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African Violets · In the Garden with UC Master Gardeners

0:00
SPEAKER_01: This is In the Garden with your host Bill Brooks, University of California Master Gardener.
0:05
SPEAKER_01: We're talking to Leonard Ray about African violets today.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: Violets, by the way, are the birthflower for the month of February.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: So technically speaking, those of you with a February birthday, this is your birthflower.
0:18
SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Leonard.
0:20
SPEAKER_01: Please tell us a little about yourself and your interest in African violets.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Okay, thank you.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: I started growing African violets actually in the late 1950s, and the aunt introduced me to them.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: And then I went to school, college, and in 1981 there was a judged African Violet show over here in Orange County, and I attended it, and I've been growing violets ever since.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: For and I mainly grow for competition.
0:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't sell.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: I am a master judge in the Violet Society.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm also a uh judging teacher with the Violet Society.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: I grow about 125 different varieties of violets.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: We're sitting here at uh Linnard's house today enjoying them, and they are absolutely beautiful.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: And we wish this was television because you could actually see the beautiful colors, but we'll be describing them as we go, and I think you can get interested in African violets yourself.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: So with the word African in the name, uh one would assume that African violets are native to Africa.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us more about the specifics of where they come from and how they were discovered and became so popular with gardeners?
1:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: They were actually discovered in 1892 in Tanzania, which was at that point German East Africa, by Captain Baron Walter von St.
1:52
SPEAKER_00: Paul.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: He collected a plant, which actually was an African violet, and then they sent some seeds to his father in Germany, and that's how they originated and were discovered.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: And in Tanzania, there are actually violets that continue to grow in the wild there, and most of them are along the rivers and in a warmer climate, but there are some alpine violets too that we don't grow here, but they do have them.
2:25
SPEAKER_00: And then the commercial interest actually started in California by a company called Armacross and Royston of West LA.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: They're no longer in business, but um they were given the plants, the seeds and the plants from the German folks.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: Twenty years later, the uh African violet became a very popular plant and have been ever since household plant.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Ever since.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: And so that means that they might be easy to grow and survive if they're indoors.
2:56
SPEAKER_00: Yes, they're definitely an indoor plant, even though in the wild they grow outside, but for um purposes here, they're always an indoor plant.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: So I've heard that taxonomists have reclassified African violets.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: Based on genetic studies done in recent years, the International Society for Horticulture Science has proposed changing the species names.
3:16
SPEAKER_01: What are the details?
3:17
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us a little bit about how these are classed and where they come from?
3:21
SPEAKER_00: Okay, yes.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: They actually have been reclassified officially now.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: Um they are part of the Ghazneriot family, and the genus is uh Streptocarpus, and they've been placed under there now.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: So tell us about the gazaria family, what other flowers might go in that.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: In that group, you have your nematanthus, aschananthus, syningias, promolinas, peachas, those are the other uh plants that are in that uh family, that are in the gazarian family.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: And so these are these are plants that are primarily going to grow on tropical rainforest type of climates?
3:58
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: Some like the nematanthus, the eschinanthus, they can be grown outdoors in Southern California.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: They like a semi-shady area, but they can definitely be grown outdoors.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people do that.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so for the most part.
4:13
SPEAKER_01: So African violets have been hybridized over the years.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us about the varieties, the plant size, the leaf?
4:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh there's quite a few varieties now.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: There's over 15,000 registered varieties with the um national organization.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: They come in standard minis, semi-minis, and trailers.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: And when I refer to mini, semi-mini standards, I'm talking about the leaf size, not the bloom, not the bloom size.
4:44
SPEAKER_00: Typically, your mini and semi-minis are maybe like an inch, the leaf will be like an inch in diameter.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: The standards they'll go two to three inches per leaf in diameter.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: And the trailers, the what they are, they're a multi-crowned African violet.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: The standards, the minis and the standards, you grow as a single-crown plant.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: But the the um trailers were hybridized to be multiple crown.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: So that that is quite a few, and I'm looking at at these plants, and there is a big difference in leaf size.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: So if you're interested in growing violets, you not only have the beauty of the flowers, but you've got quite a variety in leaves because I see some of them are variegated.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, there's a quite a few that are now variegated.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: I would say about 25% of the registered plants are are variegated.
5:37
SPEAKER_00: And the bloom colors uh are complete spectrum.
5:41
SPEAKER_00: They go from whites, pinks, purples.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: There's um what we call like a fantasy, which is a solid color that has like um a speckle in it.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: There's also striped varieties.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: The the two colors that you won't see are in bloom are either black or yellow.
6:01
SPEAKER_00: There was a few plants that were hybridized with that with a yellow blossom, but it was very pale and it really hasn't held up well.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: So your main colors are pinks, whites, blues, and purples.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: And I think most people associate purple with African.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right, right, right.
