This is a good topic. It would be great to see what other clubs are doing so we could add some variety to our meetings.

My original club seems to do the same programs over each year. Each month, one of the more experienced members will do a program on a topic such as fertilizer, repotting, lighting, etc...she mostly shares what she already knows and has always done. We also have a leaf sale/white elephant sale to raise funds for the club...everyone brings named leaves and a couple items for the sale. A couple of the members grow gesnesnairds (sp) and someone will give a program about those.

We had a new club start up in January. Some members were new, others were/are members of the above mentioned club (new club was closer to the town they live, and too far for some of the other members to want to drive, so there are two clubs and each is different). Each meeting so far, a member was assigned a topic to give a program on..we have had Fertilizer, Re-potting, Pests, PH, and next month I am working on my program about trailers. This club, the members doing the program have researched information & provided handouts, so there is more of a variety of information instead of just one persons knowledge of what they have always done. Members also bring in plants and leaves to give away to any member who would like them. Also a list is available for anyone who wants to order pots, fertilizer, etc..so a club order can be sent and a possible discount available as well as sharing postage.

In each club some members bring extra plants or leaves they have to give and share. If someone has a problem plant, she will bring it in and some of the members will give their opinion (which is generally to toss it so as not to ruin the rest of your plants). Also if someone has a really nice or special plant, to bring as show and tell. I took a variety of my chimera blooms to show once, as I'm the only one that grows some of those and most of the ladies had only seen them in pictures. Also I had grown a couple violets in the agra clay pebbles and water, took those to show.

One of the recent violet magazines suggested bring in the worst plants for a contest - I don't want anyone to know about those, ha!

tish

Daug show - we had so much fun. I borrowed the plant from work - and got the Palm tree award. And i had a nice plant from Lowes - called a lipstick plant(aeschynanthus) - and it was definitely a columnea. Tropical Angel mass produces bunch of nice gesneriads et all - but mislabels them brutally. They always refer them that they come from Himalayan mountains - and some of the genera are specificly New World - means South and Central America.

They shouldn't be necessary the most unwatered ones or root rotten. There could be something funny - one lady brought the cutting she stuck in a moss in a baggie - and this guy was blooming its head off still in a baggie.

Mini-shows. We bring plants to be judged - and it is a good practice for judges and for the rest of us to point what can be done to improve the score.

Project plants. We all got starters of the same variety - and grew them for the local show.

I.

Hi,
I think theat my club is extremely lucky to have some good outside speakers that come to our meetings. We have had speakers on design, culture, hybridizing and basic care. Last year Janet Riemer gave a talk on AVSA and brought slides of the convention which she took. We are having a speaker this year on Aqua cutlure....growing AV's out of soils. I have my doubts about this one but I will keep an open mind. We have had speakers on growing minis and semis as well as a slide program from AVSA on trailers.
Fred in NJ

Thank you all SO MUCH for sharing these ideas. Keep them coming.
Is there a topic that you believe would be beneficial to any group that perhaps hasn't been mentioned already?

A group from our local society are in the dream stage of programming and we all know that every good thing begins with a dream :)

Ideas and suggestions like the ones shared here are where good dreams begin.

Thanks,
Dora

Someone from the group suggested that everyone bring in several of their favorites (or problem plants) and have the group comment on them.

One woman (who is a bit obsessive) reacted strongly that she would never put her plants in the presence of others (especially problem ones) because of everything that could go wrong wtih hers if they catch something.

I know this is an issue - but for those of you who have experience in things like this, on what scale is this an issue?

Don't you place your plants at risk when you enter them in shows and they are sitting only inches away from another person's plants? How reasonable is it to expect that someone would bring a bug/disease free plant to share?

Now I understand that it would be different if we were dealing with problem plants....that is totally a whole other ballgame....

I'm trying to find out in just what perspective to put this particular woman's rant.

