Welcome to my Sunroom!

Hi Everyone!

I know you’re surprised to see me today – it’s not a first or third Sunday of a month. These are extraordinary times we are living in, and since pretty much everyone, everywhere is at home, I thought I would do some special episodes of All About African Violets while we’re hunkered down.  I mean, seeing the plants always lift my spirits, and I thought seeing them a little more often might lift yours, too. And for those of you not hunkered down because you’re in an essential industry, you have my thanks. 

I’m going to change up the order a little bit today.

Get the Bail Money Ready!

As you know, I was going to be a speaker at National this year,

and I was also working toward the Illinois state show.  I made the decision a little more than a week

ago that, based on how things were already progressing with the coronavirus

that causes COVID-19, I would not be able to attend either the Illinois show or

the national convention. 

Shortly thereafter, also due to the progression of the

coronavirus, the Illinois African Violet Society made the decision to cancel

its spring show that would have been held at the Lodge at Starved Rock State

Park, on May 23rd. 

And then, on Friday the 20th, the AVSA followed suit and notified its members and convention participants that the AVSA National Convention has been cancelled for 2020.  In 2021 it will be in Atlanta, and we will go to Little Rock in 2022.

More than ever, if you have photos of your plants and/or

growing spaces that you’d like to share for the website, now would be an

excellent time to send them in. 

* Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!!

Tips and Treasures

I don’t have much in the way of Tips and Treasures today, other than to talk in a little more depth about the pre-show schedule.  I mentioned last episode that we were coming up on Week 10.  That happened on Thursday.  My next watering of the “show” plants will be with bloom booster.

The bloom booster fertilizer I use is one that is not readily available any more. It was called Peter’s.

A Look at the Stands

Since both the Illinois show and the national show have been cancelled, I don’t really need to leave the plants on the pre-show schedule, but I’m going to. 

We can use this time to learn more about grooming and working with the pre-show schedule – and when they all – hopefully – come into bloom, we will have something beautiful to see and enjoy.

This week I think it’s really interesting to see what more consistent care can do in a very short time.

Keep Moving Forward

A poem by the late John O’Donohue, from

Welcome to My Sunroom!

It’s been quite a couple of weeks . . .

* I retired early!* The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has gained a strong foothold in the United States. Illinois is taking things very seriously, and many residents, myself included, are practicing social distancing at this time. Everyone is washing their hands even more than before, and seriously trying to avoid face touching, which seems very challenging to accomplish – you’ll see me do it at least three times in this episode.

Tips and Treasures

In this episode we’re going back to National 2019 to meet Ken Muzalewski, the hybridizer of the Hunter’s series of African violets.

Ken’s violets are available during the shipping season on eBay.  His eBay seller name is:  “piercedm”

A Look at What’s on the Stands

Last week you saw how the stands looked before I set things up for show.  This week, you see my pre-show setup, and get a good look at all the Hunter’s varieties I’m currently growing.

Coming up on Week 10 of the pre-show schedule.

Get the Bail Money Ready!

The AVSA 2020

National Convention is happening 24-31 May 2020, in Little Rock,

Arkansas.

Because a number of show locations have been closed due to social distancing precautions I did not share any events this episode. Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you, and definitely call ahead to make sure they are still happening.

Show Us Your Growing spaces!!!

Show Us Your Plants!!!: 

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! 

In closing today, remember to practice social distancing, and wash your hands every chance you get. Here is the meme I mentioned during the podcast:

An Internet meme about social distancing

Remember, you can find All About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom!

Hi Everyone!  I’m happy to be back with you this week!  February was a very interesting month for me.  Two weeks ago, I quit my job.  My last day will be Tuesday and I’m very excited about whatever my next chapter will hold – I know it will definitely hold more time for me and my plants  :-) 

Tips and Treasures

Show season is upon us! 

How do we get ready for show?? 

Hopefully you’ve been practicing consistent care . . .  ;-)  

The first step is to pick up a copy of Pauline Bartholomew’s book, Growing To Show: How to Grow Prize-winning African Violets.

