My father has departed. These two weeks were ridiculously difficult for a variety of reasons and the difficulties continued tot he very end. Just to give you an idea, both ours and Kid 1’s cars got flat tires, so Dad had to uber to the airport, his plane was delayed by 12 hours and he is now flying to Istanbul, which is only 2 hrs from his city, but is a longer and more dangerous flight due to the mountains.
On the professional front, the audio reader is not returning our emails, so we have to move on. What is it with this book?
We are still car-less, because we have an unusual tire size and the magical delivery truck hasn’t brought the right tires yet. I could entertain you with all the weird minor emergencies that happened, but it would be too much, so let’s just say that I feel like I’ve been beaten with a sack of potatoes.
I am taking a day off. I have to.
Here are some pretty flowers instead.
For some inexplicable reason, I am able to grow African violets now. I don’t know if it’s the right window or the special pots I bought, but I ordered these guys on Amazon, I think, about a year ago and all except one are flowering. They don’t just grow, they bloom in clusters and have filled the pots completely.
Having never been able to get African violets to thrive before, I have two questions: do they come in colors other than variations of purple and should I divide them, because they seem to be too big for their pots?
Follow up question, theoretically speaking, are there are other flowers similar to African violets that I could put on my windowsill?
my mother used to grow violets by the bushel. The do like to be pot bound or squished, if you will. They call also be propagated by sticking a leaf in potting soil at least that’s what Ma used to do. Just snap one off and stick it in a little pot then wait.
Lucky. Usually violets are tricky to raise?! But handing one to me is basically giving it a death sentence.
I keep propagating these succulent cactus plants and they are thriving. They need water once a week, and somehow I am able to ration out water in the correct doses in order to keep them happy. Who knew.
I put a leaf in water only and that works for me.
Ok I don’t know much about flowers (so don’t hold It against me) but they look kinda like some lisianthus (eustoma) that I came across in my art travels.
I got a little flowering succulent for a couple bucks at Home Depot that’s happily flowering away on my window sill. But it looks like your African violets have much bigger blooms. My picture was too big to attach=(
I live in a two bedroom apartment and have over 200 flower pots (I am lucky to have a balcony spanning three rooms). No matter what happens in my life, when I spend an hour taking care of my plants, everything goes away and I am happy and relaxed. I also knit and have a cat. Everyone says I am the happiest person they know :))
There are over 500 colors and variants of Violets – white, pink, purple and blue in many combinations. I attached my favorite version.
I am a big fan of Dipladenia ( in theory, they are outside flowers, but they are doing great in pots in my balcony). I can also recommend Croton for their colorful leaves that come in many many versions.
Thanks for the info. I tried in NC but had no luck. I’m in VA now so will try again. It’s been my experience that flowers grow wherever they are happy.
Wow!
Crossandra (Orange) and Clivia (many colors but most common is orange)
Crossandra will bloom more or less continuously but you need to spend 5 min or so every 6 months pruning it down. Clivia is more seasonal but still long blooming.
Here is a site to see the colors of African Violet,
https://www.google.com/search?q=African+violets&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfka-p7JTjAhUGPnAKHctTDogQiR56BAgEEBA&biw=1366&bih=632
I really like the solid colored ones with edged in a different color! So pretty and unique!
Seen on your link, Kathleen: How to propagate African violets. https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/propagation/cloning-african-violets/
Also lipstick plant. My mom has a gorgeous one
Some people like shrimp plants inside but I feel they are too much trouble inside due to shedding leaves so I use them as outside plants.
Also kalanchoe. I had one in my dorm room many years ago and it survived and bloomed despite massive neglect. Kalanchoe comes in pink, orange, and yellow. Maybe also red but it is harder to find. Double blossoms are prettiest but single blossoms are lovely too and easier to find
Kalanchoe are lovely plants but are toxic to both cats and dogs; I stopped planting them for that reason.
Me too. As well as poinsettias. I had to give up on pansies as my cats kept eating petals when they bloomed. Fortunately pansy petals are okay to eat.
My mother grew African violets in abundance; nothing else would grow for her. The previous suggestions are good. Indirect light is most important, well-drained soil, light fertilizer, good drainage, and non-chlorinated warm water are also important. Divide plants when they outgrow their containers and start putting out suckers
(https://crazyorganicmama.com/splitting-and-propagating-african-violets/ )
My favorite violets are the multicolored flower kind (see Etsy’s SpecialGreen store) and I love other flowering plants (from them and others), particularly the Christmas cacti and small orchids.
