Just starting some leaves

On Friday I put down over 100 leaves of African Violets.

Buckeye Almost Royale
Buckeye Beauty
Buckeye Belles
Buckeye Camoflogue
Buckeye Chit Chat
Buckeye Damask Rose
Buckeye Everything's Rosy
Buckeye Finger Prints
Buckeye Look Again
Buckeye Mine Alone

Rebel's Carnation Splash
Rebel's Centennial Star
Rebel's Crested Robin
Rebel's Easter Treat
Rebel's Flaming Star
Rebel's Frilly Dilly
Rebel's Merry Christmas
Rebel's Night Breezes
Rebel's Restless Heart
Rebel's Stormy Sky

Trailer's Always Pink
Trailer's Candy Fountain
Trailer's Freedom Trail
Trailer's Fun Trail
Trailer's Honeysuckle Rose
Trailer's King's Trail
Trailer's Milky Way Trail
Trailer's Nyaka Trail
Trailer's Perk Up
Trailer's Pixie Pink
Trailer's Pixie Show Off
Trailer's Ramblin' Dots
Trailer's Ramblin Spots
Trailer's Ramblin' Sunshine
Trailer's Royal Trail
Trailer's Sky Trail
Trailer's Sweet Amy Sue
Trailer's Teen Trail
Trailer's Yesterday's Child
Trailer's Yesterday's Valentine

And several new plantlets:
Alamo Flame
Alamo Gusto
Apache Chief
Arctic Frost
Chasing Sunshine
Northern Star
Orion
Paulina
Princess Moonbeam
Private Dancer
Rhapsodie Cora
B-Man's Etna
Irish Flirt
Santa Fe Trail
Silverglade Windmills

I purchased these off ebay...and also did some trading with PerennialGirl they all arrived in great shape and now I am hoping I will be able to keep them thriving and alive. I have placed them in my basement...where they get great light all day long from the east, south, and north. If all works out well...I will have a good selection for the Easter trade.

Here are some photos

and another

and the last one

They are in 3oz solo cups,and setting on aquarium gravel. The potting mix I used was 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 perilite. Wish me luck. Deb

WOW awesome ! Oh I can't wait for the Easter Bunny trade :))
Your have a super great selection of leaves down and babies :))
I also like doing private trades too ! I am doing a trade also with
PerennialGirl we should both get our boxes this week ! I can't wait :)) Allison

OH PS keep them really watm. Is your basment heated. Also during the night the window area can become 10 degree's colder. I would put a thermoerter on one of the shelves to keep a check on it.

This message was edited Nov 13, 2005 12:53 PM

Orion is a nice Vintage African violet :)) I have Baby Moonbeam but I can't find Princess Moonbeam in First Class ? Do you have info on that one ?
Buckeye's and Rebel's are always great plants ! And you just have to love all trailers. Never can have too many :))
Allison

Woohoooo!

I can see spring will be a very active trading time on this forum!

Edited to add that I've fallen in love with that 'Buckeye' series too.... maybe we'll be able to do some swapping! I've got 'B. Boysenberry' and 'B. Bellringer', plus a friend gave me 'Grape Crush' which has very similar habit & variegation. :-) I've already got tiny plantlets starting for those 3!

This message was edited Nov 13, 2005 1:14 PM

Holy Cow!!! How very exciting. I have ears from the leave I put down in September. They should be very nice plantlets by April. They include

Maa's Arbor Glen
Majesty
Bob Serbin
Ma's Debutante
Cajin Popcorn
Blackberry Jam
East Wind
Ramblin' Angel
Arcturus
Frosted Denim
Falling Snow
Irish Irredescence

I'm excited!!

Nanna

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This message was edited Jan 5, 2006 7:40 PM

WOW wonderful plants :)) Allison

Allison...attached is a photo of Princess Moonbeam.

http://www.avsa.org/Photographs/PrincessMoonbeamLrg.jpg#http://../Photographs/PrincessMoonbeamLrg.jpg#

Do you have a photo of Orion...I would really like to see what it will look like...and any other information you might have on it. Deb

Hi Deb,
That's really pretty maybe we can trade Moonbeam leaves . And I'd love some leaves on Orion.
Orion ~ Reg. # 2069 ~ 02/07/1970
By R. Anderson ~ Standard
Double white, plain foliage

Trailer's Always Pink is another Vintage. Anything 20 years or older is a Vintage with Av's.
All your trailers are nice and a lot of oldies :))
Trailer's Always Pink
Reg. # 3864 02/03/1980 T. Khoe Miniature trailer
Single Pink, Plain
Very pretty plant :))

Wow...thanks for the information. I just checked the temp on the plants...right now it is 4:30 in the afternoon, 70 degrees and 70% humidity. Will that work?

