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 May 20, 2002 The meeting was called to order at 4:45 P.M. at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Chico, California. A quorum was present.
Members in attendance were Marilyn Larrance, Jan Bernhard, Marie Rilea, Maryls Moak, Tina Sorenson, Briony Gniechwitz and Betty Garcia.
The reading of the Minutes of the May meeting were waived. There were no corrections and the Minutes were approved as published.
CORRESPONDENCE
No correspondence
TREASURER'S REPORT
The balance on hand is $35.25.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Picnic at Durham Park - No reservations are needed. The time agreed on was 1:00 P.M. on June 17, 2002. This picnic will be a potluck with anyone attending bringing an item.
Briony will make copies of the yearbook and have them at the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Briony bought a new ink cartridge for her printer for $21.50. It was voted that she be reimbursed for this purchase.
A discussion was held regarding having a show at the Chico Mall, if possible, and if not there, then another suitable place. Jan will make inquiries at the Mall as a first step.
A photographer from the Enterprise/Record came to the meeting and took numerous pictures. There was to be an article published in the paper in the near future regarding the activities of the Club.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dues are payable by June 1, 2002 in the amount of $10.00.
Briony will not bring all of the items in the library to the meetings, just the recent things.
A motion for adjournment was made by Briony and seconded by Marilyn. The motion was approved and the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by Betty L. Garcia, Secretary
Members: Recipes/ Hints Understanding your Sinningia pusilla
& S. 'White Sprite'Written by Vincent Parsons, vincent@gardener.com.
Vincent is a very active member in several online African Violet groups. For those who also belong to the AVSA (Thank you!) I realize that this might be a bit repetitive -- as there was an article in the latest magazine about these little plants. Perhaps "great minds think alike"! :)
Welcome to the charming little world of microminiature Sinningias! The advice given here is specifically for Sinningia pusilla and it's pure white flowered form, Sinningia pusilla cv. 'White Sprite'; However, you'll find that the same conditions apply for other micromini Sinningias as well, such as S. concinna, and hybrids between the two species. The somewhat larger miniature Sinningia hybrids can be cultured under the same conditions, but can also be happy out in the dryer air with your African Violets-- but that's a story for another time!
Culture:
S. pusilla is a tropical rainforest plant- it's care is ridiculously simple, as long as you keep two major needs in mind: It needs high humidity and warmth. Both conditions are easy to maintain in a normal house, inside a terrarium.
A terrarium for S. pusilla is also very simple: anything big enough to leave a little space around the plant, and either partially covered, or tall enough to retain humidity within. I find that any clear container that's about 3" (5cm) or so wide is adequate, and anything with sides taller than a brandy snifter of that size doesn't always need a cover- though it's much easier to keep humidity high without constantly watering, if you keep a loose-fitting cover over the opening anyway. My favorite displays are actually 5 inch wide spherical "Bubble Bowls", which I cover with a piece of plastic or small plastic yogurt cup lid when I'm not displaying them. These fit loosely to keep the air fresher within the bowl. Before leaving the cover off for long, I mist with a light spritz of warmed distilled water to avoid possible leaf spotting. Portland, Oregon water is very soft and clean, but many other places even nearby have harder water that can cause discoloration.
For growing out young plants, I often use clear plastic drinking cups, or even the small 2 oz. plastic condiment cups with a second one placed upside-down over the top, a strip of tape on one side making it into a 'clamshell' greenhouse. I have also grown out nearly all of my seedlings in open pots, inside a small aquarium which is only covered about 3/4 over the top, and they do fine. In fact, growing them in a container with some air movement seems to make them less sensitive to changes in the environment than they are if grown in nearly sealed containers, then moved later.
Here is how I set up the terrariums, of whatever sort:
First, put a 1/2" layer of washed horticultural charcoal or fresh aquarium filter carbon in the bottom of the container if there will be no drainage holes. Sometimes I put it in anyway, even with drainage, because it really does help keep the root zone fresher.
Next, top the charcoal with 1/2 to 1" of planting medium- and they will thank you to keep it light! My best plants are grown in pure chopped green sphagnum moss- in such small amounts you can even afford to use the elite 'New Zealand Sphagnum' which costs more but also has superior lasting and water retention capability. (And often actually comes from South America here in the US, but then S. pusilla isn't from New Zealand, either!)
Personally, I use whatever green moss is closest, even chopping it in a food processor if it's the long-fiber kind. Just please avoid florist's mosses which can be chemically treated and dyed. To pasteurize mosses, just boil a pot of water, when it comes to a boil, take if off the burner. as soon as it stops bubbling, toss the moss in and let sit until cooled, then strain out. This will get rid of nasty bugs without completely sterilizing the moss, which you don't want because the good bacteria are necessary in the medium for good growth of your pusilla. I also use a mix of 1/3 each sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite with good results, though it's not as pretty to my eye.