6:18
SPEAKER_00: The ones that you see in the uh commercial areas, you know, like Home Depot and Lowe's, they typically are going to be purples and pinks and whites.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: And in the wild is that originally before the hybridization, so the flower color in the wild would be a purple.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: Purple, correct, yeah.
6:36
SPEAKER_01: And over the years they've hybridized it.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: And made them in decided.
6:41
SPEAKER_01: We'll talk a little later in the show if you want to get into this and get a get a special color, how you would go about doing that.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: And back to the leaf.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, the variegated leaf, actually, it's a virus.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: And it was a mutation that occurred in um at a lady's house in, I think her she was in Texas, and all of a sudden variegation showed up on a leaf.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: She didn't know what it was, and it turns out that it's in a virus.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: And the virus doesn't hurt the plant.
7:10
SPEAKER_00: No, it doesn't hurt the human or the plants.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: Whoa.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: Okay, that that's pretty cool.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: So that's how the variegation was just sort of a mutation that happened.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: So which varieties are common and which are more rare?
7:24
SPEAKER_01: So tell us uh, I think you addressed that the purple ones that you get at the big improvement stores might be.
7:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the varieties as far as the the bloom color, purple is going to be your most common.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: The rarer ones would be whites are not real common.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: You will see them, but they're not as common.
7:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, the striped varieties are fairly rare.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: There's bloom color with an edge on it.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: You'll have like a pink blossom, but the edging will be red.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: You have to look close to see it.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: There's also uh striped varieties.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't grow any because they are the harder ones to actually grow.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: For some reason, for me, the striped varieties are more are harder to grow.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: Other people grow them wonderful.
8:14
SPEAKER_01: So it just is just depends upon the green thumb that you might have.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Right.
8:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: And I'm seeing some very interesting shades of pink, some some very light shades of pink that I don't think I've ever seen any.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's there's yeah, they come in different um hues, you know, light, dark, medium, all different colors and and uh shades.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: They actually call that shading.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: So if I have not grown African violets and I'm starting out, and I want to start with my with a plant and see how it does, and see how I do, what type of plant would you recommend I start with?
8:50
SPEAKER_00: A standard-sized plant that you would purchase at either a nursery or any of the home improvement stores.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: The big problem with those plants is the soil is way too heavy, and they and they have forced the blooming on them because they in order to sell the plants, they have bloom, it has to have bloom.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: So if you purchase a plant from those types of uh stores or nurseries, I would recommend that once you bring it home, let it settle in for a week or two, and then repot it in an African violet soil.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: I see we're gonna talk about soil.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: Yes, right, how that's gonna work and the best ways to go about doing that.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: Right.
9:37
SPEAKER_01: So you'd say, so this is the oh, go ahead.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and and when you repot the plant, disbud it.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: Take all the flowers off.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: That would be hard.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Well, the purpose of taking the flowers off is now you've repotted the plant and you want the root system to develop.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: It's in a new soil, new environment.
9:59
SPEAKER_00: The root structure is the lifeline of the plant, not the blossom.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:04
SPEAKER_01: My roots have to get stronger before I can enjoy my beautiful flowers.
10:09
SPEAKER_01: So you had mentioned this is a rainforest plant, so it's not gonna go well on my patio because of the temperature fluctuations here in California.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: Correct, yeah.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: It's you can grow them outside, but they don't do well.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: They're either going to get like in the wintertime, even though we don't get snow here, it's too cold for them, you know, and they're gonna freeze up.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: You don't have that environment.
10:31
SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, in the summertime, even though like we're in the local local um temperate area here, it's still you get, you know, really sunny or warm days, they just don't uh do well.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: They do much better under artificial light in your house or natural light in the house.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay, naturally, because that that's the next question about the optimal location for light requirements.
10:52
SPEAKER_00: Okay, your east and north windows are actually your best windows to grow the violets in.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: They do need light in order to bloom.
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Not they don't need a lot of light to grow, but they need the light to bloom.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: So if you have a south or a west facing room, like I do here, because I face south, excuse me, I face west over here.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: As Bill's sitting here, I have no violets in my west facing window because the sun comes in and will burn the plant.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: So I grow all mine under artificial light, T12s, and they can be grown under the LED lights now, even though I don't do it.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: I have a small experiment going on here, but I know people have switched over to LED lights.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: So you can purchase online a grow setup.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: You can get, I see yours as a four-story model, but I'm sure you could get something that's uh just a starter kit to put them under if you correct, correct.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Or there's uh different ones that you can can you can get.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: So the lights you have, are they on a timer then?
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Yep, they are on a timer.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: I run my lights between 11 and 12 hours a day.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: I usually they'll they flip on around six in the morning.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: And depending on the uh season and where uh you know what what's going on for my shows, maybe off between four and five o'clock in the afternoon.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: So 10, 11 hours, 12 hours.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: Which is roughly the light span that you would get if you were near the equator.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: And that's pretty close to that 12 hours.
