Hi!
Jesse told me lots of good things about this forum. Like her, I seem to be floating aournd DG without a place to go and talk.
so, is it OK if I park myself in the corner? I promise to be quiet. If I disturb you can kick me out any time.
*Spider lies down on the sofa with pricked ears*.
Hello! May I join you???
I have a question for Critter.
I saw in one of the threads that you grow your plants under light. Could you please tell me what type of lights do you have? Thank you!
Spidey, there are some links in our sticky, which is a good place to start for info on AV's. All kinds of info there. (its the first link in the forum)
Welcome welcome welcome, this is a super duper group of kids, all willing and able to 'enable' addictions of all kinds, soon you'll find AV's aren't enough, and you'll be wanting Chirita, Streps, Sinningia's and so on!!
And we love getting off topic here so you're bound to hear all kinds of good info on just about anything! LOL!
How's your begonia search going by the way?
Laurie
hi spider and welcome..you are most welcome here...and please don't stay in the corner....we want to hear and learn from you as well....
..and laurie...i found a begonia leaf and just put it in water along with the stem...will that work?
(see, off topic already! LOL) Yes Bob, that has worked for me in the past, do you know what begonia it is, or at least what type?)
well i think it's the reiger....i just wanted to show spider how quickly we can get o/t....he he
Hi Spider,
Welcome to the Av forum.Theres lots of wonderful people here.
laurie...i wonder if there is some way..we could indicate that the "sticky" is info on gessies ...i know when i joined...had no idea what the sticky was.....what does that stand for and how did it get its name?
Hey Spider...welcome aboard!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Anita
hi spider and welcome
Welcome welcome welcome !
Awwww!!! Thank you everyone.*Spider blushes aund goes under the sofa*
Begonia, I have 5 begonias. 2 with colourful leaves (pink, red,silver) from walmart and three that I got from the GC and posted in the forum sometime ago.
I am waiting for Spring. I have the feeling that there will be lots around!
Heya, Spider! Welcome to the AV forum -- it's a fun place!
There's information about my lights on the "basment babies move uptown" thread, let's see if I can get the link for you, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/576249/
I'm using T-8 florescent fixtures upstairs, with daylight bulbs... a little more expensive than the cool 40W T-12 bulbs I use downstairs for seedlings, but either way is much cheaper than those "grow light stands" that I've seen advertised for hundreds of dollars in catalogs. :-)
Blushing Spider, if you have a camera, post your begonias (here or in the begonia corner) for us. The colorful ones sound like Rex begonias.
How about your AV collection? Whatchya got?
Hi!
Thank you for the link Critter. I saw your thread sometime ago but could not find it again. I was taken by the beauty of your little babies sunbathing under the lights. What a sight! It inspired me to start AVs.
Begonia, the camera is packed somewhere. I moved houses last week. As soon as I find it I will post.
At the moment I have:
2 Streptocarpus: Ruby, Kim (flowering for the first time) from Logee's and one that I rescued from GC called Persus. Does anyone know the type of flower it has?
AVs: 5 Optimara from Walmart. Billy, Michelle. Dali Imp and two only marked Optimara but no names. One has pink/rose flowers and the other I don't know as they were all dried up.
I am propagating Ruby and Kim. I have 6 pieces of leaves on both of them.
Spider Billy is probaly;
Ultra Violet Billy (8360) 02/23/1996 (Green Circle/B. Johnson) Single blue sticktite pansy/white edge. Medium green, plain, pointed. Standard
And Michelle is probaly is either
Rhapsodie Michelle (6618) 05/25/1987 (Holtkamp) Single purple two-tone. Dark olive green, plain. Standard
OR
Rhapsodie Michelle II (8994) 01/31/2001 (Holtkamp) Single pale pink two-tone sticktite large star/darker eye, white edge. Medium green, plain, glossy, hairy/red back. [Optimara Field Guide shows raspberry edge.] Standard
And Dali most likely
Optimara Dali (Holtkamp) Single white sticktite/dark purple patches. Medium green. Standard
Nice plants ! Av's and Streps !
Spider here is info on your Strep. There was no picture.
Perseus
(Oglevee)(Olympus series) Flower color red with blue undertones, flower size small, growth habit medium. (Oglevee site)
and
Kim
(Dibley hybrid) A very compact plant, blooming early, with multi-flowering head of small deep inky blue flowers. (AGGS Register
and
Ruby
(Dibley hybrid) The best red to date. Beautiful rich red flowers, freely born, forming a nice head on a medium sized plant. (AGGS register
For gallery of Streptocarpus plants and info on growing go here. " Link is also in our sticky !
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/index.html
Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! I am so glad that you have joined us here on this forum. I love it here. Everyone has made me feel so much at home here, like a part of the family. And you are so very welcome. Just hang out here and you will learn all sorts of new things. And along with the learning comes a lot of fun too.
JesseK
Thank you very much Violet!
Hi Jesse!
Hi and Welcome to the forum.
Patti
Spider maybe you'd like to do a Strep trade !
Hi Spider. Welcome to the AV forum from another newcomer!
