When I was 12 years old, I unexpectedly walked in on a flower show. It was in my junior high school cafeteria. I remember thinking what on earth are these women doing here hunched over these tables of flower pots—every single pot was an African Violet.
My gosh, I wondered, what had driven these women to this kind of obsession. No, actually at age 12, it was probably more like “this is weird,” followed by a quick exit.
Nevertheless, I had recognized these plants because my mother had had some at home. The pots lived on a setting of small rocks in a tray, soaking up some sun in the day-bright TV room. In a good week we would see purple blossoms and light pink ones too.
“Water them from the bottom, she’d say, don’t drip water on the leaves.” They were a first introduction to fuzzy leaves.
Another vague memory I have is inserting an African violet cutting into a jam glass topped by aluminum foil, I guess to hold the leaf in place. In about a month a root would form and we’d pot it. Months later there would be a bigger plant. Propagation is fun, see? That’s about the extent of my memory.
Recently, I visited a friend named Mary. In her living room window she has a large round and rustic wicker basket overflowing with a grouping of six very healthy Saintpaulia in a southerly window. They look as healthy as can be. She feigns horticultural nonchalance about their success, but I want to learn her secrets.
Today I explored an African Violet blog in Romania (she grows Buckeye Blushing, Bliznecy, Autumn Halo, Ma’s Winter Moon) and another blog in Sweden where I learned “There are about twenty wild species of African violets, some of which are endangered in their natural habitats in East Africa. In the range of 40-45,000 hybrids circulate among collectors and growers in the world!” A translated Ukrainian blog reads “My violets are increasingly occupying space in my apartment, but nevertheless, I always bring home new varieties.”
If you are interested in growing AV’s to show, check out this website www.avsc.ca. At Amazon dot com, there’s a few copies left of Pauline Bartholomew’s “Growing to Show . . . African Violets”. Other books about African Violets are also available.
There’s also the African Violet Society of America www.avsa.org. which incorporated in 1947 and has grown to be “the largest society devoted to a single indoor plant in the world.”
I got a kick out of a YouTube video walking the viewer through an entire African Violet show in Central New Jersey (2010). Great specimens. Click here to view it. Chet Atkins and Les Paul were at the show too (kidding).
Also at Youtube you can find short demos on how to propogate them, for example this one.
Isn’t it nice how memories grow fonder with the passing of each year? Viva la African Violets!
I’d love to hear of your childhood memories having to do with houseplants or gardening. Do share.
Photo source: Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike by ‘Wildfeuer’
Nancy R. Peck
One of my favorite interludes with the gesneriad family was in the early nineties when I worked at a garden center in Ct.
Mr. Buell would come by in his white van about once a month and drop off the most amazing assortments of mini violets (personal favorite!), reg. violets, gloxinia, streptocarpus, columneas, and episcias.
Like so many of the old timers, a lost legacy. I was fortunate to meet him at his tender old age, so thanks to him I still hold all the plants of this family close to my heart.
Thanks Mr. Buell!
I have an old book called;
GESNERIADS and How To Grow Them
By: Peggie Schulz
1967
Notes on Mr. Buells operation in Eastford, Ct.
pg. 254
These old books are treasures (and the unique bookmarks you find in them are too). I enjoyed hearing about this.
My Mom just loved growing African violets in her home. It gave her such pleasure nurturing these plants when it was 40 degrees below zero outside (she lived in Northern Ontario, Canada). I think she probably felt she was cheating the weather some how. She was a genius at getting them to bloom. It was also very important to her to have healthy, dark green, unspotted leaves that were not too “leggy”. I also remember her growing a cactus whose common name was “crown of thorns” – you know, the one that was around Jesus’ head at his crucifixion. She grew it in the corner window of our living room and I have vivid memories of us kids carefully bending our limbs at impossible angles to ensure that we did not brush up against its wicked looking thorns. As if the thorns weren’t scarey enough, my Mom used to warn us not to ingest it’s white milky sap which supposedley was poisonous. Come to think of it, why did she keep such a deathtrap of a plant in the house?? She was one of those Mom’s whose motto was always “safety first”. Kind of ironic. Again, maybe she just loved the thought of growing this kind of exotic in her northern home. Can it be that she loved the plants more than us???
LOVED this story, Joanne!