My Finds at Kingwood Center

'Evergrace'

In this, my third installment of the adventure at the Ohio African Violet Show and Sale at Kingwood Center, I will show you the plants I purchased. Yes, purchased. Remember, it is a show and SALE. I would have to say the sale room is the most popular area of the show. At this particular show, the commercial growers are there, including Violet Barn, Lyndon Lyon, Violet Gallery, Cape Cod Violetry, Pat Hancock with her Buckeye hybrids, and Fancy Bloomers.

'Dolores Sugar Candy'

'Irish Flirt'

The sheer amount of plants to choose from is unfathomable. There are thousands of plants to tempt you. It makes the decision of what to buy very hard. I am drawn to the pink and green varieties, as you can see. I had a list of ones I wanted, but even though I didn't find most of the ones I was looking for, I found plenty to make me happy. I only bought a few, hoping I could keep them looking floriferous and healthy. I will confess that I threw out almost all of my violets a few weeks ago. They were looking awful, and I decided to start over. I think  I had too many to take care of  them properly. By only having a few, hopefully the time I do have for them will be enough. Unhappy, unhealthy plants are depressing. Only take on what you can take care of. 

'Halo's Aglitter'

I bought a semi-miniature, a miniature, and the rest were standards. I seem to do well with the minis and so am drawn to them. They don't take up as much room, as well.

'Rob's Boondoggle'

As beautiful as these flowers are, the first thing I do when I bring them home, is cut off all the blossoms. I also isolate them from all my other violets and plants for at least 6 weeks. Even though these plants are from very reputable growers, you never know what unexpected "surprises" may be lurking about. You want to make sure there are no thrips, mealybugs, or any other unwanted problems. By keeping them isolated, you can watch for any of these things and deal with the problem right away before it spreads. You will be happy you did.

'Bishop'

'Mountain Snowcap'

Begonia 'Baby Dress'

Violet Barn brings quite a few miniature houseplants as well as violets. I couldn't resist this begonia called 'Baby Dress'. It is a small begonia, only getting 6" tall. I love begonias and had to add this to my collection.

If you can get to this show next year, I would recommend it. Not only is it a great shopping trip, but the gardens are beautiful, the lectures are educational, and the show is fabulous. Seeing all those plants grown to perfection, spurs me on to try to get mine to look as good.

Ohio African Violet Show and Sale

'Buckeye Too Tempting'

In my last post, I talked about the design portion of the Ohio African violet show. My favorite part of the show, though, is the horticulture portion of the show where all the violets and other gesneriads are displayed and judged. These plants are well grown and beautiful;  the best of the best. These are plants grown to perfection by people who know what they are doing and do it very well. 

'Buckeye Cranberry Sparkler'

Not only are there amazing plants, there are programs given by famous African violet growers and hybridizers. The first four pictures are of Buckeye hybrids. They are hybridized by Pat Hancock, who taught one of the seminars. It was about growing plants from a leaf to a show plant. She talked about the fact that all facets of growing the plant is controlled by the person growing it. The more attention paid to them, the better off the plants will look. The most important part of the plant is the crown and the roots. If you don't have good roots, you won't have a good crown. A new idea I learned from Pat is that when potting a violet, put about 1 1/2 inches of a perlite/vermiculite mix at the bottom of the pot before putting soil on top and potting the violet. Violets roots prefer lots of air in their soil and by putting the vermiculite and perlite at the bottom, it allows more air to get to the roots. Violets have shallow root systems, so this system is a great way to cultivate these plants. I'm going to try it with the plants I bought this last weekend. Pat's philosophy is that starting a plant from a leaf is easier to raise because you are cultivating it in the conditions it will be growing in permanently. Buying a plant means you have to take on a plant that has been growing in the conditions that someone else has. It then has to acclimate itself to your conditions. It really does make sense. 

