African violet diary

3 years ago

I don't know how many of you might already be doing this, but to satisfy my almost incessant desire for stats re the progress of my few plants - I have nine, plus a few leaves put down - I made use of Apple's "Notes" app, which coordinates between the mobile (phone and tablet) apps and the computer app.

Once I got over three or four plants, it wasn't working for me to just take occasional notes and update my observations in a single document. So, using Notes, I made a separate entry for each plant. In the olden days, one would have done this with file cards, but writing by hand is harder than typing. Notes also allows me to take photos, so I can compare one date's appearance to another. I presently do updates to my notes every two or three weeks, unless something super-cool happens in the interim.

I think the app 'Evernote' would be able to do something similar. There are surely other apps out there, I'm just using what's right there for me.

The advantage of this, for me, is for example learning about the time span from when a flower bud is first observed to be emerging, and when it may finally come to bloom. I'm a newbie, I don't know these things, but data can help me. And learning the rate at which new leaves are produced, per plant. They're not all the same, I've already seen. (Yeah, I count leaves, at least on the young plants. I admit it. Sigh. But only when I have time, which isn't that often. Still, I like to know about progress.)

Today, using this app (Notes) allowed me to see that an opening bud was a newly opening bud on a previously immature bloom spike that I'd expected to fade away because it was on a newly-arrived plant. (I haven't had very great luck with buds on new plants.) It also pointed out to me that several plants I had previously been disappointed in were actually sending new bloom stems, and in fact, that every plant in my collection is getting super-happy these days. It's like they're all on catnip.

Because AV growth is gradual, and because my plants are only 2' from my favorite chair so I'm with them all the time, it's easy for me to not see the progress: I usually see them many times a day, so the changes are less noticeable. Making an AV diary helps me know what's going on, and shows me progress when I might not otherwise see it. I'm happy, and I recommend the practice for others who have the leisure to indulge in it.

Joan

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YOLANDA

3 years ago

Joan, it is good that you found something that helps you keep track of things. All I need is to know when the plant was planted or repotted. I put the date on the pot. I then know whether it is time to fertilize or whether I should consider repotting.

Many of my AVs require repotting right now. I think I will be doing some repotting next weekend, which is the Canadian Thanksgiving. Since mid-May, I have been working. This lawyer called me in to help him with some reports. I had been told that his permanent secretary had given notice. She left at the start of June. She was travelling close to one & one half hours one way to get to that office. She has a family, and three hours of travel to work a day is much. I am still there. With COVID everything changes. As my daughter says, he has already found someone he likes.

I will use next weekend to my advantage and repot some of the plants. They may be happier during the coming winter and blossom more readily next spring. Let's hope for that.

Yolanda

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Comments (9)

Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yolanda,

Thanks for your reply. This morning I was feeling rather embarrassed to put something so lengthy out there. That you read it and responded makes me feel a little less like an idiot.

I want to track this stuff because I take morning coffee by the AVs every day, and I'm always wondering what they're doing from one day to the next. It's hard to judge when I'm in front of them all the time, and the diary has already shown me that I've made some memory mistakes. Furthermore, I'm such a newbie that I don't know what to expect in terms of how long it takes plants to go from what I think of as "promise" - flower bud obvious but no stem yet - to stem, to buds coloring up, to opening, etc. I'm sure it will vary from plant to plant. So my diary helps me know each plant better.

I think Canada has it right, as to when Thanksgiving should be. But maybe that's just because I'm pretty close to your latitude, hah. Congrats also on being that "someone" the lawyer likes!

Thumbs up on repotting project. Touching dirt always makes me feel better. :)

Joan
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YOLANDA
3 years ago
Joan, our part of Canada is closer to Buffalo, NY. I do, however, have a daughter living in Kenora, which is just north of Minnesota. Was there in January, 2019, when she had a baby girl. I was there to help, but I think I became a problem. The last day there, I fell and broke my right hip. That's another story though.

It's OK to be a newbie. There is always a learning curve.

The lawyer knew me for some time, and this job just fell into my lap. We will see how long it lasts.

I thought that someone should comment. I would feel bad if no one commented. Keep enjoying your violets. Good luck with them,

Yolanda
fortyseven_gw
3 years ago
Joan, We absolutely love your commentary, your tracking and sharing, your organization, your enthusiasm and sharing, and your wonderful attitude. Thank you! It is a treat to come here and find your generous contributions.

It is possible to find some time-lapse videos on you tube of the blossoming of AVs. They are great fun to watch. Cheers! Joanne
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yolanda,

Things got a little crazy around here in the last ten days or so, so I missed seeing your comment. You broke your hip!?? Oh for goodness sake. I hope all is well now? It's been a while.