You definitely deserve a day off! I’m sending out oodles of positive energy your way. As for the Africa Violets, whatever your doing they look amazing. My advice is too repotted and never divided. If they are thriving you can repot twice a year.
Not only are they more apt to bloom while root-bound, there are also variegated leaf ones available out there. Have heard that you all there in Texas have access to various sources of Lava Sand, that The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett, promotes in his radio show(s) & column, that all plants perform exceptionally well when it’s used. May I inquire as to what ‘pots’ you got from Amazon, that promote such wonders with African Violets, or were you saying that the AVs were from A-Z?
For other plants you could always try chrysanthemums (aka mums) in the fall. If you do try them, do not buy a plant where the majority of the flowers are blooming. The plant won’t survive the potting. My parents had a yellow mum plant on the kitchen table and lasted for 2 years until my cats decided to dig it out of the pot.
For me, the ultimate flowering houseplant is the begonia. I have them outside in pots this year. The light in my house isn’t good for them, but when I was a child my grandmother had them everywhere. I also love the Christmas/Thanksgiving/Easter cacti. Mine bloom all year and never in the season they are named for.
African Violets do well in humid environments so if you changed their location recently that might be why they are thriving now. I grow mine in my bathroom.
Hope your dad makes it home safely and didn’t drive you too crazy. My grandmother used to grow African violets in her kitchen window. They thrived there. I can only grow orchids for some reason. I think what you can grow in a window depends on where it faces. but I am no expert.
water indirectly. Ice cubes work well with orchids and african violets
OMFG “My father has departed” twisted my gut. Whew. Okay, Istambul’s a better transition. Oy.
Good. Take more than that. Yeah, move a little, move a little. Yah. Okay. No, more. Another day. Almost… ooch over a little more… yes, there we go!
Breathe (as if you haven’t for the last yumpdadump years). Cheers!
My great grandma, Baba, had a HUGE African Violet plant in her living room. It was in a pot the size you would normally keep a house tree in. It always had amazing blooms and no one could ever figure out her secret. My mom started growing them, but while she could get some really nice ones, nothing on the scale like Baba’s. She would always ask how she did it, but Baba would just smile, sip her scotch on the rocks and, when there was only the melted ice left in her glass, tip it into her plant. Took my mom forever to figure out Baba was watering her plant with scotch! lol On a serious note, the leaves are not good for cats and can make them sick. Cats like to rub their chins (and sometimes teeth) against them cause they like the texture, so you have to watch them. You can “breed” African Violets by taking a leaf from a one plant and rooting it (either in soil or water) with a different color. So if you take a pink flower and root it with a white one, you can get all kinds of neat pink and white combos.
I feel compelled to volunteer that I bought artificial flowers on Amazon to adorn flowerpots and window boxes after the live flowers burnt up in a week despite frequent watering.
But the violets are pretty.
Don’t worry WS plants shake in fear when they see me. I have ‘black thumbs’ not green ones! I either give them to much attention or neglect them to death!
Same here! I used to be able to grow things, my dad still has two gigantic Synadenium grantii (common name translates from swedish as “milk bush”) that I grew from tiny tiny cuttlings I got from my biology teacher, but when I got my cats I had to give them up since the sap is corrosive.
By the way, that is so hard! Finding plants that are non-toxic, because my youngest cat WILL try to chew ion them!
I feel like I have black thumbs now, and I don’t know what I do wrong! Like I said, I used to be the one that grew things as a child, and my grandmother was a great gardener who taught me a lot, so I think I have ok theoretical knowledge. But the only thing thriving at my house these days are Fuchsia on the balcony (lovely as they are)!!!
I would like to blame it on Pippin (the younger, cute as a button and cuddly and affctionate like a cuddly-toy, but maybe not-so-bright, cat…), but even when it was just me and Merry (the older cat who is a model of perfection of cat-hood and good behaviour and surely the smartest cat in the world, yes I’m biased ?) our newly aquired houseplants didn’t survive, even though I had finally gotten a nice, bright flat (which is why I felt I finally had the space for a plants, and a cat. The cat was the best desicion in my life, and I suppose I can live without houseplants…)
Anyway, solidarity with my fellow black-thumbed not-so-succesfull-gardeners… ?
