Rooting in "Old Water"

Here are a couple of excerpts from the gesneriphile list. A conversation was started a while ago about using "old" or pre-used water for starting cuttings, especially as it was related to gesneriad cuttings. The questions were posed about why anyone would want to use water that had already been sitting around with a cutting starting in it. Wouldn't this be spreading disease or at the very least, wouldn't clean water give the plants a better start. The answers were quite interesting. I'm very grateful for such intellegent and interesting discussion on the list... these comments came from primarily two members, Ingrid and Vincent.

Vincent and Dale were talking about how old water was better for starting cuttings. Was surprised that nobody posted to the list the simple answer to that fact: rooting hormones are water soluble and will boost the new cutting before it has had the chance to make its own. No need to buy them in a powder that is mostly fungicide. There is an old woman´s trick in Sweden, to add a pea to the glass of water with the cutting. The pea will send out roots quickly and make the cutting do the same faster than usual. One of our young members was shocked to see me recycle the water when I gave her a bunch of rooted kohleria cuttings. She has a grandmother, and still was not told. The world as we know it is coming to an end!

Happy growing to all!

Thank you for mentioning the hormones. In my long post, I mentioned that having already-rooting plants in the same container was best yet... and alsmost went into the stories of using willow cuttings as rooting hormone. I cut that part out before finishing because I'd already written so much, and felt that I should review the little research I'd done to avoid repeating myths & hearsay. I don't remember enough details. I do remember that I read of a controlled study showing that many other plants besides willow, in closed systems (like the containers we're talking about) will leave rooting hormones in the water they're growing in, and those do have some effect. The unrooted willow extract was less conclusive in that study. Wish I could find the references now but that was many years ago! So even though I left that out, I believe you are right and experience, even some science, has shown us the truth of this, over many years as you point out :) I would also think that the rooting peas would help with the aging of the water in other ways in addition to the hormone effect. I will try that one too! Another reason I focused on the microscopic life instead is that so many are unaware of the processes. In one of the many complex interactions in a new or relatively sterile environment, organics like protein are broken down to produce ammonia in the early stages, which is toxic and inhibits new root growth. This can be the main reason many seeds and cuttings will not take in fresh soil mix, but will be fine after it is aged. Once the various nitrifying bacteria and other things are in balance, ammonia is "eaten" by those bacteria, and converted quickly to less damaging nitrates which, can be absorbed as food. Reading old texts from European glasshouse growers you'll find the advice to age new, or newly pasteurized, compost for cuttings and sowing seed, repeatedly. Green plants can use ammonia as nitrogen food too, but if the levels get anywhere near where you could smell it, it can kill the plants. Very sensitive new roots and seeds han handle even less, you'd need a chemical test kit to detect those low but still toxic levels (as we use in new aquariums, to be sure they are safe for fish). Online searching for "nitrogen cycle" and for _natural rooting_ can give anyone interested, lots of information both technical and experiential. Being cautious of spreading diseases of course, old water is definitely the way to go for IMO. Caution for me means thing like being sure (as possible) that there was no disease on previous cuttings, using water from unrelated sources (healthy aquariums, water aged using pasteurized materials, and dropping cuttings into old established terrarium water features. Some disease, especially bacterial end rots, can be cured by cutting off obvious infection, cleaning the cutting well, and placing in water teeming with established life. The disease seems to be overtaken by the healthy balance surrounding it. All of this is tossed out the window when doing micro propagation in a sterile container. but that's WAY too much work for simply rooting a gesneriad cutting!

Success!

Congratulations!!!







Here are some photos of the North Star's spring show! I only have some pictures to share, would everyone that took photos at the show also email me some of their best ones so that I can make another entry with them???























Congratulations to everyone in the club! We really put on a beautiful show!


Some of the special awards went to Sharon J. for Best in Show!






1st standard: Sharon J.
2nd standard: Gail P.
3rd standard: Sharon J.

1st semi/mini: Sharon J.
2nd semi/mini: Sharon J.
3rd semi/mini: Carol S.
1st sweepstakes: Carol S.
1st sweepstakes: Gail P. (tie)
Best Design: Barb W.
Best Trailer: Carol S.
Best Unusual Container: Chuck W.
Best Container Garden: Gail P.
Best Fantasy: Sharon J.
Best Strep: Sharon J.
Best Variegated Sharon J.

Hybridizing, Part 4

Here is the next part of our series about hybridizing an African violet by Barb Werness. We're very lucky to have such an up close and detailed view of how the seeds are formed on the violets. Enjoy!

