Please help a very sad Jesse

I am sitting here crying my heart out. My husband just called and said that his boss told him if he left to come home on friday that he is fired. But he said he will pay for me to fly out there to be with him the following week. I am so upset and you guys are the only family that I have so I need to know what to do with my AVs while I am gone. I have a lot of them wicked but I do not have enough pots to do all of them. I need pots and I need them fast. There is a nursery not far from here called Bluebird Greenhouse and they have some pots that I could get in a hurry. They have 2½" and 4" but no 3" which is what I really wanted. Can most of them be put in a 2½" or am I going to have to use the 4"? If that problem is solved my only other problem is what do I do with my leaves? I cannot bear to lose my plants again. I just got a new lipstick plant yesterday that is already started to bloom. I got it from Lowes and I was so happy that I finally could replace one of the ones that I lost last year. Any suggestions on what to do with them. I can do one of two things concerning the lights. I can put them on a timer or I can leave them off. I am not sure if I will have to stay one week or two. This is such bad timing. My DH called and was crying and kept having to hang up the phone because he was crying too much to talk. So we are both crying over this matter. I would appreciate any suggestions that you all may have. I think I can wick all of the AVs that are not already wicked and fill the trays up all the way, leaving a little space between the water and the plants. So I think they will be fine. It is my leaves that I don't know what to do with. And then there is the hanging baskets. Hoyas, Lipstick plant, etc are all hanging baskets. I have heard of putting them in a bath tub on wet towels or wet newspaper. I just cannot bear to lose my plants again. The cacti will be fine and probably the succuletns too if I water them really well right before I leave. Oh, that Bluebird Greenhouse sells the Optimara plant food so I can get it right away. I just wish I knew where to get some 3" pots. Most of my plants are about 6" or less across. I do have a few that measure 9". Do you think that the 2½ will be big enough if I trim them all back and send you guys the leaves? I just need help here. I'm thinking that the one that is 9" can be cut back some and if it measures 7" then the 2½" will do. Or do you think they would be better in a larger pot? Here is a photo of Stephanie. She is one of my larger ones.When I repot her and put the wick in, what size should I use? She is in a 4" right now but that seems like it might be too large when I cut her back. Any suggestions that you all have will be greatly appreciated. I have worked so hard to get these the way they are and I don't want to lose all of my babies. And I do not want to just let them go because all of you sent me these and I don't want to let you down by me just letting them die. Thanks for your help.

Jesse

Here are some photos of my plant that I got yesterday. She is already starting to bloom.

Jesse

Here are a couple of little buds that are growing pretty fast. Yesterday they were much smaller.

Jesse

Here is one a little bit bigger. I think she is going to really come alive and bloom and bloom but I will not be here to see her.

Jesse

hiya,

this is what works for me. I put the lights on a timer, but they only get about 2-3 hrs a day - enough to get by. You want everything to get less light than usual, but not no light - no light for ONE week is fine, but no light for 2 weeks can stress some plants out. (most plants will be fine for two weeks without light, but some will not like it)

Set up what you can for wicking - especially the small pots that go dry fast. If you're not able to change the potting mix to a wicking mix, guess how much water it might use in about 5 days, and then let the plant live off the moisture in the pot for the rest.

As for the leaves, if you can cover them with with a big dome, they will probably be fine. By dome, I mean anything that is clear and pretty tall so there is quite a bit of air space under it. (If there's not a lot of air, it will get way too humid in there) Big plastic sweater box type things, or clear trash bags propped up with something will work. They don't need to be sealed shut either.

I don't remember how much wicking you do so you might know all this already. It's easy to do a temporary wick by threading a mason line (or wool yarn or something) through a hole in the pot and up through the mix. It's handy to use some bendable wire formed into a giant needle (fold an end over and twist to make the eye).

Putting aside the leaves for a minute, if you are out for two weeks, all you really need is to figure out a way to get the plants some water for the first week or so - everything should make it through the next week (if a bit limp). I say this because I routinely only water my plants once every two weeks..... (ahem, I am into xeriscaping! lol)

It's also possible to put them in the bath tub on wet towels. You can also set up a watering mat - damp mat under the plants, and let one end hang over the side into a bucket of water. It's best to do this with capillary matting, but I think any towel would work.

