Hi Al/plantcrazed/et. al., I thought I should come back and share some results from my "experiment" that I started at the end of April. The controls in my little trial were almost non-existent, but I think that actually makes the results more relevant to me and my growing conditions (and hopefully others will get something from this too). Back in April I got an order of leaves of 19 varieties of AVs. 14 came as pairs of leaves, so I decided to try growing them in different media. As I described in my post in mid-May, 14 leaves went in 100% vermiculite and 19 leaves in 100% turface fines (the smaller stuff left over after sifting for other mixes). The planting tray is an old kit I had leftover from years ago that has a clear cover for germinating/propagating. I had grand plans to carefully measure watering, leaf condition, first sign of roots/new leaves, etc. (like a good experimenter would), but the same day I planted the leaves my toddler ended up in the ER, kicking off several weeks of stress and doctor's visits, not to mention usual life events and adventures when working full time and caring for a small child. My plant care regimen settled in to, basically, watering when I noticed they looked dry. After the plantlets started to appear I took the covers off the trays, but otherwise I've just watered and left them under fluorescent lights and hoped for the best. Here are my results. Vermiculite 4 have plantlets, all of which seem to be growing alright 5 are mostly-dead or all-dead 1 formed a nice-looking plantlet that subsequently died, tho the leaf is still there and has roots 4 have roots but no sign of new leaves (yet?) Turface fines all 19 leaves are still alive 16 have multi-leaf plantlets 1 has a new leaf just beginning to appear 2 are strongly rooted and some gentle investigation revealed new leaves that just haven't broken the surface yet (I had just finished watering when I took this photo, which is why the turface shows wet and dry spots. This is what my usual watering of this tray looks like) A few other observations: the leaves of the new plants in the vermiculite are larger than any in the turface the leaves of the new plants in the turface are much smaller, but there are many of them, they are a strong green colour, and have a vital appearance (my experience tells me these are stronger plants than in the vermiculite) one variety was not in very good shape when it arrived. I considered complaining to the store owner about the quality, but see above re: bigger life priorities right now. That variety didn't survive more than a few days in the vermiculite. The leaf just rotted away. In the turface, it slowly rotted up the stem towards the leaf, but then rooted from the remaining piece of leaf and now has a lovely little plant growing: What these results say to me is that, for my horrible, neglectful treatment of these leaves, the turface was a better growing medium. I'm sure Al or Kevin/ewwmayo would have the correct terms for the properties of the two media, but I would say it seemed like the vermiculite contributed to a less stable environment - it went from a soggy mess when I watered to very dry, very quickly - and the turface was much more stable and allowed these poor things to survive despite my neglect. I've read some of the very lengthy threads about the properties of the various gritty mix ingredients and it makes sense to me that a plant like an AV that doesn't like to dry out but also hates being soggy would appreciate the turface's qualities of holding water but allowing for drainage and air movement through the medium. I think from now on the turface fines will be my preferred method for starting AV leaves (and likely other similar plants like episcias or begonias). I also moved two other AVs (a standard and a mini) into a modified gritty mix (1:1:1, but perlite in place of bark). So far nothing meaningful to report, though neither plant has bloomed and the mini seems to be happier than the standard. But with my neglect of the plants lately I don't think these results are meaningful, beyond saying that AVs can actually survive in the gritty mix even with an inconsistent and sub-optimal care routine. If there's anything interesting to report as these AVs continue to grow and I pot them up (likely into a gritty mix of some sort), I'll be sure to come back with an update. I would happily accept comments/questions/criticisms of my results, but please be kind in your criticisms of my care routine. I might be bad with my plants, but this little one is thriving: Thanks everyone, Melanie

Not sure how/why this one popped to the surface, but it gives me an opportunity to introduce myself. I'm a GardenWeb regular over on Lawns, Soils/Compost, and Organic Gardening. My new job has me schlepping all over Texas and living in hotels, so I needed a window based gardening hobby. I picked AVs. My last AV project was probably in the 1970s, so it's been awhile. Rescue is the topic and that's what I did. For the time being I'm living in a hotel in Wharton, TX, about 60 miles SW from Houston. Last week I took a trip to the Wal-Mart in El Campo and picked up the dregs of last spring's AV crop. I got 15 for 50 cents each. The pots were so saturated it has been seven days and they definitely don't need water yet. One has bit the dust and another one has one leaf on a damaged stem. On the dead one, when I picked it up all the leaves were limp, so it's no surprise it died. It was going to be my challenge. Oh well. I'm sure these were watered daily with a hose once they moved them outside. We'll see what happens. These are going to be an organic care project. I picked up two other Wal-Mart AVs last summer in the Texas Panhandle. On my organic program, one still survives (and is thriving). The organic fertilizer changes the nature of the soil. I switched from a dry to a liquid fertilizer and suddenly the timing and quantity of water I was using became a massive over watering amount. I quickly had a dead plant that was standing in an inch of water from two days earlier. The second one had the same thing happen but I was looking for it and caught it before it went south. Normally I water by adding an inch of water to the outer pot and letting the plant soak that up. Then I give it another inch and it usually soaks that up right away. With the new fertilizer it didn't, so now I know what I'm looking for. Anyway with the 15...uh...14 new ones, I'll be converting them from the Wal-Mart program to my organic program. As I see things happening I'll write in and let y'all know. I realize the incentive to "go organic" with AVs is much less than it is with lawns, but I have a motive for my madness. When I get a chance I'll start a new thread and explain what I'm doing.

