Sorry James, it's just that I know more people who are unhappy with plants from rob's then are happy. I'm glad you have good luck, and am a bit frustrated that so many have had bad luck, but just don't speak up. Rob is like an AVSA superstar, and I'll be the first one to say many of his and ma's plants are very beautiful!...but the product they ship? It just doesn't match the quality and care of so many other growers, even if they pack well. I have just about all of the rob varieties I've ever wanted right now. Rob's was my first mail order also and I've had as much "bad luck" as you seem to have had...good, and then with my last order my luck got much worse...so maybe I'm biased too...but like I said in a previous posting, I'm tired of paying for plants when I should just be paying for leaves.? You bug me James...I still really want to know why the now defunct, imposed ads on this site really didn't bother you? Sorry I can't trust you, not sorry that I don't? Maybe, if you really don't work for Rob, you mass produce and market urea fertilizers, or heavy soil mixes; or maybe you just really have been lucky! We all have issues, and as you know by now, I am the first to admit and express mine, but you just don't make sense sometimes to me. I'm not sure why you brought LLG into the conversation, but will tell anyone who cares to know, that all of the rob's varieties I've purchased from llg have grown easily, adapted quickly, and bloomed...without months of wondering what's wrong? and I can say the same for a few other greenhouses I've acquired rob's varieties from. Thank goodness I'm lucky (or experienced) enough to know whom to buy from and tell the difference. I'll never buy from Rob's again, and I'm not really happy to say that, because I love so many of Rob's violets, but so many others provide these plants in culture-adaptable readiness, that the quality of plant's from rob's greenhouse just doesn't compare. Take it or leave it, that's all I have to say. Russell ~~ Oh my goodness, I'm really hoping Korina will oogle me right now over a senk auction on eBay!

I think the problem with our trees this spring (I am 13 miles west of NYC) has been the wide temperature swings we have seen....one day in the 90's the next few in the 30's at night and 40s low 50's during the days, then another day or two in the 90's and the cold front moves in again. The trees start to leaf out on the hot days and stop again on those cold nights. We have had almost all cloudy days too but very little rain although areas pretty close have gotten rain. My trees are finally bursting with new growth this week even though it has been mostly cloudy, but there has been a bit of sun some days and the temperatures have been warm and above the mid-50's at night this week and my trees have responded well to the warmer conditions. The earlier colder weather caused the flowers and small fruitlet's to drop on my trees. I am getting more flowers and fruitlet this week again. The leaves are finally darker green and shiny. Good luck with your's. Cory

The garden shot is magnificent. I love the way all those colors look together. The Belle of Ashwood clump is very impressive, and Bare Essentials looks like a great one. Debra

Hope this helps. When I have a long neck violet & cut it back, I remove a couple of rows of leaves to form about a 1" new neck then set it in a container of water where that inch neck sits in the water. After about 2 weeks it has nice water roots. Then after another 2 weeks when the roots are 1/2" long I plant it in soil. I've had success about 5 times doing it this way & no failures to grow. Yours is like a fresh cut stem so it would probably work & in water you get to see the progress to be sure it roots & doesn't rot.