Nanna
Your plant selection is awesome too :)) your plant ""Ma's Arbor Glen
"" Is really **** Maa's Arbor Glen **** by W. Ott/ M. Mass.

Most of the Maa's plants are Vintage and getting harder to fine !

Your other plant """ Ma's Debutante """ is correct and by O. Robinson. Rob Robinson's Wife :)) Her plants are very nice also :))
Is your " Artacus " Really Arcturus by R. Eyerdom ? I've been looking them up in First class :)) Pretty plant !
"I had a hard time finding your " Magestic " in First Class ? Could it be ** Majiestic * ? Reg. # 6380 09/20/1986 ( Almost a Vintage and mighty pretty too :)) )
By M. Burns/ R. Nadeau Large growing
Semidouble medium blue star , Dark green, quilted , glossy red/back.



Great selections everyone ! So exciting . Allison

Deb,
4:30 in the afternoon, 70 degrees this is prefect, humidity really nice also. But here in Florida sun goes down and my 75 degree garden room goes down. It will be high 50's here tonight. I run my lights at night in order to keep the plants at a 70 degree.
Now check and see what your tempertures are at night between 10 PM and 6 AM. it can get really cold it you don't have heat. 4::30 pm is the hottest part of the day the sun shining in all day.
If the temp's go below 70 growth will be real slow. If it goes below 60 they can die. Allison

This message was edited Nov 13, 2005 5:52 PM

VT thanks for the correction. It is Arcturus and It is Majesty. I appreciated having more information of the plants. I went to Bluebird Greenhouse on line, Majesty was a free leaf because they could not fill my order. I'm glad you found information on her. The leaf has ears and I hope I will have at least two plants to share.

Nanna

This message was edited Jan 5, 2006 7:41 PM

This message was edited Jan 5, 2006 7:41 PM

I have First Class Nanna so I can cheat on Av info . Their all beautiful ! I like buying from Bulebird too. And their ordering system is so easy.
Allison

This message was edited Nov 20, 2005 7:50 PM

Does anyone have pictures of these that they could direct me to? I would really like to know what these are going to look like when they grow up. Thanks, Deb

Paulina
Alamo Gusto
Royal Trail
Buckeye Mine Alone
Buckeye Look Again
Buckeye Finger Prints
Buckeye Almost Royale

Deb
Have you tried Photo Gallery AVSA Photographs ??

http://www.avsa.org/Photographs.asp

Hi Deb
I can't beleive it I went searching more . I could not find any of the pictures on AVSA ? Or I missed them ? First class did not have any of your Buckeye's except almost Royal. Most Buckeye's are on FC I've been told. I had her web sight but can't find it. Maybe someone else in the group knows it ?
Royal Trail is a real nice Vintage trailer it's in FC but no picture. It says it's a standard growing trailer, Double bright blue flowers.
Plain, Glossy by C. Simpson Reg # CA 096, 1979

Paulina > I could not find in First class I only fount . Paulena it's a standard with Double peach -pink two-tone ruffled star/darker edge flowers.

Alamo Gusto
I could not find photo but FC says Double dark Purple
The only Buckeye of your's in FC was Buckeye Almost Royal
Picture Below :))
Maybe someone else will have info /pictures on the others.
Allison

Yep...I still looking. Thanks for your help.

Deb

oh my goodness! that's a lot of leaves :-)

Yep...that's alot of leaves...and I'm really nervous about them putting out babies. It's been a little over 1 week. The temperature stays between 68 - 72 degrees, and they are getting good natural light...hope this will be enough to bring the babies forth.

Deb

Just be patient. My best performance was 5 and 1/2 weeks. The most was 8 weeks.

Nanna

Deb it's prefect :)) You will get a lot of babies :)) Allison

Very impressive Deb!
I like your trailer list for sure:)

MsC

hows everyone's eve dong? Nanna how arete ones ou put don in September ? I have some preties comng.lots with variegtion . Many with deep pink foliage. I like pink foliage. I am working hard to keep my stands warm / most from sun down untill noon. My stands are only 66 degree's now , lights will be on all night. I have the heat on. At 4 PM this afternoon they were 75 degree's. We turned Christmas lights off put plant stand lights on at 10 PM and tempertures on plant stands were ten degree's down to 65 .( can't run both the same time ). The cool air is great for variegation but I am trying to keep my stands 65 degrees and above. How are you doing keeping your plants warm ? Below they can die, but too cool will stunt growth and cause other problems.
I can only imagine I'm in Florida in will be 40's here tonight. I keep therometers on all my stands.Keep your plants and babies warm. Allison