Hi Seth, Heres some info on the basic care of AV's, If you have any questions you can ask them here or email me privately. Fred in NJ Some basic African violet care 1. African violets are very much like human beings. They prefer growing in similar conditions. The plants prefer temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of approximately 50%. They enjoy bright indirect light as opposed to direct sunlight. 2. African violets grow well in light airy soil less mixes. The mix should be one that allows the roots to penetrate to the edge of the pot. It should not be so heavy that it retains so much water to make the mix soggy. More African violets are killed by over watering than any other method. A simple recipe that many growers use is equal parts of peat moss (or potting soil without any fertilizer), coarse vermiculite and coarse perlite. A handful of horticultural charcoal may be added to sweeten the mix if desired. 3. Light plays an important part in violet culture. Plants need between 10 and 12 hours of indirect light a day. This may be obtained either naturally or by artificial means. East or west exposures are good. Northern windows frequently are not strong enough but can be adequate if some artificial light is added to extend the light period. Southern exposures are much too hot in the summer and tend to burn leaves unless the are shaded by a sheer curtain or dappled light from an outside source. Fluorescent lights are ideal. Plants should be approximately 12 inches from the top of their crown to the light bulbs. Cool white, Gro Lux, Gro Lux WS, Vari Lux and combinations of cool and warm bulbs make plants grow beautifully 4. African violets need a constant source of food since they are potted in a soil less mixture that has little or no nutrient value. Most growers keep their plants on a constant feed system. They fertilize every time they water with a dilute mixture of fertilizer usually about half the manufacturer recommendation. The fertilizers use a three number system. The first number is for nitrogen, which promotes leaf and plant growth. Second is phosphorous which helps promote bloom and the final number is potassium which is included for general health. 5. Standard size violets should be repotted every 9 months to a year while semis and minis every 4 to 6 months. The rule of thumb for pot size is to go up a size when the crown of the plant is more than three times the size of the rim of the pot. So if the crown is 9 inches across it can go into a 3-inch pot. A large 18-inch plant can be put into a 6-inch pot. Most minis and semis do best in 2 to 2 inch pots. Since violets have shallow root systems, squat pot or azalea pots are ideal. 6. There are some diseases that can give a grower problems so it is always advisable when bringing a new plant into your home to ISOLATE the plant for at least a month before putting it with any of your other plants. Some of the problems that can occur are thrips, soil and foliar mealy bugs, cyclamen mites and powdery mildew. Each problem has its own cure from spraying to a systemic.

When my grandmother passed away in 1999 I rescued an AV from her kitchen table. Her house had already been closed up for a few weeks when we went to clean it out, and it was mid-summer, so the poor thing had essentially been in an oven. It was all brown and dried out, and my heart went out to it. I had no idea what it was, but I took it home... and promptly killed it by over-watering it. Enter AV #2, because clearly I needed to prove to myself that I could take care of one and not kill it. So for a little while, yes, I had only one AV. However, AVs #3, 4, 5, and 6 followed closely thereafter. Then I moved from Boston to LA. My apartment I was moving into didn't get any light and I was worried the AVs would die during the road trip, so I left them all with my mother. That was years ago and she's taken wonderful care of them. She always shows them off to me when I visit them. I mean her. :0) Now for the most recent round of obsession... Three years ago I rescued an AV off of a co-workers desk after she quit unexpectedly (that's the one that's never bloomed until now). For a few weeks, yes, I owned only one. But then I happened to see one with girl foliage at the supermarket, and found it so unusual that I had to buy it. For three years I had just the two AVs, but now I'm in full-on obsession mode again. It started when I moved into my condo over the summer and had all this sunlight flooding in... and, well, you can imagine the rest!