Don't stress out over the plants too much! you have your own packing to do as well..... and hopefully you'll get to enjoy the trip... :-)

Jesse,
I just was in the hospital for almost two weeks so can identify. I thought I would be gone a week so I watered everything well before I left after adding water crystals to each pot I could, made sure I had them where they would get all the daylight I could muster (I don't have a lighting system) and put everything I could into my two small indoor greenhouses which have heat mats. I had some AV leaves on an old heating pad under a desk lamp and those were the only things anyone watered while I was gone. I lost two NOID AV leaves and one coleus cutting. Everything else made it, including hanging baskets that have been sitting on my bedroom floor all winter. The one thing I would do differently would be to set up wicking for my baby AVs, as they did get really dry.

I think you could put all the hanging plants you can into your tub or tubs, water them heavily, get timers for lights, and make sure those rooms don't get too cold. Remember that the humidity in the room will keep them going, too. You can add some water crystals to the soil and that stuff works miracles. Just carefully mix it in as far around the roots as you can and then water thoroughly. You could take some cuttings off of things as insurance if you have the time.

I was really amazed at how well my plants did. I expected to come home to some sad-looking things. No one had time to mess with them and they did fine. Even if they have a slight setback, you should not loose anything permanently. It seems that plants do better with less than with too much.

What's more important than your plants is the time with your husband. I'm sorry that it's so stressful getting ready to go, but focus on the good time you are going to have, do the best you can with everything else--and then just go.

I'll be praying for your trip and will be anxious to see how it turns out when you get back home.

Diane

Sorry to hear about the stress you are going through. Keyring and Diane have given very good solutions to the immediate plant problem.

Take time for yourself.. Breathe deeply and assure yourself that things will work out. Do what you can and trust that everything will work out.

Jesse
Sorry your stressed out. Do what Nanna said important
I know it's hard sometimes but do take time relax and breath , and know everything will be OK and your going to have a fun excitng trip to be with your wonderful husband :))
Keyring and Diane gave you excellent help so your plants will be just fine !
My Doctor put me in the Hospital for one of the bad Hurricanes. I just could only water good.We had to leave fast as they wanted me checked in early . We had to close all blinds and leave no electric off. If the Hurricane had hit we would have lost our trailer anyways.
But Thank God we were spared and I was able to come home late the next night. As soon as it was safe I was out of there. lol I notice also with less or no light they don't use up their water very fast.
Go enjoy and have fun ! Will miss you ! Hope you can bring your lap top with you ! And don't forget babies grow crazy when their Mom's are on vacation !

That is what I was thinking, that if I leave the lights off, they will not need as much water. I have 3 of those big shelving units that they sell at Sam's and all 3 are full of plants. I have my cacti and succulents in front of a window but the African Violet one is not. And I am thinking that maybe I should keep the blinds closed. If I keep them open, they will be in the sun and will need more water. The cacti will be fine if I water them good before I leave. It is the succulents and the AVs that I worry about. Or, I can use timers so that the violets get at least a couple of hours of light each day. I know they need some light. Plus I have a lot of hanging baskets. I was thinking of trying that Capillary Matting. Maybe if I put it in the bath tub and put my hanging baskets in there that might help. I need to put wicks in the rest of my violets so that means I need to repot them. I am going to the Bluebird Greenhouse on Friday, if they are open. So I can buy pots from them. They only sell 2½" or 4" pots. Which do you recommend? This is very important to me. So I would like your feedback on this. I had rather use the smaller pots if okay. I can also order them online and get the 3" ones and have them overnight them to me. I want to do what is best for my violets because they are really special to me. If I have done all of this and get them all situated before I leave then I can relax while there and not spend all my time worrying about my plants. DH and I really do need this special time together. Please let me know what you all think is best. Thank you so much.

