HI RF, A lot depends on the size pot that you have them planted in. Violets do best in squat pots (commonly called Azelea pots). I see from your pictures that you are growing in terra cotta pots. Watch the plants carefully because the petioles frequently get damaged from the rough rim. Most good growers that still use clay pots coat the rims with wax which protect the leaves from damage. Personally I, and many others use plastic pots with rolled rims. In any case the plants generally start to send up bloomstalks when the roots reach the pot. Furthermore the crown of the plant determines the size of the pot. The pot should be 1/3 the diameter of the plant. Fred in NJ

I bought the seeds at lowes & used all that I had. You might be able to buy them at your local lowes. I would be more then happy to send you some seeds after they mature but I doubt they will grow true. I can check my lowes next time I am there if you would like me to?

My ecuador pink has a strong scent. It takes her a day or so to color up pink from white. Her blooms hang straight down and she will actually lift/recurves her skirt at night (after turning fully pink) and then here comes the fragrance! The first time she bloomed she was a small cutting that had a y and I put her on the kitchen counter just so I could keep smelling her while I did the dishes :) Mine only seems to bloom in fall- not sure why, except maybe the heat but that variety did that for me when I lived in Louisiana too and it wasn't quite as hot there. She is not liking the heat here now. ~SJN

I live in NYC. I have to admit, pretty much everything I have in the ground that I spend time growing really is marginal at best. The only plants I grow in the ground that I actually see around here is a Crape Myrtle, a Fig, a Camellia, coneflowers, and an eastern prickly pear. All the rest are tropicals planted in the ground for the summer, or palm trees planted in the ground all year long (and then my potted tropical plants also!). I really like brugs because they are so easy to store indoors! I forgot I had a brug for most of the winter and then I found it behind my other plants. I gave it some water and it started growing leaves within a week. I dont think I have many other tropical plants that need such little care during the winter! I want a greenhouse very badly, but living in NYC means that space is a big problem, so all my plants go in the house and its getting pretty crowded. I think my least favorite time of the growing season is early April and mid October for the same reason as you (plus my yard looks pretty bare until about late June). I was happy to see my Frostproof gardenia blooming again today (second bloom of the week), and since its planted next to my brugmansia, they both work together to make the side of my yard EXTREMELY fragrant at night! I was taking a few pics of the plants tonight and as soon as I got within 20 feet of my Brug, I smelt it! Im definitely planting more in the same spot next season! I dont think I would complain much about living in a zone 10. I would probably have spring bulbs growing in the dead of winter (and storing them in their own fridge or something for the rest of the year) and the tropicals would of course be outside all year long! It would be like a vacation every time I walk into my yard (without the worry of having to bring them inside every winter and the wait until July for them to start getting really lush looking). I think there is only 4 months of the year that I can say my yard looks very lush and tropical, but its all worth it! -Alex