Announcements:
Upcoming Meetings:Mark your calendars! Meetings are usually the third Monday of the month, from 4-6 pm, and unless otherwise noted, will be held at the Redeemer Lutheran Church, which is located on Moss and Hawthorne Avenue in Chico. Reminders of these meetings will be sent out via fantasyvioleteers list groups 1 week and 2 days before the meeting date. These dates will also be listed on the Fantasy Violeteers website under Meetings.
Minutes of Fantasy Violeteers General Meeting On April 15th, 2002 The meeting was called to order by President Briony at 4:00 P.M. A quorum was present.
Members present were Marilyn Larrance, Briony Gniechwitz, Tina Sorenson, Sharon Walker, Jan Bernhard, Marie Rilea, Betty Garcia and Marilyn Moak. Tanya Sorenson attended as a guest.
The reading of the Minutes was waived. There were no corrections and the Minutes were accepted as published.
TREASURER'S REPORT
March 2002 Balance ------- $50.25
Paid to AVA for dues ------ (22.00)
Raffle ---------------------------- 2.50
Balance ------------------------ $30.75
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Briony will check the details for having a picnic in Durham Park, such as, is a reservation needed. This picnic is scheduled for June 17 and will include the monthly meeting.
Tina Sorenson resigned as the AVSA representee and Betty Garcia was appointed to the position.
NEW BUSINESS
Briony showed the members a Yearbook she had made for a cost of $7.00. The members thought the price was too high. Marie made a motion that the members pay for photo copies of the material and assemble them themselves. Briony seconded the motion and it was passed.
Briony requested that every member submit to her a "Best Variety List" of 25 of their favorite violets. If anyone can't come up with 25, then they can submit as many as they have.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Dues should be paid in May or June in the amount of $10.00.
Briony made a motion that the meeting be adjourned and it was seconded by Jan. The motion passed and the meeting was adjured at 4:35 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by Betty L. Garcia, Secretary
Members: Recipes/ Hints What's Wrong with My Plant?By Briony Gniechwitz
You can be a newbie at identifying problems with your plants even if you have grown for years and years. However, over time, most growers learn to ID what is wrong with their plants mostly by experience. The first thing to do is when you see plants that look wrong or sick, immediately isolate them. If you find that the problem is in culture - like our first problem, the plant can be reintroduced into your collection. However, if you find you have powdery mildew or mealies, you want those affected plants away from the rest of your plants so the problem won't spread.
Problem: You wick water, but the plant looks limp - like it needs water even though the reservoirs are full.
Check the medium in the pot - if it is dry your wick has stopped wicking. This can happen occasionally and pouring water through the pot until the wick is saturated with water can restart the wick. You may see algae on the wick. This is the one time algae is an actual problem - usually it is just unsightly. According to Dr. Optimara, algae can actually inhibit the absorption of water into the soil - probably if the wick is covered with the green stuff. To clean the wick you can either replace it, or just hold the wick under warm running water and rub off the algae with your fingertips.
Now, if your plant's medium doesn't feel dry to the touch - but feel rather moist and the plant is droopy the time to act is upon you. Get that plant out of the pot and place on newspapers or some other absorbent material. Check the roots and neck. The roots should be whitish and the neck firm. If there is any mush or brown on the roots or neck you've got root rot. With courage in one hand and a sharp knife or scalpel or razor blade, cut off all the roots (if they're brown or mushy). Cut off as much of the neck that isn't healthy, firm and green. Be harsh - if you leave rot it will spread. Then remove all but a row or two or leaves and root the crown like a sucker.
Problem: White to light gray stuff or powder on the leaves, or blossoms. The powder is uniformly covered.
Welcome to powdery mildew. Don't confuse this with the horrible fuzzy gray mold of Botrytis (which we will look into later - this is far less common). According to Dr. Optimara, powdery mildew is a fungus called Oidium, which enjoys high humidity and poor air circulation. You may also find powdery mildew shorting after a sudden change in temperatures - like we northern Californians have been experiencing lately. I think of powdery mildew more as a nuisance because unless it is left untreated it is rather superficial. I have washed off powdery mildew with soap and water and not had it return. However - if left untreated, it can discolor leaves and blooms - and eventually, even kill the affected tissues.