Ps. Congrats to you americans ?? for beating England ?? and going to the finals in the football world cup btw! Lets see if you get to play us (Sweden ??) or the Neatherlands ??… I will of course believe in our girls to the bitter end, regardless if we play the Us or England, but the Us are on a roll right now, and you did beat us last time… But on the other hand we did vanquised the 24 year old German ?? ghost last week, so anything is possible! Yay, go team! ❤??
Lemongrass might not be the most standard houseplant (I’m used to growing a lot of herbs inside) but it’s not one of the harder ones, and it’s cat safe, and handy to have around? (The concentrated oil is another matter.) It’s texture makes it a fun plaything to – I have a great pic of my younger kitten* attacking a plant like a little demon.
* Ahaha, yes, there are now two kittens. My darling Keanu would be desolate if he was left alone while I was at the lab, and a friend was fostering another cat, so Cricket Vespers joined the household. I might never sleep more than two hours at a stretch again, but they’re having a great old time.
Thanks for the tip about lemongrass ?
I think I will try growing it on my balcony for the cats ☺
(And my gigantic “little” Pippin was also an adition to the family b/c I didn’t want Merry to be alone when I’m at work… And no, you will never sleep again, b/c if one cat stoops to sleeping while you need to, the other one will try to wake both of you up so he can have somenone to play with ?)
Keanu – who was separated from him family too young (we don’t know what happened before a neighbor’s elderly dog found him and took to carrying him around in his mouth…) might turn into a ravenous zoommonster when he’s up and about, but he likes nothing better than to cuddle up with me and nap. I wasn’t going to let cats into my bedroom, but… he’s such a baby…
Cricket on the other hand, while also enjoying her share of cuddles (especially with Keanu, the two were immediately inseparable) is a bit older, and revels in being an ambush predator. At night, she curls up, goes to sleep… and then at some point wakes up and looks for something to attack. Or bite. Like my feet, nose, or chin. (We’re working on the biting. She’s already gotten a lot better about claw control, but I haven’t gotten her to relent on the occasional good chomp. Especially when we’re being boring.)
I also love Christmas cactus which comes in many colors and blooms in the fall months. It’s actually a succulent and not a true cactus. It’s pretty hard. I have red, pink, orange, yellow and white in my sunny office window.
I hope you get lots of rest!
Hi. I’m not a flower grower usually. But I’ve been hired by a couple unknown writers to do their audio because they knew me as a female vocalist and speaker. I don’t know if you’re looking for a woman with an occasionally raspy low voice but with lots of range (female box in higher range, actions in mid and male voice in lower) but I’d be thrilled to send you a cut of me reading something from one of the hidden legacy books I happen to be regrading right now.
Christmas cactus is really easy to grow and comes in many colors. They like being root bound and haphazardly watered. At least that is what makes mine flower several times a year!
I used to have a car with a weird tire size. I am so sorry. Your violets are lovely. I hope you got a nap.
African Violets come in a multitude of colors, bloom types, and leaf types. There are several reputable growers online. Please post more flower pictures when you can. My cats and I have had a difference of opinion on the violets, so my plants aren’t flowering. Enjoy your blooms!
My mother used to have African violets with the most fabulous foliage you ever saw, and not a bloom anywhere. Then, my little brother tripped and landed on one pot full of African violet plants, and broke off most of the leaves and squashed the rest. That plant had flowers all over it in a couple of months!
He, the brother, took this for A Sign, and abused the other house plants.
I don’t know if it was genius or insanity, but it seemed to work on the African violets. On orchids, not so much.
He expanded to the outside plants. Results: tomatos, good; nasturtiums, good; geraniums, excellent (geraniums are an immortal weed that I trim with the lawnmower); asparagus, terrible; artichokes, lethal.
I’m reasonably sure that all the house plants were root-bound.
Further research should be delegated to the most conveniently located Kid. Teenaged Kids are ideal.
And I plan to try that water-the-plants-with-scotch routine. I like scotch.
I found this site. Russian Violets. The variants at this site are amazing!
http://russianviolets.com/africanViolets.php
I wanted to ask which special pots you were using?
