The Harrington babies are doing great!

This past weekend, I transplanted the last of the "Harrington babies" from the leaves....
WOW... I am so excited!!!
I sent out many Harrington babies last week, to Violet Voice members who are participating in our group's growing project. Of course, I saved several of each variety for myself! :)
This photo is of just a small portion of one tray!

Progress Report on the African violet jar:

In May, I planted a small clay 'strawberry jar' with extra plantlets of Darling BlueTrail.
Well, I must admit to having a terrible time keeping it watered!
At first, it was just like any other potted AV. But sometime in July, I began to notice it needed water every day... of course, it didn't get water every day!
I finally decided to really soak it, pot and soil, then fill the little saucer with water.
That worked fairly well... and by the middle of September, I began to see a bloom or two.
My other 'regularly-potted' Darling Blue Trail plants seem to love to bloom, so I am hoping with cooler house temperatures this fall... and maybe a larger saucer, these plants will soon begin to bloom more.

But this experience has been fun, and if I can find the way to care for it, I will do this again!

Window Plants Are Growing!

This is a fact that we should all keep in mind: African violets DO grow at a fairly fast rate, so don't get discouraged! And we don't have to buy large plants 'just so we can have blooms"! If we would just have a LITTLE patience, the blooms will appear in no time!
PROOF:
This is my bedroom window this morning (mid September):

and here is how it looked six weeks ago (late July):

There has been many blooms in the window before today, but I just didn't take time to take a photo!
~~~ So this 'photo diary' of this window has taught me a lesson I don't want to forget: our plants will bloom, so don't get in a hurry. Just go about your life, and one morning they will greet you with lots of blooms! ~~~

Lots of Babies... Harrington ones too!

August has been busy on the ranch... and on the plant shelves!
Every two weeks, more babies need transplanting from the mama leaves.
July and August saw the number of trays on my plant stands DOUBLE!
Here is one shelf of young starters:

For anyone interested in the Harrington varieties: they are doing fine and I have transplanted babies from just over half of the leaves... and reset some of the leaves, of course!

My, how they have changed with TIME!

We all know how SLOWLY our violets seem to grow! It seems like I am always waiting for a new plant to bloom, and it seems to take YEARS!!!
In reality, African violets grow at a reliable pace; and before we know it, there are many blooms to give color to our windowsills!
Case In Point:
In March, I found time to repot my few tiny violet babies, and ordered a few leaves to root.
Here is a photo of my entire collection of African violets in May 2007:

One month later, in June 2007, they were blooming and beautiful:

And here is what my violet stands look like in July:
(The plants from the window, plus a few new ones, and babies transplanted from the leaves rooted in March! )

So, they aren't as slow growing as we think!
It is simply that WE are impatient! :)

The cart in the window is again filled with new plants in isolation:

I also have a shelf of rooting leaves... 181 leaves!!!

We can go from having NO VIOLETS to having TOO MANY VIOLETS much quicker than we can imagine!!!!! WARNING!

Violets in a strawberry jar!

One of the 'growing methods' popular in the 50's and 60's was planting African violets in strawberry pots. I have found several small strawberry pots that seemed just right for violets. One was just the right size for my extra plantlets of Darling Blue Trail, a semiminiature trailer. Today I 'planted' the pot... and we will see how it grows!

Note about Harrington varieties:

Due to the number of emails I have received about the Harrington varieties, I am adding this note to say: YES, there should be Harrington varieties available this fall. But, I will be offering them to Violet Voice members as part of a fall/winter project. So, if you are interested in Harrington varieties, you will have to join our project! Watch for it to begin sometime in September 2007.
I understand several vendors do presently offer some Harrington varieties, and in the past week, several Harrington plants have brought fairly high prices on Ebay. Cedar Creek Violets will be selling Harrington varieties in spring of 2008.

My Search For Harrington Varieties

I began my search for D. Harrington varieties in April by posting a request for information on several internet African violet groups. Wow, what a response! I have several vendors who are selling me plants/leaves, and the ever-generous members of the online groups have volunteered for more sales/trades!
The best part of all: I received an email from Delores Harrington herself! Besides the wonderful opportunity to learn more about this interesting person, I received a box of leaves directly from the lady herself! Here is a photo of the leaves, set on May 10th!

I gave them the best spot on the light stand, and they are in my 'most trusted' leaf-starting domed greenhouse!
This is my pet project this year, so I will be posting updates!