If you have mature, show-size standards, repot them about 16

weeks out from show. 

12 weeks out from show is when things start happening.  This is when I look over my entire collection

and see what I think might be a show hopeful. 

I then move them onto a stand in my guest room, because that is where I

have the most control over the light and temperature. 

At 12 weeks out you want to repot, groom, possibly foliar feed, and your lights should be on for 12 hours/day. So – I did that today.  And things did not go quite as planned  :-D  This is also when you want to make a calendar for yourself so you can count back from the show date and know what you you need to do when on Pauline Bartholomew’s Pre-Show Schedule.

A Look at the Stands

I know you guys just watch to see what’s going on on my stands :-D so here is a good look. Things will look very different the next time you see them . . . ;-)

Get the Bail Money Ready!

The AVSA 2020 National Convention is happening 24-31 May 2020, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Other local events:

* 03/06/2020 to 03/07/2020, Central Florida African

Violet Soc., Inc, Show and

Sale, Beardall Senior Center, Orlando, FL* 03/06/2020 to 03/08/2020, Central California African

Violet Society, Show and

Sale, Fresno Fairgrounds, Fresno, CA* 03/07/2020 to 03/08/2020, Spring Branch African Violet

Club, Annual Plant Show

and Sale, Judson Robinson, Jr. Community Center, Houston, Texas * 03/14/2020 to 03/15/2020, Rocky Mountain African

Violet Council, Show &

Sale, Tagawa Gardens, Centennial, Colorado

Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you. And, remember to:

* Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!!

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.

Welcome to my Sunroom!

Hi Everyone!

It’s a slightly different episode today – at the time you are seeing this, I am just returning from a great vacation!  So things are going to look a little different this week.  There will be no look at what’s on the stands.

Tips and Treasures

I have some treasure for you today! 

We’re going to go back to the 2019 National Convention, and Joyce Stork is going to give us a walk-through of the Design Division!

Enjoy! (Oh, and be sure you watch this one all the way to the end . . . ;-) )

A Look at What’s on the Stands

No look this episode – I’m traveling. You’ll see the stand again in the next episode!

Get the Bail Money Ready!

* 02/07/2020 to 02/08/2020 – First Lakeland African Violet Society, Annual Show and Sale, Christ Lutheran Church, Lakeland FL * 02/08/2020 – African Violet Club of Greater Kansas City, Sale, Jacob B. Loose Park Garden Center, Kansas City, MO

Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you.

* Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! * Show Us Your Plants!!!

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! 

Remember, you can find All About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook! * On Instagram! * On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom

Hi Everyone – it’s chilly here in Chicagoland (really chilly), but it’s nice and warm in the sunroom. Come on in because I have a great episode for you today!

Tips and Treasures

Today we are going back to National and you’re going to meet Paul Sorano, the owner of Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses, and a very well-known hybridizer of many, many African violets. I got to National a day year in 2019, and was able to catch Paul before the commercial sales room opened up!

A Look at What’s on the Stands

I think that Consistent Care is going to be a good theme for this year.  It’s so critical to being able to grow our plants to their full potential. I think you’re going to see a big difference in this episode because not only was I able to get some work done on the plants, I was able to practice much more consistent care in the past two weeks.

Look for my current list of plants in a “Behind the Scenes” post next Sunday!

Get the Bail Money Ready!

* Jan 25, Rocky Mountain Streptocarpus Society, Show and Sale, Tagawa Gardens, Centennial, CO

Please check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you.

* Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/29/show-us-your-growing-space/ * Show Us Your Plants!!!:  https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/29/show-us-your-plants/

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star

ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you

have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie! 

Remember, you can find All About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook! * On Instagram! * On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom

Hi Everyone! 

Consistent care is the topic for today!

The last time we sat down together was on December 1st . . .  As many of you known I had a respiratory infection, and the cough that came along with it was so brutal that I just could not film for the 15th.  Then, I thought I would try to film for the 22nd, but I was still coughing like mad, and since December had 5 Sundays, I intended to try for the 29th.  Unfortunately, I had a crown on a tooth where a nerve started firing in earnest two days before Christmas.  Turns out the tooth was abscessed and I had to have a root canal on the day after Christmas. 

