A Gardening Year

The adventures and misadventures of an heirloom gardener

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

And then there were seven . . .

I have a window on the second floor of my house that is perfect for African violets. I purchased a couple in the grocery store years ago that have flourished and bloomed beautifully. One, keeps getting bigger and bigger.


I didn't know what to do with it until a fellow Master Gardener told me I could safely divide it. She had done it and then donated the results for plant auctions to raise money for the Master Gardener program. What a great idea! I counted the divisions and bought six pots. Well, I counted wrong. It was more like eight. I put the two smallest ones in one large pot and the rest in the small pots that I had bought.

I'm not sure what to do with the African violet on the far left. It blooms beautifully but the "stem" keeps getting longer and longer. Maybe I should just take some cuttings to root and dispose of the rest.

And the one in the middle in the first picture? That's an illegal cutting. I won't say where I got it from, just that I had never seen one like it, so I quietly pinched off a leaf and brought it home. It has rooted nicely.

I have accumulated so many houseplants now that I have outgrown the shelf extenders that I bought years ago. All of my windowsills look like the second picture. I'm going to have to break down and buy actual plant stands!

7 Comments:

At 4:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, do you know these violets are names Uambaraveilchen(veilchen means violets) in Austria!I love them to!

 
At 4:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

USAMBARA i was to fast ;-))

 
At 5:28 AM, Blogger OldRoses said...

Thanks, Henny! They are very easy to grow, aren't they?

 
At 6:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Plants, what else can you divide to multiply! I have a couple of African Violets but none that have grown like yours.

 
At 2:35 AM, Blogger OldRoses said...

Carol, indirect light seems to be the key with African violets.

 
At 7:18 AM, Blogger Naturegirl said...

I have a plant stand that I keep in the kitchen and it is my "winter garden" that keeps me sane while the winter blaghs surround me! This winter it has been mild no snow no cold however I fill my plant stand with indoor color and yes a few African violets!
~*Happy Holidays to you and yours!*~

 
At 8:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love african violets and have in fact just rescued two from my mum who was killing them. I was not aware that they could be divided. I'll have to find out how to do that!
Happy New Year!

 

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