Hybridizing Session IV: I promised to give monthly updates on the seed pod development. So, if anyone can tell me what happened to the whole month of March, maybe I can figure out what happened to that update. I was so busy, but didn’t seem to accomplish half the things I set out to do. Okay, a month was missed, but nothing very exciting happened anyway. Instead, things seem to be a bust so far.

You can see from the picture of Rebel’s Scotty, there are no seed pods developing on this plant. As mentioned when the session started, there was a concern about making this a maternal plant. All the seed pods began to develop, but died off quickly before growing to any significant size. The plant is due for repotting, so after that is done and it reblooms, I will try to pollinate it again.

Two of the other plants I wanted to use were Private Dancer and The Night Life. Of course, using them to pollinate Rebel’s Scotty resulted at mentioned above. I held off cross pollinating to these two as the maternal plants because I was hoping to enter them in the spring show. So, as soon as Rebel’s Scotty is blooming again, they will be pollinated.

However, two seed pods did develop from the cross pollinating. That resulted in good news/bad news. Sora School Time has a very healthy seed pod and the peduncle is still strong and healthy. Heinz’s Sentimental developed a pod, but the peduncle is starting to dry up and the seed pod is soft. If it were at least 4 to 5 months since pollination, it might be okay, since it usually takes about 6 months for a seed pod to develop and dry. The likelihood is that with this seed pod being only two months old, it will not be viable. I’m going to try it anyway, but don’t have much hope.

So, that’s it for now. I’m pretty much back to square one. Hopefully, the first of May will have more seed pods developing. Wish me luck!!

Rainy Day Fun!

The North Stars are putting on "Violets Celebrate Our Family" today and tomorrow only at the Northtown Shopping Center.

Come on by and see the show! There are lots of beautiful plants in all the prettiest spring colors to brighten up the rainy weekend the weather folks are sending our way. Hope to see you there!

Remember, Friday and Saturday only!!!

So, What Happened to Fe Fi?

Our meetings generally start by checking out the host’s plant room. It’s a lot of fun, but the host is usually answering questions from three or four different directions. One member noticed the brown markings on a couple of my mini/semis and asked what I thought caused that. However, we never really had the chance to discuss it.

Here are some pictures. What are your thoughts? The first picture (which isn’t very clear) points out the brown marks on a leaf.

The second picture points the marks on three separate leaves. Note that they are all on the same row. The marks are not on higher or lower rows.

Notice also in the third picture that the older leaves have a much wider span and from the marked leaves on, the plant seems smaller.

Upon checking, I see this same condition on three of my 50 mini/semis. I attribute it to repotting stress. These plants are repotted every three months, the last time being November. That looks appropriate for the amount of growth. Often, when repotting in the summer when it is very hot, this condition will show up on many of the mini/semis. Occasionally, it will even appear on standards, but not too often. How can this be avoided? I don’t have a clue. Possibly the plant was treated too roughly when being transplanted.

Many thanks to Barb W. for the excellent article and photos!

Even More Violets!

The North Star African Violet Council is putting on their spring show at Northtown this weekend on March 30th and 31st!

The NSAVC will be presenting "Violets Celebrate Our Family" Friday 10:00am to 9:00 pm and Saturday 9:30 am to 8:00 pm.

You didn't know what could be even better than the lovely 70 degree F. weather we've been having??? Well, some lovely weather together with beautiful, blooming African violets and gesneriads will make anyone's week just about perfect!

Please come and join in the fun. See the flowers, chat with friends, get a new soil recipe or two to try at home! We invite everyone to come and enjoy! See you there.

"It's Raining Vi-o-lets"

It's Raining Vi-0-lets at Linder's!!! Show and sale today and tomorrow only! See you there!

Check Out Chiritas

Chiritas are becoming very popular here among violet growers. Here’s a little information on them.

Chiritas are mostly herbs which grow from 6 inches to 3 feet. They are found in the Himalayas from Malaysia to Indonesia, in southern China, and in Sri Lanka. There are upwards of 100 species and more of them are coming into cultivation in this country all the time. New hybrids are appearing in our shows each year.

The perennial species and hybrids can be propagated from leaves and suckers the same as Saintpaulia. When using a leaf, choose one that is not old or very large. A large leaf can be cut into sections and then potted. The annual species grow quickly from seed.