12:33
SPEAKER_01: So if I have my plant in my window, is there a way to tell if my plant's getting too much or too little light?
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Yes, if it's not blooming, it's probably not getting enough light.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: If you see, if you if you grow in a window, typically what's going to happen is the plant is going to lean towards the light.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And what you need to do to counteract that is give it a quarter turn every few days, and that'll keep the the balance the plant balanced.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: And if you see burn on the leaves, then you've got it too close to your window.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: It needs to come back about six inches from the window, six to eight inches, depending again on.
13:12
SPEAKER_01: You don't want it to have that intense heat.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: No.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: And speaking of blooms, how often during the year can you expect an African violet?
13:19
SPEAKER_00: Year-round.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: I my plants bloom year-round.
13:23
SPEAKER_01: If I look if I look like you just snip a uh bloom and a new one comes in to take its place?
13:29
SPEAKER_00: Is that yeah, you know, most varieties will bloom.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Um they'll bloom year-round.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: I have a few plants that I just let bloom all the time.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: But the the thing that you might want to do is when the when a bloom starts dying, then remove the dead blossom.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: And that'll encourage new blossoms.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Yep, right.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: And that would make sense because of course where these plants originate from, there are new seasons.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's why that would be that way.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about the pots that you want to put in.
14:02
SPEAKER_01: I see that you have a variety of pot sizes and types, and I see that you use a rather simple pot, but I guess if you wanted to do a decorative pot in your own house, you could do that.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: So is there a pot or material such as plastic, ceramic, or terracotta?
14:18
SPEAKER_00: In which African violence survived?
14:20
SPEAKER_00: The the violets do best in plastic containers.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: They will grow in the terracotta, they will grow in the decorative containers, but a lightweight plastic works best for them.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: In the decorative containers, they'll grow there, but the the problem that a lot of people experience is they overwater the plant.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: And I have a special type of watering system that I use, which I'll explain a little bit later.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: But if you use a decorative container that has two pieces to it, the bottom part is where you're going to put the water, let that dry out between waterings for a few days because you'll overwater the plant if you constantly have water in there.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: So you're actually watering, so you want a pot that has a little dish to it.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: And then let and then let the plant absorb what it's going to need and then let it dry out for a couple days.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: So that water will wick up into your medium and the plant will absorb it and get completely dry.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: And regarding terracotta pots, years ago, lot of people did did grow in the terracotta pots, but they what happens is there's a salt built up in those uh in the clay pots, which are this like the clay pots, and they wind up killing the violets.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: Even though a lot of people that were on farms and that, that's what they used to use, and they grew um good plants there, but you very seldom will see them in terracottas anymore.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you can see that salt built up on the outside of the terracotta pot.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: And then you know I mean that's a sign too, if you're getting that that's I would imagine with your use of the plastic that that causes any salt in the water to leave and not get stuck within the pot material.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Um true, but the secret that I have is see, I repot my plants every three to four months.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: So I never get that kind of a buildup.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: So that so they these are salt sensitive because again, in the rainforest they're getting watered by rainwater, which is gonna have a zero salt content and mineral content, whereas any kind of water we use is going to have that uh that type of uh content to them.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: Right.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about the soil medium.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: You mentioned if I bring one home, I gotta repot it.
16:50
SPEAKER_01: So what do you do for soil?
16:52
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I mix my own African violet soil, and it's a very simple recipe.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: It's one part peat moss, one part vermiculite, one part verm uh perlite.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: One one one.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: Now, in the stores, in the nurseries, in that you're gonna find what's called an African violet mix.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: If you purchase that, what you should do is mix it with half half perlite.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: Take the African violet soil and mix it with half perlite.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: So you're saying the perlast soil is too heavy?
17:27
SPEAKER_00: It's way too heavy, way too heavy.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: And so this will lighten up if you mix it with with perlite.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: The perlite.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: So the peat, I know sometimes that can get clumped up, so do you really work that what I do is I take a uh a strainer and I sift the peat moss so it's always fluffy and everything.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: And that way then you can get your other materials in there so that because peat, if you don't do that, can actually repel water.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
17:55
SPEAKER_01: That is that is good.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: That that's true.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I that's one problem I don't have though, is clumping peat moss because I sift it.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: Because you sift it.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: And that would that would make sense.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: And I would imagine it's probably a better idea to buy your peat in smaller quantities so you use it up.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: Correct correct, yeah.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: I buy in larger quantities just because I have a lot of pants.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, plants.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right, yeah, right.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: But you can get, you know, peat, vermiculite perlite in small quantities.
18:25
SPEAKER_01: All right, so remember that vermiculite, pearlite, and peat and peat and mix them.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: And if you buy an off-the-shelf African violet mix, you want to supplement that with some perlite.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: Perlite.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you should mix it 50-50.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: And that makes sure then that the soil is light enough.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: So I've heard African violets do not like to get their leaves wet when being watered.