Jesse

jesse relax take the others advice as i am a newbie myself and can't offer any. go on your trip and have a wonderful time with your husband!!!!!! let us know all about it when you get back. i know you are going to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off to get things done but it will be worth it. and you husband loves you so much to want you to fly out and spend time with him. my husband works out of town also and i can relate to you a little. i have had such a hard time with him being gone i just hate it! and not to mention the 3 kids hate having him gone. he is coming home tonight but will be gone again tomorrow. but will return this weekend. he does a lot of going and coming. anyway he wanted me to come stay with him this week and i kind of paniced as well because i have my leaves down and plants outdoors that would need to be watered etc. we decided to wait until the summer for us to go back with him. so i may need advice as you do when the time come lol. everything will work out for you i am sure!

kelly

kelly

Aw Jesse, big hugs to you!
I'm no help as far as your AVs go, but you've gotten fabulous advice above, so follow that and I'm sure all will be well.
I know how you feel being away from your hubby. Mine doesn't travel much, but I hate it when he does. And it's not uncommon for him to work 12 to 16 hours a day for 2 or 3 weeks in a row, so we barely see him when he does that. You go spend time with your hubby and focus on him.
Your plants will be fine. If you should lose something, I'm sure at least one of us here will help you replace it.

I understand what you all are saying, but I guess you don't know how bad things got last year. We went out there and stayed for two weeks. Then came home. My plants survived that. Then we went again for another two weeks. And I lost a lot that time because they had barely made it the first time. Then, he went back and was gone for a month and then I flew out to be with him again. They told us it would only be for two weeks. It ended up being a whole month. By that time, I lost almost everything I had. And I had a lot. So, there is a lot more to it than just going to spend a week or two with him. Once we get there, his boss can decide that we have to stay longer and I cannot go through that again. I lost some very rare plants last year. So this is a bigger deal than you guys know since you didn't know what happened last year. If his boss decides that we can't come home, we are "up a creek without a paddle" and I will lose 400 plants. I can't do that again. I just can't. That is why this is such a big deal. It is not just a few plants I am talking about. It is a lot of plants. It has taken me a year to replace some of the really rare ones and I still have not replaced them all. I'm just so scared that his boss will pull another stunt like he did yesterday, and tell him if we go home that he is fired. So I am trying my best to do everything possible to keep my plants alive. What if you went some where and then you could not get back home because someone else was controlling the situation and you lost every single plant that you had??? I'm sorry that I seem to be making a big deal over this, but it is a big deal to me. Sometimes these plants are all Ihave to keep me somewhat sane. I just hope they can last as long as I am there. And there is not much fun to be had when he works from 7 am until midnight a lot of the time. I do hope this time that we can go somewhere fun, like Disney Land or Sea World. Anyway, I want to try my best to make sure that I do not lose the things that mean so much to me. I am sure there are lots of you who are disabled in some way and can't do much else except grow plants. Then they mean so much. And I'm not saying that they only mean a lot to those of us that are disabled. I'm just saying that sometimes they are all I have and they keep me going when I want to give up. I think I'm rambling now but this is just so important to me. Thanks for listening.

Jesse

Jessie - Dmail me

Jesse buy the 2.50 for your minis, and Semi-minis. And 4 inch for larger. She has larger pots and pan pots too great for larger trailers, epsicas, streps.. with big pots I use two wicks. You are so lucky you can go there and buy them !

Do you have someone that could come over a couple of times a week & care for your plants for you-family or a friend??

For now you can run a wick into all your pots by just using a big rug needle and some scrap string or yarn. Easier than trying to repot everything in such a short time, and cheaper than overnight delivery.

Does your husband's boss control when you come and go as well? Are you buying a one-way ticket or could you be sure to be back home on a certain date by having a round-trip ticket? Maybe going a few days later would be easier and give you more time to take some deep breaths and feel like you are really ready to go. Is that an option?

I vote for light timers. Everything needs some light. Unlike your setup my AVs were smack in the full afternoon sunlight, but in small indoor greenhouses so the moisture was contained better. Can you run plastic around the shelving unit as a temporary measure?

Things usually do better with less than with more, so them being too wet would seem worse than drying out a bit more than usual. My very small AV babies were very dry and I would wick them the next time, but none of them died.

You have gone through so much, Jesse. I'm sorry it is so hard again this time. I wish I lived closer so I could come and check on things for you. Hang in there and know that any and/or all of us will help you replace plants if that becomes necessary.

