I have named african violet plants. Can send leaves or small plants in exchange to named hostas. Thanks

I am so glad you have much better luck with Rob's than I do hopefulauthor. I love the varieties that Rob has hybridized. But honestly, I don't think the conditions they provide in their greenhouses merit shipping anywhere in the world. I posted in a different thread, that in the last avm, Rob said that they have very alkaline water where they are, and that they use a fertilizer that works well with their water. He also says on his site that they leave the lights on 24 X 7. I order from Rob's because I like the plants, but let me tell you, they ship stressed, small violets. Violetbarn, is not what I would consider a good vendor for beginners at all. I last received 10 plants from them. 4 failed right away. The other 6 went into shock, which looks like overfertilizing, but I think that it's due to getting 6 hours of darkness each day after lights on 24 X 7 since their birth...(and perhaps because I have 6.5-6.9 water here in NJ.) They say they ship healthy plants, but are not responsible after they leave the green house. I personally think there are steps they could take, to help there violets survive once they leave the greenhouse. I love their violets, so perhaps you can understand that I am disappointed with the plants they ship. I always put down leaves when I get plants from them, because I can grow the ones I start myself with no problem. IMO the plants from lyndonlyon.com are much more adaptable, and they are bigger (and a tad more expensive.) I'm not sure I'll order from violetbarn again, it's starting to feel silly paying for plants, when I should be paying for leaves.

So ... you're looking to give your plants 10-12 hours of sunlight ... or fluorescent light or LED light ... per day. I keep my plants blooming with a combination of window light and fluorescent light. You can use cheap desk-lamps with CFL or LED bulbs. The light source (and/or window) should be no more than 1 foot away from your plants. P.S. To start a new thread, select the appropriate discussion category (in this case, African Violets) and start a new question/comment ... Desk-lamp CFL bulb

Springtails (if that's what you have) are generally of no harm to the plant. They feed on dead plant material, usually at the soil surface and will much prefer to munch on the peat in the soil mix than living plant tissue. Treating to kill them is likely to be harder on your plant than simply leaving things as they are. I wouldn't worry about them too much. I see them at times with my plants, and I've seen them in other people's plants. They seem to come with the territory. Mark