First my heartfelt thanks to Anita for her warm and caring comment. It meant the world to me. Much I don't remember back then, and either I or the paper got the detail wrong about the bed/machine. Bernadine had a younger sister, I remember, thought her name was Brenda, didn't sound right, maybe it was Glenda. I have thought over the years what a terrible ordeal it would have been for the family, the caring, the moving to CA and the constant sorrow and stress. I know what it is to lose a child, lost my son in December 2012 under vastly different circumstances, and I will never get over it. It was fourth grade, the fall of 1950. The family moved to Davenport from Buffalo or Linwood, and Bernadine may have started a little late that year. February 1951 was still fourth grade, and I don't think Bernadine returned to school after that Valentine's Day I mentioned in one of my posts. Then was the unsuccessful surgery in Iowa City. Bernadine would have been in a coma for at least six years before she died. There are probably still some here who remember her. It is painful to think that so much has been learned and new diagnostic methods that she could be saved were it to happen now as they are able to save to many heart patients. It was a blessing for Anita to be born the year after her death, and she was no doubt much welcomed and loved, but no child can ever replace another. So thank you again Anita for responding to my old post. And hope I didn't say anything wrong or offensive. About the roses. I had my own website and had an html page full of my "finds" where I found most of them, and how they looked after I got them rooted. The best I can do is post them to my flickr photo stream. Some you can kind of figure out but most will be a jumble. See if this link works to my flickr account. There should be 29 or so rose photos. I tried some months back to upload a couple photos to houzz and failed. I used to be able to do it with ease but not since they changed the format of the site. https://www.flickr.com/photos/44652973@N04/

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

First cut them back, but not below their first Y, otherwise you have to wait for it to Y again to produce flowers. Then put the pot (with plant) in a dark place, I have a basement hallway well away from any sunlight although it's not pitch dark or anything, and stop watering. One by one any remaining leaves will fall off. Let the soil go dry, then water about once a month with just a cup or so of water right at the base of the trunk, to keep the roots from completely dying. I suspect many of the peripheral roots just dry up and die, but at least the ones closest to the trunk are kept alive. By March or April my plants started showing signs of wanting to come to life - putting out pale green leaves - so I took them out of their corner and placed by a window, started watering, and voila! I think it took about 2 months for them to flower after coming out of dormancy.

Well, it is increasing fast and I am pleased to see a bloom this year. The bloom is now rain soaked, but we need the rain and I got to see and photograph Miss Annie before the showers came. Maybe she will rebloom this year and improve. Thanks for you comments. Jessica, I think it would be neat for you to have a family garden. Dot, tell me more about Mighty Plant Messenger Gold. Ann Ann