18:48
SPEAKER_01: And tell us you we talked a little bit about watering, but let's get into how you do that again and talk about the watering in the leaves.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: It's an old man's tale about water on leaves.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: You can get your water on African violet leaves.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: I miss my plants periodically, and there's water on the leaves.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: What you don't want to do is get water on the leaves and then put it in the sun.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: Then that's when you get a burn on the leaf.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: But like uh, I have mine under fluorescent lights.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: I never get a burn from light, from water.
19:24
SPEAKER_00: That just doesn't happen.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Because you're getting a different kind of light in the spectrum that's coming down.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: So that's another good idea for using grow lights.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: And so you said the standard way to water it is you have a dish under the pot.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: Okay, there's three ways that you can um water your plants.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: You can water them from the top, the top of the plant, put the water in, you can water them from the bottom, or you can use a self-watering method, which I call a wicking method.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: And what I do, I use a nylon yarn and put it on the bottom of the pot, inside the pot, before I put the plant in there, and then um I put that on top of a uh container.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: You can use like a margarine cup or something like that.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Put your wall, your fertilized water in the margarine cup.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: With the wicking, with an ion, with the yarn, it'll self-absorb into the into the plant, and it'll only take up what it needs.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: So that way you know you're not overwatering or underwatering.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: You're depending on the size of the container.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: I don't have to water my plants for a couple, three weeks because there's water in the container, they'll take up what they need.
20:43
SPEAKER_01: So this is the handy plant if you're going to say take a week's vacation, and you don't have to worry about neighbors coming over to water.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: That's correct.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: That's correct.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you hand water, you know, either from the top or the bottom, you shouldn't let the plant sit in the in the um water more than about an hour.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Let it absorb what it's going to absorb, and then the uh remaining water you can either throw it out in your garden or whatever you want to want to do with it, but don't let it sit in the water because it'll cause rot.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: The roots will rot and the plant will rot.
21:19
SPEAKER_01: Because I see some of the pots, so you're actually using what looks like three-ounce plastic cups.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: Do you put a hole in the bottom of the plots?
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are, yeah.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: There are holes in this in the solo cups and in the plastic pots.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: There's there's holes.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: I punch my own holes in the solo cup.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: Does the the wicking material poke out the bottom of those through that?
21:36
SPEAKER_01: Yep, that's right.
21:37
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: Did you have any other holes in addition to the one the wick comes out or because there are yeah, there's two or three holes in the pot in the bottom of the pots.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: And then some of them for drainage and some of them to allow the water wicking to a fascinating way to do it, and it really makes it so that your African violets can be relatively you're not fooling with them.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: They can free.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: And if you're doing um watering top from the top to the bottom, all they need is about watering every week.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: People kill their their violets.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: The most common method is overwatering.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Not underwatering, but overwatering the plant.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: It while it's a tropical plant, it doesn't need moisture every single day.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: They can go a few days without any w without any water.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: So I what I would recommend is that you just get yourself on a schedule, like water it every Thursday or the day you do laundry or something like that.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: And you better put it on the calendar to make sure that you're gonna put it in the full proof.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: So if you're potting your your African violet and you get some dirt on it, then you can rinse the dirt off.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: Is that the better?
22:49
SPEAKER_00: Sure, but yeah.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: And um yeah, you can you can rinse the dirt off.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: If you don't if you're still leery about getting water on the leaves, um get a cosmetic brush and just brush the soil.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: So I know that the violets have some nutritional needs need in the way of fertilizer.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: So do they prefer a liquid or dry fertilizer?
23:10
SPEAKER_01: Tell us about the nutrition needs and what I should do to keep my plants.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Okay, as far as fertilizing, yes, the plants do need to be fertilized.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: A balanced fertilizer, like something 20, 20, 20, 15, 15, 15, is the best fertilizer for plants at home.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: You can either use a powdered fertilizer or a liquid, either one is fine.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: But here's the caveat on a powdered fertilizer, when you read the instructions on it, they'll tell you to use a teaspoon or uh a teaspoon to a gallon of water.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: That is way, way, way too much fertilizer.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: All they need is between an eighth and a quarter of a teaspoon to one gallon of water.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: So more is less when you're thinking about fertilizing it.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: No, and that's another problem that a lot of people have is they over fertilize the plant, think they're gonna force the bloom.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: That will not force the bloom.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: If it's a liquid fertilizer, you can follow the directions because the liquid fertilizers are very weak.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: If you re ever look at the labeling on the front, you'll see like it's 0.7, 0.3, 0.2.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: So that's that's okay.
24:23
SPEAKER_00: You can use whatever they're telling you to use.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: I use a rotation of fertilizers myself.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: Cut down if it's the dry and you want to follow the directions on the liquid.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't imagine you recommend using any of those kind of stick fertilizers that you stick down into the plant.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, some people do.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: I I don't because I don't know what's in those sticks, even though there's a label there, and I I just don't use it.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: I I like to control what what I am doing.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Going back to the fertilizer for one minute, yeah.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: The plants should be fertilized on a continuous basis.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: So if you fertilize them every time you water, it's the best thing for them.