I too keep breaking things. But I find it helps if I keep more active. More frequent and longer walks, keeping the yard up even if sometimes I wonder why; less giving in to the idea "I'm old, I don't necessarily *have* to do this anymore, I can sit in my chair and read/think/write about African violets," among other things I read/think/write about.

It seems to me that mostly I'm only as old as I think I am. (Well, there is that arthritis thing that's been dinging me on a regular basis for a few months, but the healthy way to think about that is, "Just another little PIA.")

But I'm also trying not to be stupid and ignore stuff that's happening, just because I've never had any serious issues up till now. Stuff is starting to go to bits, and like a lot of men I know, I've pooh-poohed some issues until they got to the unfixable state, like some broken bones in my hand. And I'm a violinist who until covid was still actively performing semi-professionally, so that's not good. There's a limit to how "tough" a person ought to try to be. I'm not sure I've figured it out yet.

Kenora is some cold country, to be sure, and to break your hip in January... was it ice? How is your granddaughter doing, do you get to see her and her family regularly? Maybe not, during covid. I have the huge privilege of looking after my grandson at least a couple of days per week. It's one of the things that keeps me going.

Joanne, you're such a generous and encouraging soul. I can't tell you how much you help me feel less stupid.

I have at least two more threads in mind. One re the apparently imminent demise of a recent acquisition (I put down a leaf today, probably should've done two, but wth, if I lose it there might be room for something different), and another celebrating the success of Opt Rebecca, which is doing amazingly well, but I wonder if the crown is tight. Well, later in the week, maybe. I need to veg out, after a day with the grandson.

Thanks to everybody,

Joan
fortyseven_gw
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I hope your hand healed. Lucky you with your grandson. Always fun to read your thoughts. I dislocated a finger in my recent running about, trying to do too much. It's nearly all mended. Joanne
YOLANDA
3 years ago
Hi All, yes Kenora is cold country. I fell in Kenora, but I was indoors at the time. I was taken to the hospital in Kenora, but they cannot fix hips there, so it was a flight to Thunder Bay. There they fixed the hip. And then it was a problem for them to get me back to Toronto. It was all an adventure.

Right now because of COVID we do not see the granddaughter often. Last time we saw her was in November, 2019. We see lots of pictures of her. It is a hard trip from Kenora to Toronto. Since there are those big lakes in the way, it is a two-day trip. First day you can get to about Sault Ste. Marie. Once COVID is over about three years from now, it will be better. It took about that long for the Black plague to end.

I am still working on the AVs and enjoying it. Last week was the Canadian Thanksgiving Day, and I took the opportunity to replant three of my plants. Maybe this weekend I will find time to do more replanting. Some of them are in great need. It was easier when I was not working. The story of my new job is an interesting one, but a long story. I will just say that it fell into my lap.

Enough said about me. I wish everyone enjoyment and joy with their AVs.

Yolanda
Northern Gardener (3b west central MN)
Original Author
3 years ago
Yolanda,

When I was in college (southern Minnesota), for a couple of years there was an exclamation that Those in the Know would yell to one another across the quad: "Thuuunder Baaaayyy!" I've never been an In the Know kind of person, and I can only assume that it was by way of being a type of meme, in its particular decade. Not unlike "where is Waldo" in some later years, or "Kilroy was here" during World War II. Something must've happened in Thunder Bay, far away though it was from the college.

Any time anyone mentions Thunder Bay I immediately feel like I'm 21 again. I also feel just as ignorant as I ever did at that time. Hm. I should try to touch bases with some other alumni and find out what that was all about, since at the time I was too ashamed to admit I had no idea, and now don't really care who knows I was a dork, because I know I was keeping plenty busy with other, to me, more interesting stuff at the time.

One of these days I mean to hitch up my camper and head across country on the northern tier and into Canada, as far as PEI, and pass through Thunder Bay, where I intend to get a cup of coffee and maybe a piece of pie.

J
YOLANDA
3 years ago
Joan, it is nice for you to think of travelling even if it is close to home. I did not see much of Thunder Bay, and what I would like to see is the Sleeping Giant. I think it is rock formation outside of Thunder Bay, which the early North Americans named the Sleeping Giant. It was two different towns, Port Arthur and Fort William, but the provincial government in it wisdom some time ago made it one City. I was told that even now people say they live in Port Arthur. Even if things change they do not change.

Once COVID is over, I hope you find your happy trails.

Yolanda

African violet diary

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African violet diary

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