Update...all seem to be going pretty well. I have lost somewhere around 4 leaves. The plantlets are doing pretty well also. I am so very nervous...fearful that I will lose them all. Worried about mites, possible moldy leaves...too cold, too hot, not humid enough, to humid....the list goes on. I am anxiously awaiting new babies. My Silverglade Windmills plantlets aren't doing so well...have lost a couple of them. It's been three weeks. Any help and/or encouragement would be welcomed. :)

Deb

I hear you!!!!! The pressure is a little high with the upcoming swap. I try to remember that this is for enjoyment. Relax and take in the beauty of the plants. There is nothing that can happen that is worth losing the pleasure that comes from watching things grow, sharing with friends, and trying new things.

Nanna

Hi Deb,

Stop worrying about mites because there's not much you can do about that :-) By the time you notice them, well.... I know, that's not the most positive thing to say, but with leaves you can't really worry about it - just hope that the leaves were clean to start with.

Since you say your Silverglade Windmills aren't doing well, I started paying attention and came up with some possibilities.

My main concern, like Allison, is temps. Are you sure temps aren't dropping below 68 at night? How close are they to a window? The temp can be very different 1 foot and 2 feet away. It may be that your insulation is just fantastic, but I find it hard to believe that 68 is your low. And even if your temps really are 68-72, I think you could raise the day highs by a few degrees.

A tip - touch the trays and the gravel - are they cool to the touch? If so, I'd say not warm enough.

The second thing I'd take another look at is light. The light up north (here included) is not so great in the winter - even if it looks light to our eyes, it's often not enough for the plants. South and East windows are pretty good, assuming not too many cloudy days, no obstruction, not too far from the window etc. But still....

If you can add some lights to your setup, you could guarantee enough light and some extra warmth. Can you add some fluorescent tubes or point some small compact fluorescents at the plants? Both are not too expensive at HD or Lowes etc. (Fluorescents = bright indirect light.)

Another way to raise the temps a bit is to use a warm mist humidifier. (You might be doing this already.)

And again, the mantra: warm, humid, bright indirect light, and moist (not wet). In that order. (at least, that's the order according to me)

I guess the variegated ones might want to stay a bit cooler - I usually just stick them on the bottom shelf.

Ok, so those were just some thoughts. It may be that they're all fine and you can just sit back and watch :-) Really.

As for my habits....
I don't root AV leaves in optimal conditions either. I've done it in a pitch dark (almost) box - incredibly slow but I only lost a few. (Temps were 75 and up.) Most usually, I do it under a propagation dome under fluroescent lights. By the afternoon, the temps inside the dome will be well above 90F, with humidity at 90%+. Now, 90% is usually considered to be too much - leaves prone to rot etc. Well, given enough light, they do fine. But no one would recommend these kinds of conditions, I don't think.

*fingers crossed* hope these do well for you.

Sorry my old keyboard has been sticking.~~ Presure ? There should be no presure just fun.. An I don't think people should feel presured that
they " Have to" send what are on peoples wish list. Some of the plants on the list are imposible to get . You should just send what you have it's a fun secret swap . " Secret "
I lose babies everyday :((. Tonight I threw away another 6 cups that got too dry. :(( I watered everyday what I can but I am limited what I can do. So I just do my best.
With leaves just keep them warm, give them as much light as you can , ( which warm is been a chalenge for me even in Florida so I could only imagine for up north.) Don't let them dry out like mine :(( and don't get them soggy wet. Winter is the hardest and slowest month to grow.
Last winter Dec/March I put 500 plus leavs down Bad Idea :(( . Half of them died the others took longer than most to grow. Don't worry just do your best.
The boxes I have sent out to people three so far and at least that many more to fo. Each box has/had about 11 plants, and 6-9 bags of leaves each bag has 2-6 leaves of each kind . All plants and leaves named.
The swap is only for 7 kinds. Two baby plants and five sets of leavesso everyone will have plenty to swap. Have fun ! No Stress just FUN !
Deb don't worry your doing great ! At night you could put your leaves under some lights /lamps for more light and warmth. Leaves can take 4 weeks, even 12 weeks or longer for babies. They all catch up with each other later. Before yu know it your will have hundreds of babies.
Lot's of times I get 2, 3 or even more from onr lraf. I bet by Spring you havearound 300 or more new babies. I never worry about ones that die. It it's not doing good and dries up I throw it away. If it gets too cold ad wet has babies coming up or not I even re-pot with all new soil. I try to check them each day as many as I can. Al you can do i your best and have fun ! Don't worry :)) Allison