25:04
SPEAKER_01: So light fertilizing when you water, and then that way too, that would make sense because then you're not forgetting to fertilize.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: That that's true.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: And it it's something that's constant.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: It's like us.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: We need three meals a day, all the fertilizers, you know.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the plants need their fertilizer their their food all the time, too.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: They need their nutritious elements.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: And you so chemical fertilizer versus something like fish emulsion or blood meal or um you know that's not commonly used anymore.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: In when I first started in violets, blood meal, bone meal, and fish emulsion was was used quite a bit, but um not much anymore.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: Some of the research coming out is showing that the chemicals really uh do the job on the fertilizing.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: So we talked about the the watering, and if you're going on vacation, we know how that works.
25:54
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about knowing whether or not you're under-fertilizing or over-fertilizing.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: Is there a key idea?
26:01
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're under fertilizing, typically you'll get very little or no bloom, and your leaves will be pale.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: They should be nice and greener if they're a variegated plant, then you know the variegation should be there.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: So that's probably your key for under-fertilizing.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: For over-fertilizing, which I've done myself a number of times, you get a burning in the middle of the plant.
26:28
SPEAKER_01: So you'll see like a brown change in the correct.
26:32
SPEAKER_00: And right in the middle, you'll see a brown crust or an orange crust developing, and that's 99% you're over-fertilizing the plant.
26:40
SPEAKER_01: Back on that, and maybe go for a month with no fertilizer and sequence.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what I would do if you see that, uh, don't try and rub off that uh crusting material because it'll kill the leaf.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: It's probably going to die anyways.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: But what I would do is just rinse the plant a couple times with clear water.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: And just flush out.
26:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just correct.
27:00
SPEAKER_01: Let it do that and then let it dry out.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: Right.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: So do I have to worry about I know I'm indoors, so I don't have as much of a past or disease problem, but what plagues African violets?
27:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a there are a number of pests that do go after go after African violets.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: The probably the biggest problem are thrips, and thrips, if you have roses around your house, when you look at the the um blossom on the rose, the rose petal, you'll see little black or brown things running around.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: They love the African violet bloom also.
27:40
SPEAKER_00: So thrips are fairly common.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: Mites, which you cannot see from the from the naked eye, but you can tell if you have cyclomen mites, is the center of the plant will tighten up.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: They'll sort of twist and tighten.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: If you get a microscope, uh, even a handheld one, you'll see little things running around with a microscope.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: And then mealybugs.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: Both soil and foliar mealybugs are the other things that violets like.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: So those are the those are the common ones.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: As far as keeping them under control or eradicating, I personally do not use any chemicals, I don't spray, I don't use uh marathon in the soil.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: But I if I get any new plants in in my collection, they are in an isolation ward for three to four months.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: I want to make sure that there's nothing wrong with that plant, because a lot of times you may you think you don't have anything, but you do have something, and these critters will show up eventually.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: So what I do is I keep it, I keep them completely isolated, and then like I I will repot the plant, use my own soil and everything.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: If I see any sign of a problem with rips or mealybug or whatever, the plant is sent outdoors in the recycle bin.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't, like I said, I don't spray and I don't use any soil uh soil additives or anything like that.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: If you decide you're going to spray or put something in the soil, which a number of people, enough a number of African violet people do, my suggestion is make sure you follow the manufacturer's uh instructions very carefully.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: Do all spraying outdoors, keep your hands, your mouth covered.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: So you're what you're saying is it's easier to discard the plant and start anew.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Because violets are very easy to start.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: So I I just don't because I've I've gone through cycles where somebody will give me a plant, I'll put it in the collection, next thing I know I got mealybugs.
29:47
SPEAKER_00: And one once the mealybugs start, you can't get rid of them.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because they're going to go from plant to plant.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: They go to plant to plant.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: If you have thrips, they're gonna fly from plant to plant.
29:55
SPEAKER_01: So if you have roses outdoors, i it does that increase your probability of getting yes.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: Thrips, yes.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: So looking around my house, I don't think you see.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: No, there's no roses.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: There's no rose, there's no roses.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: So that keeps okay, that keeps it.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: That that would make sense.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: It helps.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: But thrips will fly through an airstream.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I because in the summertime the store is open, but I keep my plants disbudded in the summertime.
30:20
SPEAKER_00: So I can get thrips, but less than less than that decreases your probability, and that would make a lot of sense.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: Right.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: Right.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about propagating.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: We said that it's easy to propagate.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about uh both the seed and the cutting methods.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: Let's start maybe with cuttings and how do you how you propagate with cuttings.
30:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay, with cuttings, you take a leaf stem, don't use the outer row of uh leaves, because those are the oldest leaves on the plant, the outer row.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: The most inner row are the new ones, those are the babies.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: So you don't want to use those.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: What you want to use is like a second generation, the second row of leaves in are the best leaves to propagate with.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: The most prolific.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: Like the outer row, those are the grandparents, they've finished reproducing.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: The inside row, they shouldn't be producing.
31:20
SPEAKER_00: They're the kids.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: It's that middle generation are the ones that for for um reproducing.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: So those are the leaves that I use.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: Now, how how I use the leaf to propagate, you remove the leaf from the plant.
31:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say you want to leave maybe uh an inch, no more than an inch of stem, cut it at a 45-degree angle, put it in the soil, your your African violet soil, give it a light watering, put it in a covered container, and see what happens.
32:03
SPEAKER_00: If it's if you've been successful in a couple weeks, you can open up that container and give it a light pull, give the leaf a light pull.
32:12
SPEAKER_00: If you get some resistance from it, you have successfully started a plant because the root system is now started.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: If you pull the if you get you yank the leaf and it comes out of the soil, well, maybe if it's too early.
32:28
SPEAKER_00: I didn't do early, you can retry it again.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: But within two to three weeks, you should have some resistance on that leaf.
32:35
SPEAKER_00: And that's how I start.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: And depending on the variety and the um of the plant, humidity factors, and a few different things.
32:47
SPEAKER_00: It can take three months, four months for babies to start appearing, for new plantlets to start appearing.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: It it all depends.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: It's variable.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: So you have to be patient.
32:58
SPEAKER_00: You correct, you have to be patient.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: I have some leaves here started that I had some babies come up in six weeks, and then I have others four months before I got anything.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: So it just depends.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: So the container that you're talking about, I see is just your standard if you buy one of those clear plastic trays that you use for seed starting.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh if you go to certain takeout uh restaurants, you can get clear plastic food comes in and reuse those.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: And you can use baggies, like down the bottom there.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: The baggies and what you're looking for is something that lets light through but keeps that humidity and moisture inside.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: Inside, yeah.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: Right.
33:35
SPEAKER_01: Is it that correct environment that will just be moist and get roots going?
33:40
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: And then once the babies start showing, the new plants start showing, then you want to start taking the lid or opening up the bag because now you want those new plants to start acclimating to the environment that they're going to live in.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: Right, so they don't get spoiled in there.
33:56
SPEAKER_00: Right, right, or the plant could rot on your yard.
33:58
SPEAKER_01: And and that would make a lot of sense.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: You don't use a rooting hormone.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: I do not.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: Some people do use uh super thrive, you know, which is a rooting hormone.
34:06
SPEAKER_00: I don't.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just don't.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: And I have no problem rooting my uh leaves.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: I get about a 75-80% take on my leaves.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's that's extremely good.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes I have too many, so talk about uh starting from seeds.
34:23
SPEAKER_01: How do you gather African violet seeds?
34:25
SPEAKER_00: And I you know, I can't really speak to that because I don't do anything with seeds.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: Do you ever buy seeds online to start a new uh cultivar at all?
34:35
SPEAKER_00: No.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: And do you know any any any violet people that do seeds?
34:40
SPEAKER_00: Yes, uh Ron Nadu, N A D E A U.
34:45
SPEAKER_00: And he he's a big seed guy, and he that's how he starts a lot of his plants.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: Ron Nadu.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so he would he would do the seeds, but you can do it.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: So someone that is uh uh propagating by seed is very much into the hobby.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: Correct, right.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're hybridizing.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't personally do any hybridizing.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: That's not my so tell me a little bit about since we're on to hybridizing, is is it is it difficult and the techniques for hybridizing and um you know I'm gonna say it's not real hard to hybridize, but in this in the African Biot Society, like I said, we have 15 to 20,000 varieties of plants.
35:25
SPEAKER_00: And what's happening is they're cross-hybridizing a lot of the plants and they all look alike in the end.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: So, but if you want to do it as an experiment, yeah, sure.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: And I imagine there's no grafting of the leaves at all.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: No, they don't do grafting, yeah.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: No, no, there's not that I'm aware of.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: What do you have?
35:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: Right, correct.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that would make uh would make sense.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
35:47
SPEAKER_01: I can see myself getting into African violets.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: Are there organizations where I get more information and clubs I can join?
35:54
SPEAKER_01: So tell me about the clubs.
35:55
SPEAKER_01: You've you've mentioned it a little bit.
35:57
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's start at the national level.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: Our national organization is AVSA, African Violet Society of America.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: And they have a website, and it's avsa.org.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: That's easy to remember.
36:13
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
36:14
SPEAKER_00: You can look out there, there's pictures, and they also produce a um magazine six times a year.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Has a lot of information, both for amateurs and for um people that are into it a lot more, a lot of pretty pictures.
36:31
SPEAKER_00: And if you're looking to buy plants and supplies in the back part of the magazine, are a lot of the commercials that are highly recommended.