Since the fungus likes high humidity and poor air circulation, increase air circulation. Some growers like to have a fan going in their plant rooms all the time - don't direct the fan at the plants. Humidity shouldn't be higher than 60% in this situation and try to not allow temperatures to vary more than ten degrees from day to night. In reality, what you do is get fan, space out the plants, practice good grooming (remove dead leaves and blooms) and realize that sometimes you just can't avoid powdery mildew - it may be a constant enemy in your growing environment. Some have found success-using Lysol on the affected areas. Note that you may have some discoloration. Others prefer dusting with sulfur or spraying with a teaspoon of baking soda in a quart of water. Dr. Optimara also suggests disinfecting pots with a 10% bleach solution before repotting.
Problem: Soil Mealy Bugs. You may have these nasty critters if you note tiny (1/16th inch) white or gray grains of rice on your plant's rootball or soil around the neck of the plant. You might have knocked the plant out of the pot because the leaves were pale yellow or gray of if they were wilting. Leaves may appear jellylike and be translucent brown. Plant growth will have slowed down and it is unlikely that the plant will have been blooming.
Soil mealy bugs, or Pritchard Mealy Bugs (Rhizoecus pritchard) and Root Mealy Bugs (Rhizoecus americannue), feed on the tiny root hairs that absorb water and nutrients from the medium - hence leaves will start to die from lack of water and nutrients once an infestation has taken hold. Now, you have already isolated, right? If you have been communally watering, you'd better check all the other plants sharing that particular water source with the infected plant. Soil mealies can spread easily via water. Our own Vice President Marilyn Larrance has had to deal with this scourge and can probably help if you need advice. I know she used Marathon and I believe thought it a success. You can also try adding Diatomaceous Earth (diatom skeletons - a form of algae) - which in a dry environment will slice up the mealy bugs (Dr. Optimara recommends ¼ teaspoon per liter of soil). This measure will not harm African Violets, but won't work if you wick water or otherwise consistently keep your medium moist. Another method, and personally the one I would choose, would be to take off leaves, soak them for ten minutes in a 1:10 bleach solution, put the leaves down and toss out all the infected plants. Don't put them in the compost or you'll have mealy bugs there.
Problem: Fungus Gnats. These guys are extremely annoying little critters about 1/16 inch long. If you get close enough you can see they are graying-yellow to dark brown. I get the dark brown guys I think - but I don't really look that close. Anyhow, these gnats thrive in moist conditions and feed on fungi, decaying matter and if there is a very very bad infestation, the larvae can feed on the roots of the AV. You know you have these guys if you have a swarm of small brown things with wings buzzing everywhere around your plants. You may also have Blackflies, Mushroom Flies or Sciarid Flies, but according to Dr. Optimara it doesn't really matter which because they are all very similar and you do the same things to get rid of them.
Now, Dr. Optimara mentions using a household insect spray containing Acephate - apparently you spray as the gnats swarm up after you tap or otherwise jostle your plants. Spray away from the plant and to follow the label instructions. I don't like insecticides, but this is a personal decision. Especially as some insecticides can harm the plant anyway. Check the label to make sure it can be used on AVs if you do decide to use a spray. Other methods include trapping the pests on something sticky (like honey or molasses) and brightly colored (think orange and deep bright yellow). I tried apple cider vinegar in small dishes around the plants that worked for me. Others have had success using a carnivorous plant among their plants, which ate up all the gnats. Our own Marilyn Greer had success using a trap. In any case, whatever you use, you should try to keep on top of grooming - get those dead and dying tissues off the plant and out of the pot.
Problem: White mold/fungus stuff on the soil. It feels slimy if you rub it between your fingers. Guess what - you don't have a problem. This is good stuff! If it bothers you, mix back into the soil with a fork or fingertip. Many growers have reported that after doing this 2 or 3 times the white stuff never grows noticeably on the surface of the soil again.
I haven't covered all the problems you may be seeing on your plant. But these seem to be the most common that people run into. If you have a problem plant, bring it to our next meeting! Our program for May is "Problem Plants!". If you don't bring in problems, we won't have much of a program! Find those troublemakers and bring them on in!
Please remember that after this program to isolate your plant when you get home, and wash your hands before handling your plants at home. You wouldn't want to spread someone else's problem through your healthy collection!
Some information was gathered from the excellent website, Dr. Optimara which can be found at: http://www.collateralworks.com/doctoroptimara.html
In next month's newsletter -Ever been curious about some of the African Violet relatives? Well, prepare to meet Sinningia pusilla (sin IN jee a)
Visitors since April 29, 2002
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