Yes Keyring you are so right about tempertures. I keep track of mine day and night and have therometer right on shelves by plants. We live in Sunny Florida and I am having a hard time keeping my stands warm. I run my lights all night to help and even with heat on 70 I wake my stands are 65 - 68 and I don't really like this. Once the sun comes up and warms our home temps go up a little. But the past few days
I was lucky to get them up to 70-72 during the hottest sunny part of the day. Then it gets dark " My stands temps drop fast " and hubby puts the Christmas lights on until about 10 Pm my stands quickly go down to 65 degrees until I get the lights back on. I have about 16-18 four foot light shop lights each has two 32 watt four foot gro-lights . They don't get hot but help/ Then my husband put a light blanket all around the back and sides so no cool/cold air can hit them from the new well insulated windows behind them but they still get cold. It's a challenge for me each day 24 hours I watch . So I could only imagine how hard it is for all yo up north. Good luck Keep warm . If you have heating pads babies plants, leaves, seeds love them under them ! Good Luck ! Don't forget their material and just do your best and have fun ! Allison
Oh yes my light fixtures ar HD and Lowes were about $ 7.00 I bought a couple at a time a good six months before I had them all :))
I think they last a long time ine are almost 2 years old and well worth the money :))

I just checked my violets....the temperature is 68 degrees and 80 percent humidity..and the time is 9:40 p.m. I will check tomorrow morning when I rise (if I remember) for temp and humidity. I also opened another one of the heating vents....to allow more warm air into the room. Thanks for all of your help.

By the way....what would you estimate is the increased dollar cost to your electric bill with each florescent bulb added to aid your plants?

I can't answer the electricity bill question because my utilities are included in the rent. (very thankful this winter). I hear the standard shoplights are pretty minimal though.

I run my lights 12-16 hrs. each day and have about 32 four foot 32 watt light tubes
tubes. I have to say lights are the cheapest part of the light bill. The
highest is A/ C and heat My electric bill was $70.00 less this month than last as it is cooler no A/C little heat. Hot water cost a
lot also..Now until Jan 3 rd. we have 15 thousand lights and many animated decor on from 5:30 to 10 PM sense Thanksgiving ....We will see about a $40.00 increace for the whole Season. Well worth it
The tiny bit grow lights cost are too :::)

Allison, you said it well about propagating for the spring secret trade -- "no pressure, just fun!"

Part of the reason for choosing a relatively small minimun number for plantlets and leaves is that I was trying to think of how people could deal with a total propagation disaster without dropping out of the swap... Remember that leaves can be shared from newly purchased plants (I'm assuming everyone will isolate all their trade plants anyway), and you could even purchase a new plant to send in your box (after harvesting a few leaves for yourself). I think a lot of folks did that with the spring secret plant trade last spring that I've mentioned -- they purchased plants that were large enough to split so they could add a piece to their own gardens as well as sending along a nice plant.

I'm just mentioning this possibility as a sort of safely net in case anyone is feeling anxious about growing good plantlets by April.... I know we're all trying to do some propagation over the winter, and that's certainly a big part of the fun of this trade... and with all the input from everyone's experiences & expertise, I think everyone will have good sucess with their propagation efforts! :-)

Yes I feel the same way Jill ' I think everyone will have good sucess"
We have five months to dream , have fun, share help ....
The babies don't need to large. Once mouse leaves come up , fertilize them , put under lights close , keep warm , they will grow super fast; :)

Okay...I checked my temps and humidity at 6:30 a.m. and the reading was 70 degrees with 62 % humidity. Don't know why the humidity dropped...as the plantlets and leaves are inside one of those little greenhouses...see picture #3 on the first part of my original post. I also keep the plastic flap zipped up. Just thought I would keep you updated.

Looks good to me ! Also like Keyring said temps during the day 68-70 could be raised a bit. Do you have a thermometer inside shelf of plant stands ? Also like Keyring mentioned "light" As much as you can give them. I'd say at least 12 hours each day will promote healthy
and faster growth ! Allison
PL my plant stands were only 68 this monring at 9:30 am I open windows for sun to warm up and will keep lights on until it gets around 70-72 . Allison

Yep..I have a thermometer with the humidity gage on it inside the little greenhouse. I just read it at 1:30 p.m....it is now at 74 degrees with 85 percent humidity. You guys are so great...thanks for all of your support and encouragement. :)