36:40
SPEAKER_00: And I've used all these commercials myself.
36:43
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm seeing one of the things that I've not seen before around your plants, which you told me earlier, was a leaf support.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: So tell me a little bit about the leaf supports, are to keep the leaves um elevated so they don't uh droop on the tables or the trays.
37:00
SPEAKER_00: Because if they do, you're gonna nick them, and then if you're watering the plant, it's gonna sit in the water and that.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: So the leaf supports are really very very uh useful.
37:11
SPEAKER_00: And I think they cost uh you know a dollar or two dollars or something like that.
37:14
SPEAKER_00: I got a whole supply because I've been growing for so long.
37:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it looks like they come in a variety of stuff.
37:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they come in uh three different sizes: small, medium, and large, depending upon your paper size.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, correct, correct.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: So that's the national organization for the violets.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: We have three local clubs here that I'm gonna talk about.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: We have a club called the Tustana Club.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: We have another club, which is the Tri-Counties Club, and then we have one in LA.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: Well, there's several in LA's, but the one I belong to is South Co is the South Coast African Violet Society, exactly, and the Gazneriat Society, it's both now.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: And if you need any information on that, you can either call me or call Bill or something, and I can give you the time the times.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: We meet once a month, and the discussions are um varied.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm the president in one of the clubs, but we talk about um you know a lot of the things that we were just discussing here: fertilizer soil.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: We do have a couple judged uh African Violet shows.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: There's also a national show that we have.
38:28
SPEAKER_01: And the national show does it rotate around the country?
38:30
SPEAKER_00: It does.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: And then they always run it the week, the week of Memorial Day.
38:35
SPEAKER_01: All right, so that's a fun weekend to get back to traveling.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: How many um how many entrants would be the show?
38:42
SPEAKER_00: In the show, we usually have maybe four to five hundred uh plants that will be entered in the show, depending on where it is and that.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: The further east you go, the there's a lot of the growers are in Texas and east.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: So you'll have three, four, or five hundred plants in the show.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: So if I chose to get one of my plants from an online source, it's gonna come shipped well to me.
39:09
SPEAKER_01: I don't have to worry about spraying it.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: Right.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: If you use the commercials that are advertised in our magazine, they're also on the website.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: And you can look on you can look on the website.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: They ship uh very conscientiously.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: Some of them are in New York, they will ship in the wintertime, some do, some don't.
39:26
SPEAKER_00: And they will back up their uh their plants if something happens.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: And I recommend that that's where you get your plants from, but you know, most of the time you're gonna go to the local stores and and get them and see what they have.
39:40
SPEAKER_00: But these folks here have the more rare varieties, and they also have supplies so you can get their the soil that they're gonna sell is good.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do anything to it.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: They'll they'll give you the good soil on that.
39:53
SPEAKER_01: And all the supplies go to the go to the home center, the nursery that I would need to supplement.
39:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you definitely need you definitely need to supplement.
40:01
SPEAKER_00: And if you're looking for a book on growing African violets, it's called Growing to Show.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: It was written by a lady in Southern California.
40:12
SPEAKER_00: She was a major um grower and won many, many awards.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: And she wrote it with a lot of the material for Southern California.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: And so when people back east read it, they're going, What is a Santa Ana wind?
40:28
SPEAKER_00: Because we know with the winds, it drives everything out and everything.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: So this book is it's got illustrations in it, and it really does an excellent job of going over everything you need you need to know.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: You can purchase that on the website also.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: So that would be so that's growing to share.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: Show by Paul.
40:47
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's by Pauline Bartholomew and the African Violet Society.
40:52
SPEAKER_00: And that would be a good reference to the city.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: Correct, that is correct, yeah.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's$15 or something like that.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's not bad.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: And that's all.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: Whenever I do talks or people ask me questions, this is the source to go to.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: It's your go-to book where you're going to answer those things.
41:08
SPEAKER_01: Correct.
41:09
SPEAKER_01: So if I get into African violets as a hobby, you mentioned that there's competition.
41:13
SPEAKER_01: So tell us a little bit about how flowers are judged and the competitive aspect of it and and what one would look for.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: Okay, um, the African violets are point-scored, uh total of a hundred points.
41:31
SPEAKER_00: 25 points count for the symmetry of the plant.
41:34
SPEAKER_00: That's how um well how symmetrical the plant looks.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: It should be as symmetrical as possible.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: There shouldn't be gaps between the leaves, and it should be leaf over leaf.
41:45
SPEAKER_00: That's worth 25 points.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: The condition of the plant is worth another 25 points.
41:53
SPEAKER_00: And that entails you shouldn't have dust, dirt, dog, cat hair on the plants.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: They should be in a pot that is about a third the size of the diameter of the plant for the standards.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: For the minis and semi-minis, they don't have that same requirement.
42:11
SPEAKER_00: But um, anyways, there's the that's the part with the condition on it.
42:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, there shouldn't be broken leaves and and things like that.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: So it's it's items that you can control yourself.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: Another 25 points is the quantity of bloom.
42:25
SPEAKER_00: Actually, you know, the African Violet is grown for its bloom content.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: And on a standard sized African violet, again, the standard sized leaves in a four-inch pot, you should have between 15 and 20 blossoms on the plant to get the full point score on it.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: On the minis and semi-minis, they go to 12, 15 blooms to a to a to a mini or semi-mini.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: And then the other 25 points are made up of the color of the blossom according to the its registrated registration.
42:58
SPEAKER_00: And like if the plant is registered as a pink and it's blooming purple, you're going to lose some points.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: And then the size of the blossom, sometimes you'll have a single blossom or a double blossom or something like that.
43:12
SPEAKER_00: But um basically that's how it is.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: So it's 25 points, 25 points, 25 points, 25 points.
43:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, if you're a judge, an experienced judge, you don't actually have to do that.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: You can just look at it and say, oh yes, this is good enough, you know, and that.
43:30
SPEAKER_00: And then the award ribbons.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh if you get 90 points or better, it's a blue ribbon.
43:35
SPEAKER_00: Uh, 80 to 89 points, it's a red ribbon, 70 to 79, it's a white ribbon.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: And then when they put the plants on in the show, they're put in different classes depending on the size of the plant and um the leaves, the whether it's a variegated leaf or a solid green uh leaf.
43:53
SPEAKER_00: But within a class, you'll uh be awarded a best in class, then the best plant in that particular class, and then they will pick out a best in in the whole show, and and the best-looking plant in the whole show, the best point-scoring plant in the whole show.
44:11
SPEAKER_01: And will be awarded.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
44:12
SPEAKER_01: So you talk about this the symmetry.
44:14
SPEAKER_01: So do you do you remove leaves at all?
44:17
SPEAKER_00: Do you during the growing process, yes.
44:20
SPEAKER_00: You want to try and grow it in a triangle type of thing.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: So it's leaf, leaf, leaf, leaf, leaf, leaf.
44:29
SPEAKER_01: And and you talk about the older leaves, the grandparents, then the middle of the middle of the pack, and then the baby leaf.
44:35
SPEAKER_01: So if something's not in that pattern, then you can remove it.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: You can remove it, or if you need to like move it a little bit so that there's not a gap in there, get a plastic toothpick and gently push the stem of the leaf to the desired position.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: Leave it there for maybe a week and then remove the um toothpick.
45:00
SPEAKER_01: So those little toothpicks that you get with your Hawaiian cocktail.
45:03
SPEAKER_01: Correct, yeah.
45:05
SPEAKER_00: Right, yep, correct.
45:06
SPEAKER_01: So you so you prepare them uh for the for the judging, and it's done by size and the color, and you explain the the point purpose.
45:15
SPEAKER_01: So if I wanted to go see one of these competitions, are there some local here in Southern California?
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
45:21
SPEAKER_01: Um violets on display at the Orange County Fair in the summer months.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: There generally there are.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: I've shown there, and um the they'll be in the inside pavilion.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: In the inside pavilion.
45:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the inside pavilion, yep, right.
45:37
SPEAKER_01: So we can do that because it sounds like getting into a show and getting into the judging and thing was would be a direction that you could take this hobby and and you could do it, and it's it's indoors and it's healthy, and it's yeah, it's relatively easy.
45:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is.
45:53
SPEAKER_00: It's not a uh it's not a hard hobby at all.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: As as plans go, and you're gonna learn as you go.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: Sure, there are societies and organizations that support your learning.
46:03
SPEAKER_00: Correct.
46:04
SPEAKER_01: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about African violence as we come to the end of our show here?
46:09
SPEAKER_00: No, I think that's about it.
46:11
SPEAKER_00: If anybody needs any help or anything, I'm always available, so Bill has my uh information.
46:16
SPEAKER_00: I mean, be glad to come out and do any talks to any of the local gardening clubs.
46:22
SPEAKER_00: I've done a number of talks over the years, or you can either email me or phone me or whatever.
46:29
SPEAKER_00: Good to know.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: Have Leonard come out and and get you enthused about African violets.
46:35
SPEAKER_01: Because this has been an awfully exciting afternoon here looking at these beautiful flowers, and they just, and of course, under the grow lights, they just they just pop at you.
46:44
SPEAKER_01: So I would really encourage you to get into this hobby, rather.
46:48
SPEAKER_01: And during the Victorian era, a special symbolism of flowers became a popular pastime.
46:54
SPEAKER_01: The violet symbolizes loyalty, devotion, and faithfulness.
46:59
SPEAKER_01: You have to be faithful to keep these living.
47:02
SPEAKER_01: And it's been a pleasure talking with you today, Leonard.
47:05
SPEAKER_01: And we've learned an awful lot.