All of the species seem to prefer cool growing conditions. Temperatures down to 55 degrees are tolerated while temps. Over 80 degrees may be harmful. Keep them in your coolest locations. All require high humidity but cannot tolerate over watering. Too much water will cause the leaf tips to brown. They need a very light soil mix that drains well. A mix of equal parts peat moss, vermiculite and perlite works well. Chiritas grow well under fluorescent lights, needing about 500 foot-candles, or about the same as recommended for Saintpaulia. Growing them near the ends of 40 watt fluorescent lights up to 14 hours a day works well. They will also grow well in bright reflected window light. In a greenhouse, some shade must be provided, especially in hot weather. Purplish brown edges on leaves may be caused by the potting medium becoming to acidic, over fertilization (repot), or too much light. When leaves yellow, repot. Remove some, but not all, of the old growing medium and add fresh. Do not set much deeper than it was to prevent suckering. Most take large amounts of water but prefer to dry out slightly between watering. If wick watering, use only one strand of wicking and coil it at the bottom of the pot rather than bringing it up through the soil. Disbudding is generally not recommended because the buds take upwards of two months to open after taking a long time to form. However, they will bloom at least twice a year.

Up until now, the most popular plants have been the sinensis species and their hybrids. These come in an all green form and with varying amounts of silver veining on the leaves. The all green varieties are believed to be easier to bring into bloom but the silver veined plants are preferred for their beautiful foliage. Varieties such as C. sinensis and C. sinensis ‘Hisaka’ grow in a rosette form with lavender flowers. C. lutea and ‘Aiko’ have yellow

flowers and seem to need more water. C. micromosa and lavendulacea are annual species which grow easily from seed which the plants form readily. C. micromosa is also known as “little banana” because of its seed pods. C. lavendulacea grows very quickly and is noted for its heavy blooming.

Some of the foliage is very striking when used in design. It can be conditioned by cutting the leaf with as much petiole as possible and setting it in warm fertilized water. (1/8 tsp. of fertilizer to 1 gallon of water to which 10 drops of Superthrive have been added.) Allow the leaf to absorb moisture for a couple of hours before using.

Chiritas grow very well along side of our Saintpaulia, so give them a try! Another special thanks to Jude N. for giving us this post!!!! Be sure to go and enjoy the show at Linder's!!!

Show Me The Violets!

Show, show, show time! What is coming up in only one week and has everything you need to think spring? It is the Lakes Area Violet Grower's show! Please stop by and enjoy the beauty of the displays, appreciate the skill and the art that it takes to grow a show plant to such perfection and catch up with all our friends and other fellow violet enthusiasts!

We're a very lucky community to have so many opportunities to be involved with the plants that we love. Let's all make the effort to come together, visit all three of the upcoming shows (more of which will be posted about each of them as the time is nearer,) and bring some friends and neighbors so that we get even more people interested in African violets and their horticulture!


The Lakes Area Violet Growers will host their spring show March 23rd and 24th, 2007. It will be held at Linder's Greenhouse 270 Larpenteur Ave. W. St. Paul, MN. The hours will be from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm both days.

Drying African Violets!

What a great way to start thinking about spring! The newest trend this spring is to use dried blooms and blossoms in decorating things like your Easter baskets and table adornments. With the spring shows coming up and plenty of blossoms that would otherwise get tossed away after the show here's an idea that sure to please! This article is sent to us today with many thanks by Kathy Lahti!

Silica Gel is a granular material used by many professional florists, and it’s easy to use. The purpose of the drying material is to take all the moisture out of the blossoms. Use a large plastic food container at least four inches deep with a tight fitting cover. Put an inch of the silica gel in the bottom. Then very carefully lay the blossoms on the drying material. Next take a small plastic measuring cup with a spout and very carefully pour the drying material over the blossoms. Carefully pour the drying material around the flower until it is completely covered. Never lay flowers on top of each other.

This cute photo is an example idea of how the dried blossoms from African violets or gesneriads could be used on your Easter table. The picture is from a Williams-Sonoma add advertising their store.

Single blossoms take about four days to dry, semidoubles and doubles about a week.

When the blossoms are thoroughly dry, they are very fragile and must be handled very carefully. Use a plastic fork or large plastic spoon and gently lift the blossom from the silica gel. If part of the stem is left on the blossom, it will be easier to handle. The blossoms can be picked up by their stem with a tweezers. Use a small soft brush to remove any excess silica gel granules.

The double blossoms dry beautifully if you lay them flat and pour the drying material very carefully into and around all the petals. Your flowers should be as natural looking as possible, for this is the way they will dry.

African violets blossoms will change color and fade slightly. White African violets will turn cream color and not be stark white. Blues, and especially dark blues, will turn darker. An interesting thing: a white blossom with a green edge is very pretty because it comes out cream color with a green edge. So don’t be shy about using your white blossoms, because they are very beautiful.

By Kathy Lahti – Reference Material Used - Floral Design Concepts by Ruth Jo McCoy and the March 1979 AVM. Thanks again to Kathy for this post!!! Please leave comments too!