When my grandmother passed away in 1999 I rescued an AV from her kitchen table. Her house had already been closed up for a few weeks when we went to clean it out, and it was mid-summer, so the poor thing had essentially been in an oven. It was all brown and dried out, and my heart went out to it. I had no idea what it was, but I took it home... and promptly killed it by over-watering it. Enter AV #2, because clearly I needed to prove to myself that I could take care of one and not kill it. So for a little while, yes, I had only one AV. However, AVs #3, 4, 5, and 6 followed closely thereafter. Then I moved from Boston to LA. My apartment I was moving into didn't get any light and I was worried the AVs would die during the road trip, so I left them all with my mother. That was years ago and she's taken wonderful care of them. She always shows them off to me when I visit them. I mean her. :0) Now for the most recent round of obsession... Three years ago I rescued an AV off of a co-workers desk after she quit unexpectedly (that's the one that's never bloomed until now). For a few weeks, yes, I owned only one. But then I happened to see one with girl foliage at the supermarket, and found it so unusual that I had to buy it. For three years I had just the two AVs, but now I'm in full-on obsession mode again. It started when I moved into my condo over the summer and had all this sunlight flooding in... and, well, you can imagine the rest!

I began gardening about 8 years ago, starting with annuals, rose bushes, expanding to Gailardias, Daylilies, Hydrangeas and Coneflowers.. I'm not quite there but my garden is almost established. I thought I had an edge having the net, which I did, but I never expected it would take 8 years to get to the place I wanted to be. My grandfather without any electronic resources and a far larger garden and upkeep fared better than I ever will. He's what sparked my interest and I marvel especially being in his 70's what he mastered. I don't have that green thumb and as much stamina as I have, I can never accomplish what he did. It's challenging, it's a hobby I thought I'd 'never' explore but I found it to be very rewarding. In the winter months we allow for extra spending but I couldn't think of anything but getting more African violets and chocolate :) I began AV's last spring, I think. The winter months were always daunting and I quickly realized that African Violets can give me joy all year round. My husband also tolerates my hobby and surprisingly helped me in the garden last year. Only he needs to understand that the leaves on roses shouldn't be saturated during watering and you don't just dig a hole and plant.. Hopefully he'll forgive my criticism and give me a helping hand next year. I actually think he sort of likes it ;) Thanks for the help, happy holidays!

I frankly do no know if our methods are better than theirs or theirs are better because we do not have this Klasmann soil mix here to compare. And I am doubt that their blossoms of the same varieties are bigger then ours. I am sure they fertilize after the initial preload is exhausted. I do not think that top watering is good, bottom watering is better because it doesn't compact the soil. Seems that Klassman is a good breathable soil, it probably has better overall ingredients than Promix BX a lot of growers use here. It seems to me that it all depends on the skill of the grower - same here - same there. Fialki.ru have a lot of top growers in the membership - but they also have newbies and so-so growers - like any other group. There is no magic soil and magic fertilizer that is going to make them bloom like no tomorrow. It is more about providing optimal conditions in your house, adjusting them when necessary - and regular repotting. Basically consistent care. It is all doable and you can grow the same varieties with a same size blossoms here. You go to an AV show - and some of the plants are so beautiful, so well grown - it just takes your breath away. At the National AVSA show - they will have hundreds of top level plants - at the AV Council - dozens. At the club show - you never know - sometimes great plants, sometimes mediocre. Plenty of Russian varieties lately. It is a hobby - and each hobbyist invests as much time and resources for his hobby as he or she is comfortable with. Some put lights, buy thousands of dollars worth of shelving from Indoor Growing Supply, purchase an expensive RO water filtration system and strive to be winners of anything and everything. And some grow 10 plants on the windowsills and are perfectly happy watching them grow and bloom. The quality of the plants naturally is not comparable - serious growers produce top plants, window growers often have nothing but dawgs. But they probably have more fun... less obsession, more enjoyment. I talk too much... I.

Jeff,,,,they choose to have a sales department that doesn't give a tinker's darn about what will make their CUSTOMERS happy. Have you seen their operation????? Take a look and get back with me. This is no longer a mom & pop company operating a few greenhouses in their back yard. Terri I will respectfully disagree. You cannot go to their website and "check" for any degree of certainty. Look at the other recent threads, and you will find us, the african violet serious customers, advising newbies that even if the pot has an Optimara label, you should always label it a "NOID-might be Opt. this". As has been stated, some people don't even want to trade for or put Opt. leaves in Round Robins. Why is that???? Because with no id to begin with they don't want to take a chance of passing along a misidentified plant leaf! And look at some of their color pix. Can you reeeeaaaallllyyyy tell the difference between a few of them???? I don't think so. I know I have my doubts about some of the colors and MY perception of what they are. Do I buy Optimara's? Yes I have, because they have a few I am in love with. Fortunately the ones I love CAN be ID'd because they are that one of a kind. Opt. MyDelight, Opt. Trinidad ll, Opt. MySensation and a few more. But the mainstream Opt's???? Good luck. Ok, I go into Lowe's. I look at all the plants (I am not just a violet person! haha). Other house plants are labeled. Outdoor plants are labeled. Rose tags say Rose Oklahoma, Rose President Lincoln, etc. Liriope is labeled as such. Hosta has a name to it beyond "Hosta"!!!! Do you think the average gardener cares what named Marigold, Hosta, Salvia, Helloborus they are purchasing??? NO! More of them don't care than do care. And these are things that will come up every year as long as they are taken care of! But the point is,,,they have real name tags that tell you all about the name!!!!! Honestly they just want to get it planted for color, landscaping etc. They are not passing them on by cuttings to the extent we are doing in basements, windowsills and any other spot we can find. But guess what.... Optimara says African Violet. That's it. Something that they know people set up lights for, propagate, learn about with various techniques,,,,,they know we cherish and keep and trade them with our friends,,,,. And they can't give us a TAG!!!!! A lousy name TAG that can be mass produced cheaper than we can buy 100 for online!!!!! ($1.78 free ship just in case you want to know!) Who do they think they are? They are snubbing the very people that make them who and what the heck they are!!!!! They labeled them back in the day!!! I still have some of the old tags! They got too big for their britches and thumbed their nose at the very people that got them there. I don't want to hear their excuses for no label. Worker's can't read and mix them up. BULL SQUIRT!!!! Then hire better workers!!!!! NO EXCUSES!!!! Ok off my soapbox now, not yelling at you Terri, or anyone else. I have said this very same stuff before about Optimara when this subject has come up. This is not a personal attack toward anyone except Holtkamp/Optimara. And any other company who does this. Shame on them. I am stopping now and I will post no more in this thread with my opinion about this subject. Whew. I am done. Rosie