Dora
Who is full of questions this evening :)

Look what I found on the AVSA site:

http://www.avsa.org/Library/FavoritePrograms2005-2006.pdf

The question about what happens at shows is fairly simple. Entrees committee examine each plant that is going in to show. They would be able to see foliar mealy bug, possibly soil mealy bug if the nests were near the trunk and soil, and any flying insect that was visable.

Yes, all plants are exposed to anything that might be in the room. Fungus gnats, thrips, any crawling bug that might go from one plant to the other.

On solution is to put each plant into a saucer. The plants have to be watered anyway so our club provides saucers. That way nothing can crawl from the hole of one plant and go to the next--theoretically.

Years ago we used to put aluminum foil around every pot. This made sure all varmits inside the pot stayed there.

Plants are in the room from a number of hours up to four days. Anything flying can go from one plant to another. Many, most big growers try to sell most or all of their plants at the show. Some will keep certain plants for another show in a week's time.

Any plant taken home should be disbudded--in spite of its being at the pinacle of bloom--in order to assure the grower than no thrips or other flying insect has embedded itself in the blooms and started to lay eggs. Naturally every plant that comes home is isolated from the main collection for up to 3 months.

Or you can do as some growers do, consider the entire plant room in isolation when you bring home plants. Treat all plants for mites, then for soil mealies. Thrips have not been an issue in clubs I know.

If you raise African violets you are going to get insects and pests. The thing is to know what they are and how to handle them once you get them. That's why I wrote the book, INSECTS, PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE AFRICAN VIOLET FAMILY. It shows the bug, its symptoms and how to control the infestation.

Nancy

Questions are good, Dora. Wouldn't have forum without them!

For a couple hours at a meeting..It is simple to put a plant into a clear deli cake container with a lid or in a large plastic bag. I might bring a problem plant to a meeting, but I would never bring a plant with a suspected pest problem into a room with other healthy plants. We all know if we handle a plant to wash our hands. Most plants that are just brought for show are either under cover or are just placed on a table and we don't handle someones plant unless asked to.

I went to my first convention, DAVS in Birmingham this spring and many of the show plants were for sale after the judging and display. When I asked why would you put all that time into growing a beautiful plant then sell it (really reasonable prices too!) and some of the people told me it had been in contact with other unknown plants and they didn't want to bring it back home to maybe spread something to the rest of their collection.

I think people that are worried about their plants, should just leave them home. The whole point in the violet club is sharing growth, culture and problems. There has to be some hands on. Oh...except the pictures in Nancy's book, they are better hands on than the real bugs, ha.

Isn't there a "reasonable" expectation that people who enter plants in shows are doing a much more effective job of caring for the plants and insuring that they are pest free?

I know you can't be perfect all the time but people who do shows and are serious about the hobby itself usually are up to par on pest, proper care, etc.

Aren't they?

Dora

Yes Dora, that is a reasonable assumption. However, no body can guarantee their plant did not just pick up some critter that came in the window or on their pet. My dog just can inside from a long nap under a shade tree. Who knows what beast might have hitch hiked in on his fur? I too know people who may seem unreasonably paranoid about bugs, but they are ususally the ones who have had the unfortunate experience of pitching their entire violet collection due to mites.

As a new club, we are finding ANY topic is good. A guest speaker came and did a presentation on lighting, we have sown seeds, had some basic growing overviews, a presentation on macro photography, gesneriads, and separation of babies. Suggested topics for future meetings include pests, growing for show, and trailers. At our meeting this week we are drawing topics for handouts. Each person will be responsible for researching and developing a handout. Since Racheal's Reflections is no longer available, we hope to post the handouts on our future website. Topics will include fertilizer, watering methods, pests, lighting, and others I've forgotten. The person will also be expected to do a presentation on their topic.

Barbara

hey Barbara,
I love the handout idea and drawing for which one you would be responsible for.

Dragonfly - I understand the thing about the bugs but I also believe that there's some "perspective" to be realized there as well.
Perhaps I would feel differently had I been forced to ditch my entire collection because of something that hitched a ride home with me.

Dora