So, that’s my tale of woe  :-D That, and I got the number of the podcast wrong :-D

Information on the memorial service the Richard Nicholas, who was the immediate past president of the AVSA is as follows:

Sunday, January 19, 2020 at 1:00 pmCampus of Texas Woman’s University in Hubbard HallDenton, TX

Tips and Treasures

It’s a new year and a new decade, but nothing has changed

about how best to care for our violets. 

So today I talk to you about consistent care and what happens when you’re not able to be consistent.  Yes, you should hear me say “Limit Your Collection” somewhere in here  :-D

A Look at What’s on the Stands

You haven’t seen the stands since November 17th! Today there is a good, in-depth look at how little has been going on, and further discussion about consistent care, particularly as it pertains to watering.

If you’re following the podcast on Instagram, you saw what happened to my petrososmea kerrii and my coryteplectus cutucuensis . . . We’ll be following my attempts to revive/start over with these in the coming weeks.

Get the Bail Money Ready!

I am SUPEREXCITED to share with you that I will be speaking at the 2020 AVSA National African Violet Convention in Little Rock!  I will be speaking during the time that the show is being judged, so if you are not judging, I hope you will register for:

African

Violets 101:  Wait!!  It’s Not Just for Beginners!

Are you

new to growing African violets? Would you like to learn what’s new since you

learned to grow however-many years ago? Would you like a little history lesson

about violets thrown in for good measure? THIS is the presentation for

you!!!  While everyone else is judging

the show, join Annie Rieck, the host of the All About African Violets podcast,

for a fun-filled presentation that will have you growing plants in no time at

all!  You never know what Annie has up

her sleeve to share with you – all we can tell you at press time is that

laughter will be involved and Annie will leave plenty of time for Q&A!

There are no events on the AVSA website in the next couple of weeks.

Please check the AVSA

Events page for current and coming events that might be near you.

* Show Us Your Growing spaces!!! https://allaboutafricanviolets.com/2018/03/29/show-us-your-growing-space/ * Show Us Your Plants!!!:  https://allaboutafricanviolets.

Welcome to My Sunroom!

Come on in to my sunroom!  If you’re here in the U.S. I hope you had a happy and wonderful Thanksgiving. 

The podcast is going to be structured a little differently today, but first, I have some sad news to share with you.  AVSA’s Immediate Past President, Richard Nicholas, passed away suddenly on Friday, November 22, 2019.

Tips and Treasures

On a happier note, today, we are going back to National to meet the 2019 Best-in-Show Winner, Wayne Geeslin. The interview is lengthy and I decided not to split it. That means there will be no look at what’s on the stands this week. I hope you will enjoy meeting Wayne – we could have talked even longer! He is very interesting and was so willing to share his knowledge :-)

A Look at What’s On the Stands

I promise a good look next time!

Get the Bail Money Ready!

There is nothing on the AVSA Events page until January 2020. Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you!

The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020.

* Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!!

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!

And remember, you can find All About About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom!

Hi Everyone! I apologize for the delay in getting this episode out today. I had some technical difficulties that have since been resolved!

Tips and Treasures

After the last episode I got a message from Margaret C. about my corytoplectus cuticuensis plant.  Here is what she said: 

“Annie, I watch your videos and they’re great!I think the leaf shedding problems with the cuticuensis might be that the terrarium it’s in lets too much humidity out. The sides don’t look sealed. If you add a dish of water in with the plant, it might help.”

I got two questions from Sue M.  She said: “I just finished listening to your latest podcast. Enjoy them very much.

* You tested for INSV. What were the symptoms that made you think it might be INSV?* Why do you dis-bud your violets? How long do you keep them disbudded?” (See Growing to Show, by Pauline Bartholomew!)

See Episode 3.032 for an in-depth discussion of INSV by Joyce Stork and her late husband, Kent Stork.  I realized that I wasn’t clear in that video, so I covered this again for the benefit of clarity.

Get the Bail Money Ready!