Diane

Jesse how are you doing ? When do you need to leave. Your on my mind. Praying for you !

Hello don't despair the plants need you in tact when you return, A good option is to get 2 painters drop cloths enclose the cart in this fully leaving one end open keep the fan running if you should close both ends burn holes in several places for air, the hanging baskets can be draped in plastic with a few air holes as well i went to walmart and bought the 2 painters drop cloths go to a cleaners and get the shorter ones for the hanging baskets-- keep air circulating or a/c on low you may lose a few but this is better than worrying the plants need you. motganberg

Jesse, motganberg has a very good suggestion and it will take less time to do. I have a plastic dome over my leaves and succors. They have been under the dome for three weeks this past Tuesday and I just added a little water this morning.

Your plants will love it under the plastic.

Please keep us posted and let us know how you are doing and coping.

We love you.
Nanna

I'm keeping you in my thoughts today, Jesse. Let us know how you are doing.

Diane

Sounds like you've already had a lot of very sound advice! I don't have anything to add to all of the above except to say I'm thinking of you and praying everything will work out so you and your DH can enjoy a wonderful visit together!

Where is it that you're going?

Sorry to hear of these troubles, Jesse....hoping all works out for you.

I agree with the less light/less water theory, and also with the suggestion of the tent/dome.

Plants can and do survive a week or two without much light.

As long as it's neither too hot nor too cold and there's air circulation, I feel the plants will all be fine as long as watered well before you leave.

I have quite an extensive collection of Tropicals and Succulents, and many of them survive the winter with very little light or water....they have no choice!

Good luck, dear!

Thanks so much for all of your imput. Hubby said that I do not have to leave on Sunday with him and can fly out a few days later if I need to in order to get my plants all ready. The reason I am going to repot some of them is because they are still in the yucky potting soil that they came in. So I have to repot them anyway and so I might as well put the wick in them when I repot them. Do you all think that I should wick the leaves as well? I will have a few days to get ready to fly to CA so I have time to repot anything that needs repotting. Do you think I should put wicks in my leaves too? Or should I just buy some domes and put some rocks in there to keep it moist under a dome? I will do whatever I need to do to make sure they are okay. And now I have a few days to play with and do not have to leave as soon as he does. I do have two of the small indoor greenhouese that I could put some of them in but they would not get any light at all. If they stay where they are then I can put them on a timer and give them a little light each day.

I'm a little unsure about the pot size. I was thinking if the ⅓ rule that some of you said so that is why I thought I would need smaller pots. Could someone please explain this to me?

Thank you guys for all of you suggestions. I can see that you really do care about me and my plants and that makes me so happy.

Oh, one other question. What should I do with all of the hanging baskets. Some of them are cacti so I think they will be okay. Others I'm afraid will not hold up and I think I'm going to put them on something in the bath tub. I called Bluebird Greenhouse and they will be there from 9 - 12 in the morning. I will get some supplies there. If you think the capillary mat would be a good idea, I will get them while I am there.

Suzy has just volunteered to come by and water maybe once or twice a week and I want to make it as easy for her as possible. That is why I would love to put all the hanging plants in the bath tub, the ones that will fit anyway. I have plants all over the house and so I was thinking that by putting them all together would be the easiest thing.

Got to run for now but will be back later on. Thank you all so much for your suggestions. Talk to you when I get back.

Jesse

Jesse pot size 1/3 rule is a good way to go. The pot should be 1/3 the size of the plant. For example a plant six inches across could be in a 2 inch pot.
A plant 12 inches across in a 4 inch pot
If you have too much pot/soil the plant will get over water. A mini-semi never needs larger than 2.50 pot.

Jesse everything is looking good for you ! And Suzy can come water great help ! You can show her how you take care of them and give her a note !
Jannich had to go out of town last minute for family illness and she had to get all her plants wicked and teach her neighbor to take care of them.
Everything will be OK
Your in my prayers. Please don't stress and worry.
Allison

It sounds like everything is working out fine! Hooray for Suzy!