Sharon
Hi everyone!
Violet, I sure can do a trade when the leaves root. I am sooo excited! It will be my first trade and I can't wait!
I will post a picture as soon as I find my camera.
Off to look for it!
Hi all just here to try to learn and get advice..I see the AV's are gonna be an addiction, with me...
It will be so nice to have flowers in the winter to cheer me up..! :o)))
Loretta...
Welcome to the crowd spider :)
It is great to have ya!
Yep, and welcome to Loretta too!
Now, please head over to the photo thread that begonia bumped up for us and post a picture of yourself! :-)
Yes please post you smiles ! Lorretta and Spider please don't worry none of us have been growing long and we all learn each day ! Were here to help each other. You'll see African violets are easy to grow and makes them fun to share !
Spider, AV's are addicting....I have to just started with them and have to grow any from mine...I will start though, was waiting till i got a big ole shop light and got that today :x) ( will post pic when i get everything just right), I only have about 5-6 AV's and they all have names on them.
Anyway welcome to the forum and happy AV growin!!
Char :o)
Violet, I will as soon as I find my camera. I moved houses last week so I have about 30 cardboard boxes to search. :o((
I don't have a camera yet,but plan on getting one this summer do some of my flowers..
Loretta...
Hi Princess!
It si lovely to see you here. I have your Stapelia ready.
Would you like some AV leaves? The ones I have are listed above.
Spider,
Aww thanks, I would love some leaves, I have Saturn, Laguna,Tamires,Flash, I can also send you some AV leaves. Of course I would need to know how..just cut them off and send them or what?
Just let me know,
Char
Hmmmmm......good question
let the experts answer that. :o)
PS, if anyone wants leaves from my AVs, just ask and tell me how to do it.
Same goes for me...If anyone wants any of my leaves, just tell me how to do it and i willl gladly share.
Thanks,
Char
Shipping tips
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/569015
http://www.rachelsreflections.com/shipping.htm
http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=1981775
< More information in out stickys ! >
This message was edited Feb 20, 2006 11:01 PM
Thank you very much Violet!
*BIG SMILE*
I have just ordered some AVs from Bluebird Greenhouse!!!
they are minis.
Hyla's little Lira
Mac's Rouges Rouge
Carnival Clown
Pat Champagne
Begonia, I am trying to go to the Brats website but keep getting a page about domains. Can you help me please??? :o)
thank you
Good LUck Spider ! Lets us know when you get them ! Take pictures please. I have them . bought a few and have leaves down sent Amy a set.Pat Champagne and Hyla's little Lira my favorite. MY last Hyla's little Lira was too wet when it came and did not live :((
I had bought like 4 of them. So I have a couple leaves down and Amy is going to send me some leaves just incase.
Their wonderful minis I love them !
Spider did you register? Some times they have to 'approve' you before you have access. Check the confirmation email they sent.
otherwise here's a direct link to the forum index
http://www.african-violet-brats.com/community/
Spider, both Ali and I received AV's from Bluebirds and the soil was so soggy that Ali lost some to rot and I had to take mine out of the pot and set them on old bath towels to dry the soil out. I know the soil blend they use works for them in their environment (or they wouldn't be nice plants to send) but in my home environment it was just too loaded with peat. I repotted those that had real loose soil with a mix that had at least 50% perlite to lighten it up.
I keep them on the dry side now and do the 'lift' method to see when they need water. Believe me, I'm the Queen of Over Watering AV's so I just wanted to give a heads up so you don't loose your investment. When I lift the pot, if it's feather light, I water, if not, I leave it alone (so hard for me, I just want to give everyone little sips of water like an over protective mother)
So make sure you keep them a bit more on the dry side than wet side to avoid crown rot. A sign of over watering is wilted leaves, check the soil moisture level because we tend to think wilting means 'I need water', but in the case of AV's it can mean I'm drowning..
Also Ali has advised not to use a fertilize with the nitrogen source 'Urea', AV's don't like it much. So read the ingredients of your fertilizer. A lot of us use Eleanors VF11, it's mild and you cant burn plants with it. Plus she'll send a free sample! (all this info is in our sticky thread - the first thread in the AV forum with (sticky) after the title)
So when you find your camera, take some pictures for us!!!
and keep in mind - I've only just been visiting this forum since November. I've learned TONS being here. Lots of tips and tricks, the main one being 'Laurie DONT over water those AV's! ' (spanking hand)
Until I came here, I bought supermarket AV's and treated them like cut flowers, knowing they would die soon but I never really knew why. Over watering and sometimes general neglect. But now, I have learned to grow, propagate and SHARE! It's a pretty wonderful plant family to play with!!!
See what good enablers we are here!!!
Thank you very much for your message, Begonia.
I learned the hard way with my pelargonium collection. At the start I used to overwater everything and they would just wilt and die. Then I learned, Today I underwater most of my plants. Apart from the Begonias.
I have been reading the stickies and laready feel like an expert in the field. ;o)
I am already thinking of joining Mastermind and chosing AVs for my subject! ;o) ;o) ;o)