There is nothing on the AVSA Events page until January 2020. Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you!

The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020.

* Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!!

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!

And remember, you can find All About About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom

Hi Everyone! Come on in, sit, down, and relax for a bit :-)

Tips and Treasures

Today, I am taking you back to National for an interview with my friend, Nancy Hayes. She is wonderful and I hope you enjoy meeting her through this interview!

A Look at What’s On the Stands

More and more things have been accomplished on my stands, and I was able to complete testing for INSV. Thankfully, everything tested negative!

A negative test for INSV

Get the Bail Money Ready!

The fall shows and regional conventions are in full swing!

* 11/06/2019 to 11/09/2019, Dixie African Violet Society, Convention, Show and Sale, Lexington Hotel, Jacksonville, FL* 11/08/2019 to 11/09/2019, Mid-Atlantic African Violet Society (MAAVS), Annual Convention  & Sale, Holiday Inn & Suites North Beach, Virginia Beach, VA

Please continue to check the AVSA Events page for current and coming events that might be near you!

The 2020 National Convention – Violets Go Hog Wild in Arkansas – will be in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sunday, May 24 – Sunday, May 31, 2020.

* Show Us Your Growing Spaces!!!* Show Us Your Plants!!

Keep Moving Forward

Thank you for joining me today, and thank you for the star ratings and reviews on iTunes and Facebook, and for the generous donations you have made via Paypal to help keep the podcast going.  I so appreciate this!

If you have a question, you can ask me at, Ask Annie!

And remember, you can find All About About African Violets:

* Here!* On Facebook!* On Instagram!* On Pinterest!

Welcome to my Sunroom

Come on in to my sunroom! 

Fall is here in Chicagoland!

Before we jump in to this week’s episode, I want to touch on

a couple of things:

* I would like to say thank you to those of you – and you know who you are – who have made some donations using the PayPal donation button on the website.  I don’t think you guys realize how expensive it is to keep the podcast going.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are now ads on the website – believe me, they generate very little income.  So, if you love All About African Violets and would like to know that you are helping it stay on the Web, click the “Donate” tab, above. I thank you sincerely.* If you have not “liked” the podcast’s Facebook page, I would like to invite you to do so.* I would also like to invite you to subscribe to the podcast so that you will get an email every time something new goes up on the site!* Questions are caught up (FINALLY), and if you asked one through the website you should have received an answer or a follow up from me this past week.  IF you did not, please let me know.  And know that you question will appear on the website in the weeks to come.* You guys make the podcast what it is – it’s been some time since anyone has shared a plant they are growing.  Everyone loves this!  If you’ve thought about doing it but haven’t, I encourage you to do so  :-)

Tips and Treasures

I’m on my “Limit Your Collection” soapbox today, particularly as it applies to beginners getting caught up in “all the plants.”

The books mentioned in today’s episode, are:

* Growing to Show: How to Grow Prize-winning African Violets, by Pauline Bartholomew* You CAN Grow African Violets, by Joyce and Kent Stork* The AVSA Handbook for Growers, Exhibitors, and Judges

These books are not expensive. Every grower should have them, and they will go a very long way to helping you educate yourself :-)

A Look at What’s On the Stands

I’ve taken my own advice and have been limiting my collection in the past couple of weeks. Yay Me! :-D There’s a new strep blooming!  And be sure you get a good look at Champagne Pink. It’s so lovely at the moment :-)

Get the Bail Money Ready!

The fall shows and regional conventions are in full swing!

* 10/26/2019, African Violet Club of Greater Kansas City, Show and Sale, Loose Park Garden Center, Kansas City, MO* 10/26/2019, Portland African Violet Society, Display and Sale, Tabor Heights Methodist Church, Portland, OR* 10/26/2019, First Austin African Violet Society, Fall Plant Sale, Austin Area Garden Center, Zilker Botanical Garden, Austin, TX* 10/31/2019 to 11/02/2019, Lone Star African Violet Council, Convention, Show and Sale; Hilton Garden Inn Dallas/Allen, Allen, TX* 11/02/2019 to 11/03/2019,