I like to gather my plants together as much as possible when my neighbor waters for me... The bathtub is a fine idea. I also put smaller pots together into those nursery flat trays (the 1020 ones) so that a quart or two of water dumped into the tray will take care of a bunch of pots at once. I just ask my neighbor to please dump out extra water if there's more than a quarter inch in the bottom of the flat (less for tiny pots or seedling flats) when she's done.

Hope you have a good trip!

Jesse,
You are sounding better and that is a good thing. And having Suzy come by will be just what you need to stop worrying. I think I would wick the leaves, too, if I had it to do again. I'm not nearly the expert that some of these others are--I just know what went on with mine when I had to be gone for an unexpected length of time.

Remember if you don't get them all repotted before you go, they will still be there and OK when you get back.

Take care, Jesse, and have a great time with your husband.

Diane

Oh yes and Suzy can ask us if she needs any help ! Jesse will you have your lap top with you ?

Jesse, sorry you have had such an ordeal. Hope your time with your hubby is great. I just got back after a week away. Had a friend come over one time during the middle of the week, and all my AVs were none the worse for wear. She did not even touch the leaves, just the plants.

Have a good week!!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I guess it's about time that I introduced myself. I've been lurking on this forum - and drooling too. I'm not a newbie to DG - just one that had to be away for awhile and now getting back into the swing of things.. I have a few AV's of my own - some inherited from my grandmother (long story). I'm not as prolific with them as you folks are... well not yet anyway... I want to expand my collection in the future.. So I'll be jumping in with you folks..

It's good to say hello - and water some AV's !!!

Abundant blooms folks!

Swoz

Hi Swoz
Nice to meet you :)) Welcome to our wonderful forum. Stay around here long you will have all kinds of plants !

I was very worried about Jesse and her trip to CA. I sent her a Dmail but had no answer.

What a good surprise when I found a post from her in the Brat forum. All I can say to the worried peeps is that she seems well and that on Saturday she went to Bluebirds and got 21 new AVs. Now she will sure have some plants to share with you all.

I have come in rather late on this thread and I was really feeling just awful when I read all of the posts from Jesse, but Spidie if you are telling me she just got 21 new AVs from Bluebird then I am going to start feeling sorry for me!
Seriously, Jesse, hope things are better, hope you are better and your poor husband, what an awful situation for you both.

How are you doing Jesse? Waiting to hear.

Yes Jesse We have all been worried about you ? And how your going to get all your plants wicked and watered and a live while your in CA. ?
Now you'll have 21 new plants to wick and worry about. I buy plants once in awhile from Bluebirds but never can aford more than a few at a time. I then put leaves down and most time give the blooming plants away.
I hope you and your poor hubby are doing fine .

Allison that's sort of a neat idea, putting down the leaves and giving away the plant- I can think of many instances where that gift would be deeply appreciated and then of course there are all the AV junkies here. Really a good idea, think I will consider that in some cases.
I potted some of my babies today and really growing from leaf and potting up babies is very exciting.

I agree with aprilwillis. That's such a good idea. That way you gain new plants and someone gets a beautiful gift.

Diane

Yes and then the leaves give me several new babies to share also :)) Lot's of times I will get 3-6 babies per leaf ! I use to buy just leaves, though I still buy mostly leaves sometimes it's a better value to buy the plant.
Many times the plant will have suckers " more plants to share " , it may have extra special leaves to put down and share " , and a plant still good size to share.
Oh my last October I bought Rob's Boondoogle from VG. It was in bloom and had dozens of leaves rows and rows. I have been able to share lot's of sets of leaves sense last Nov, 05..I have put leaves down and share plants , and I still have a good size plant that has never stopped blooming sense I bought it and it sits in the window no light stand.
Now it has a couple rows of leaves but has a neck which you can't notice as the leaves are big cover it up. And leaves are growing out on every inch of the trunk. When I get a chance I proable might re-pot deeper to cover neck or depending may cut roots and neck off and re-root th plant. But it's so neat I shared it with so many people :))

Allison that photo is so clear and so perfect. Perhaps you should call Rob and tell him that you will take photos for him- some of theirs are awful. Anyway, beautiful picture and beautiful AV- perfect calendar photo!

Allison--I don't think you could kill an AV if you tried!! You really have such a gift with them. I have learned so much from you.

Diane