I used to grow violets. a couple of good sites to see photos of plants and buy them is lyndon lyon or Robs violet barn. They come in different types Minature, trailing and standard. I also like the russian varieties. both sites have other plants that need the same care so you can get different plants
Wow. Rob’s Violet Barn is fantastic. I need more windows…
You’ve found the right spot, leave them there. African violets can be very finicky about their site, but are not hard to multiply at all. he do put out babies or suckers that ca be snapped off and potted or potted and then snapped off. Or divide apiece making sure there are some roots on it. You could even grow them from leaves, but that takes a bit more special soil and care. As for colors they com in many shade of blue, purple, pink and white, but to my eye all but the white have a blue or violet tinge.. Can’t say that ever bothered me much. As for plants that like similar conditions the one that coms to mind is the florists cyclamen. Handsome plant, larger than African violet, pretty flowers much the same sort of shades as the African violets, but they require a little different care and haven’t as long a bloom period. Once the cyclamen are done blooming and begin dying back, withhold water and move them someplace dark and cool to let them go dormant with the change of season bring them back out, water etc. Or you can simply enjoy them for their bloom season and quit when they do.. There are also some orchids which might enjoy similar growing conditions, but thy flower once and then are rather homely for the rest of the time. For getting your money’s worth of flowers and bloom time I think African violets are the best. Once you’ve found where they want to be. I’ve recently moved from NH to SC and am having a fine time finding new plants to grow. More like your weather here I think. I’ve been a Master Gardener for over a decade and when people ask how to become a Master Gardener I just tell them that after you’ve killed enough plants you start to learn a few things. Worked for me.
I am so sorry life is rough right now. Mason-Dixon Knitting is holding a sock knit-a-long (KAL) with REALLY pretty yarn and that’s what I’m using each night to relax and go to my happy place.
African violets seem to be the only plant I don’t kill. I have no idea why. I had one in an office that bloomed for 4 years. Unfortunately, I have cats so I can’t have them at home . I’ve seen them in colors ranging from an almost white blue to a deep purple. Good luck!
I wonder if Mercury is in retrograde? I have no idea what that means but a friend used to always say that when weird luck was happening.
Pretty flowers. My momma could grow African Violets. It was a completely shaded window. I could never figure out how?
I’m still doing my daylilies. The obsession grows. I have gathered enough nice cultivators to make my own pods {seeds} this year. Not much gets me up in the mornings early but I get up very early to check to see the seedlings that had bloomed and to dab pollen around. Most won’t set pods in heat of the day.
I bought a tiny Christmas cactus (that’s the Latin name, haha) from Home Depot and it grows well and blooms randomly. Range of colors. Common in the Massachusetts area but it does fine here in a Maryland window.
Nothing about this post. I just want to share something I just find out.
When I read innkeeper the sentence which struck me as the oddest is when Dina sell that honey to the trader and say to Sean “it’s not truffle, There is a price limit.”
And now, after a very long time, I just realize that the “truffle” Dina was talking about is not a chocolate dessert, but a kind of expensive mushroom. Never know there is a mushroom of that name…
Try truffle salt on fries. It’s amazing!!!!
What’s even cooler is that Truffles The Chocolate were originally designed to look like Truffles The Mushroom. And the coolest info is how they go about truffle hunting. Definitely something to look up. 🙂
My great aunt used to have the most spectacular African violets I have ever seen. She finally fessed up her fertilizer was an occasional birth control pill her neighbor down the hall would donate when she forgot to take it.
African Violets have lots of cousins that come in a broad range of colors…. https://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/268-183.pdf…and they grow in similar conditions. Maybe I’ll try some cousins since the Violets don’t fare well in my house.
I have a request for the authorlords… Please if you can ,and if it’s not a terrible imposition,would you pretty please consider finishing ” the blue key” story..
It has so much potential ..
My very best and warmest wishes for your well-being..
May the Almighty bless you and yours.
Blue Key is a complete story. It is finished. There is nothing that needs to be said after.
Aw, I looked this up bc of this comment,… what a sweet story. Reminds me of what is going on in my family life now… except for the magic. Though I also love griffins… known for protecting what is most precious ?
Beautiful sweet story!
(I thought I’d read all the short stories on that page, but somehow missed that one!)
Thank you for reposting it!
I agree Streptocarpus would do well for you, they come in more colours than African violets, as well as the blues through deep and light purples to pinks they go into reds and yellows, plus bi-coloured ones with the top two petals one colour, the bottom three petals a different colour, and various patterns eg white background with purple stripes. They flower from April through October. I love them a lot! There are lots of ictures of different ones here https://www.dibleys-shop.com/collections/streptocarpus-plug-plants.
