves, or is that against DG policies?
Ellen
For one thing, there is a sticky thread in this forum for posting a Have & Want list. That list can be updated as many times as you like (as long as you only have the one post - to make it easier to find members' lists!). I don't know about DG policies, but you could dmail the person that has something you would like, then work out trade/postage/payment details between yourselves.
Ok, thanks!
My husband thinks I've gotten obsessed, lol. I'm finding it to be a therapeutic hobby and MUCH cheaper than buying clothing, shoes, or jewelry!
That is the way I see it!! I DON'T buy clothes, jewelry or anything but plants!! I am obsessed but money better spent than on clothes for sure!
How I wish I wasn't obsessed with buying anything else! Well maybe I am not obsessed but I dearly love shoes and clothes and makeup. I am a girly girl as my niece says and I want all the things that go with being a girly girl while I play in the dirt lol. When I was a young child I would only wear dresses and then I would climb trees and play in mud puddles which left my poor momma shaking her head.
Raisingsouls I am glad you asked about trading leaves. I now have quite a few leaves well quite a few in my world lol. At some point I will have babies and then my babies will grow and I will have plants that I can take leaves from and I want to share them and get other varieties. I am terribly regretful that my wish list now has probably close to 100 plants on it! I certainly do not have room for them however. Each time people post pictures of their plants I add more and I've fallen in love with the streps drat it.
Oh, Anna, I love girly things too- don't let me near a Sephora, lol!
But you get so much more for your money when you buy plants rather than clothes and makeup, don't you think? $50 will get you a nice amount of plants vs. one shirt or brand name cream!
The thing about buying things is that it makes us feel good to have new things. However, when we buy an item of clothing or furniture, or even a car, after a week or two or three, the item becomes routine and gets old. Plants keep growing and sprouting new flowers, and we can make babies out of them and build entire generations of new things! That's why it's such a therapeutic hobby (or addiction, depending on your point of view, LOL)!
Annacanna, I love clothes too! Love jewelry for sure. I like ALL of it! Violets and the girl stuff. Oh, don't forget purses!
I used to but age has taken care of that 'want' in life! (LOL)