Buckeye 'Irresistible'

'Buckeye Seductress'

 She also reminded us that  variegated plants such as the one to the right will have more variegation if grown in cooler conditions. If a variegated plant becomes green, it is growing in conditions that are too warm.

'The Alps'

This plant on the left is called 'The Alps' and is a chimera. Chimeras are special violets that can't be propagated by leaves, only by suckers. As you can see, the flowers are striped. These plants are always more costly, because they cannot be propagated from leaves.

'Yukako'

The Yukako, also a chimera,  is my favorite violet as you can probably ascertain from my blog, facebook, and  twitter account.

'Newtown Grape Suzette'

The violet above was huge, probably at least 15" or more across. It was beautiful!

Optimara 'Evergrace'

Optimara 'Evergrace' is one of the many space violets hybridized by Optimara. Seeds were sent into space, originally meant to be there for 11 months. They ended up being in space for 6 years. The experiment was meant to see what would happen to the seeds after being exposed to cosmic radiation and the lack of gravity. The outcome were plants that are large and bloom almost continually.

'Rob's Antique Rose'

'Mac's Misty Meadow'

'Petite Blarney'

Not only does the show have fabulous African violets, it also has other amazing gesneriads, such as episcias, columneas, streptocarpus, and achimenes. 

Espicia 'Country Copper'

Steptocarpus 'Raydar's Ruthie'

Episcia 'Karlyn'

Columnea herthae

There are also other classes, such as African violets in unusual or decorative containers.

How cute is this little violet in an antique container?

There are also dish gardens,.....

natural gardens,.......

and terrariums, all having African violets incorporated in the design.

As you can see, there was lots to see, do, and that doesn't even include the sales room, where you could buy all the fabulous plants you saw in the show. Commercial growers were there, including, Lyndon Lyon, The Violet Barn, Violet Gallery, Cape Cod Violetry, and and Pat Hancock with her Buckeye hybrids. Not to mention that this all took place at Kingwood Center, an exceptional public garden. I'll write more about that in my next post. 
Next year, make a trip to Mansfield, Ohio for the Ohio African Violet Show and sale. You won't be disappointed. ...... Bring your checkbook!

Violet Safari in Ohio

Winners stage

This year is the third year I've been to the Ohio State African Violet show and sale at Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio. This event is held at one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I've been to. ( More about that later.) The show and sale is all about Afican violets and their gesneriad cousins. More than one commercial grower is there, including Lyndon Lyon and the Violet Barn. They have the newest violet hybrids and many other plants, including miniature houseplants. Many people have their "wish lists" with them, hoping to find the one they've been looking for.  There are also other vendors with many of  the supplies needed to grow violets, including soil, pots, chemicals, and tools. The room with their booths is where the money is spent........

First place winning streptocarpus

Terrarium

Natural garden

Underwater design.

Unusual streptocarpus.

Violet in an unusual container.

Beautiful design

.... but, in another room, is where the blue ribbons are fought for, and won. The judged show is very interesting. Trying to figure out what the judges are thinking when they award blue, red, and white ribbons, is a challenge in itself and a learning experience. . Best of show, best of class, the sweepstakes award, are all coveted awards. These plants are the best of the best. There are different categories, including design classes, terrariums, dish gardens, and natural gardens. Plus all the different gesneriad classes, including streptocarpus, kohleria, chiritas, sinningias, espiscia, and petrocosmea, and, of course, African violets. The designs are created keeping the theme in mind. This year's theme was Violet Safari.
The secrets of the growers winning the blue ribbons are what I want to know. What soil mix do they use? What lights do they use, and how long are they on? What fertilizer do they prefer? How often do they apply it, and at what strength? The nice thing is, most of these people are more than happy to talk about their plants, and their process for getting them to the blue ribbon level. They love their plants and telling you all about them. Joining an African violet club is the best way to learn all you need to know about growing violets. Find one in your area and join. You will meet wonderful people and will learn more than you thought there was to know about violets and their relatives.