I hope you’ve had a relaxing day pottering with your violets and animals.
Not to sure about Violets , but the Mint plant I bought from Vons to make minty drinks for my beloved is growing like mad all of a sudden too and it’s flowering. It’s now as tall as my kitchen window and it’s roots are practically growing right out of the water it’s sitting in, the tag on it said not to re plant it but I think I might have to.
I hope you had some fun during his visit despite the crazy stuff and that he arrives home safely. It is awesome that he comes to spend time with all of you.
You plant is lovely. Basically you can grow anything that likes the same environment that your African Violet is thriving under. Ask at your local greenhouse.
I enjoy growing anything that will let me and especially enjoy plants with variegated leaves. I started this African Violets several years ago from a leaf. Digging in the dirt and playing with my plants is my stress therapy. I lose track of time and just feel peaceful.
Here is a bit of trivia; African violet seeds were taken to the Skylab and irradiated in space. This increased the varieties, but mostly leaf texture and leaf colour variations
I can not grow them and keep them alive, but my mother has a table full.
I love this flowering succulent, Kalanchoe. I have an orange one and a pink one. It’s a very sturdy plant! http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b561#AllImages
If you are having good luck with the African violets, try orchids in the same area. I know, people say orchids are “difficult”. In fact, if you have the right conditions, they mostly like to be left alone. There are a few things you should do for them but not daily tasks. And very similar to the violets they do not enjoy being flooded with water on the daily. They prefer to suck it up from down below. Violets have a tendency to mold if you water them from above, orchids just get mad and pack up. My mom could bring home a stick in a pot labeled “orchid” and put it in the window with the violets…. and one day there would be a beautiful stem of flowers on a healthy plant.
ooooh, I don’t overwater my orchids, but I do it from the top, I never thought of soaking it up from the bottom. They grow plenty of leaves but rarely bloom.
A lot of orchids also have a humidity requirement (You can put water in a tray, and then put the orchid pot above that, and that might be enough – I’ve never grown orchids on purpose, I’ve been given other people’s orchids that were having issues, and picked up a few – a very few – tricks.)
My experience was that if you kept a vague eye on them, they weren’t hard? Most of them eventually got over sulking, recovered, bloomed, divided, and so on. But they also weren’t anything particular tricky, I think.
double begonias are fancy looking, and come in colors. I’ve always found begonias to be fairly easy to grow and they have nice fuzzy leaves.
Most of the gesneriads (african violet family) will grow on a window sill or outside in the shade in summer. Streptocarpus, Streptocarpella (stuningly gorgeous and equally hard to kill), Sinningia, Kohleria, Nematanthus, Aeschynanthus, Columnea etc. There are some very cool hybrids from Russia, take a look on instagram. Also begonias if only for the foliage. Hoyas, Dischidias, miniature orchids and Tillandsias are great as well. Violet Barn, Taylor Greenhouses, Steves Leaves, Dave’s Violets, Ebay, and especially local plant societies/garden clubs are some sources.
I’ve just finished one of the best C-drama I’ve seen and I’ll think you’ll enjoy this one if you haven’t watched it yet. It’s called Princess Agents, it’s Wuxia. The action, story (spies) and acting is superb!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthurium
My grandmother used to have so many pots of African Violets around her house. They were all purple, so don’t know if that’s the only color range, or if that was just the color she liked.
It was so funny because they were the only indoor plant she could keep alive, and they thrived!
Hmm… Do you think you might enjoy carnivorous plants? I’m thinking cape sundews (generally the hardiest of the sundews, IME) and some of the pitcher plants – I used to grow them because some of my indoor plants tended to attract bugs, and they helped a lot with that – but they’re pretty, and I think they’d do well in similar light? (They do like a fair bit of water from below, but aren’t that hard otherwise.)
My grandma always told me to never water African violets from above, because they don’t like it. I always fill the dish they sit in with water, and refill until I can feel a little hint of moisture on the top of the soil. I’ve been doing that about once a week, and I’ve managed to keep the few I received as gifts healthy and happy. I really love the blue tones and the pale pink ones. The petals always seem kind of shimmery, which is a-w-e-s-o-m-e!