[An aside- there will often in a few weeks or months be a few sprigs of a tiny bright green moss growing around your plants. This moss seems to be encouraged by S. pusilla, and pops up for many growers all over the world, even where pusilla has never grown before. It's not harmful, and I think it must be beneficial if the little Sinningias want it around them so much that they transport it as if by magic! think of it as 'pets' of your pusillas, or that they are growing their own plants just as you are growing them! These plants also seem to cultivate their own babies after they begin blooming- you can often see a carpet of them growing in well-kept terrariums that are allowed to grow on (See note on growing from seed on last page)]
Feeding:
Sinningia pusilla doesn't much care for fertilizers. The only time I feed, is once when there are at least four true leaves on seedlings, and once, about a week after transplanting. I have aquariums as well, and don't use any algicides or other chemicals in them, so I will water with water from the tanks in the terrariums about 2-3 times a year. All of my more sensitive plants find this to be plenty of food. If you are growing in pots with drainage holes and flushing them with rain distilled water at least once each couple months, you can try feeding occasionally more often, but I don't recommend it unless plants are showing very obvious deficiency symptoms- unlikely in the case of these plants! Please be careful with fertilizers, and never feed more than 1/4 strength! If you don't have freshwater aquariums, or if you've used algicides or or any chemicals other than plain dechlorinator in them [That includes most 'conditioners' such as AquaSafe, as these all contain extra salts; plain dechlorinator (Sodium thiosulfate) is safe in aquarium concentrations], You can try a few drops here and there of only 1/8 strength indoor plant or African Violet foods- always diluted in rain or distilled water, never directly to the moss or planting mix. Fertilizing even a little too much is one of the surest ways to kill your plants!
Live Plants:
If you get live packaged plants, please remove the packaging from the plants to get them some fresh air as soon as possible. If it's a very dry day, it is a good idea to lay some plastic wrap or a plastic baggie loosely over them so they don't dry out completely. If plants appear dry already, please mist them with a little warm water while you prepare their new home.
When you've set up the terrariums to your satisfaction, it's time to carefully transfer your plants into their miniature garden. You will find a thin tool useful- I usually use a long drinking straw, with one end cut off at a sharp angle so there is a longer point on one side. This pointed 'digging tool' in invaluable for moving such tiny plants, and seedlings of many other gesneriads; also cacti, begonias, and other very tiny growing things. And, it won't put your eye out if you're as clumsy as I am!
Just move aside a little of the moss or mix, set plant into it, and poke a tiny bit of moss or mix back over the roots. Don't worry if the tiny tuber is not completely covered, but if it's mostly so and most roots are covered it will be fine. Try not to bury the crown of the plant though. Mist with warm water to settle it in...
I normally plant 3 or more plants in the larger (over 3 inch wide) containers, and don't mist until all plants are in, to avoid having much water in the bottom of the container when I'm done. If you find there's more water than just under the charcoal, you can roll a paper towel into a stick shape and poke it through the moss or mix into the water with the straw, leaving it for a few minutes until there's only a film of water in the bottom- or at least water only below the surface of the charcoal. Say thank you to your plants for being so understanding about being shipped in a box and jostled around so much, and you're done! Leave the container uncovered for a while until there is only very little or no water left on the leaves.
If your plants seem broken:
Don't despair! S. pusilla can be very forgiving. Look around for the very tiny green tuber, if the plant is very young it will look like the bead on the end of a pin it's so small. Place the tuber just level with the surface of the mix, or cover with a thread or two of moss, and mist it in. Take the top of the plant, pull away any broken-off leaves you see to avoid rotting, set it down where you want it to grow, and if there's enough of the crown undamaged, it will also grow on and grow a new tuber-- giving you two plants instead of one! Sometimes if the breakage happens later, when the plant is undamaged and not under shipping stress, the top will continue growing and flowering as it grows new roots- almost as if it doesn't miss the tuber at all! You can even purposely pull off the tops of mature plants (The tubers are about the size of peas by then), trying not to disturb the tuber much, and make a crown cutting that way to increase your collection, going on later to have the top making a new tuber every few months if you wish. I find the seedlings to be prolific enough that increasing the collection is no problem, though, just prick out a few volunteers and grow on )
Speaking of seeds:
Easy, easy, easy. Make up a terrarium as mentioned earlier. Mist with warm water until moist and there's a film of water under the charcoal. Drop a few seeds in, preferably by sprinking a few on white paper and dropping them from a crease in it so you can at least see them. Cover the container and place in a warm place with some light. Ignore until either they look like they're dry, or they start blooming (about 3 months often as not). There you are.
If you want to collect your own seed, simply trim off the tiny seedpods that will form after flowers (Carefully, or see note about 'Broken Plants'); Place pod into a folded up piece of thin white paper and let dry for a day or so. when pods are realeasing the seed, shake out the pods into the paper with tweezers and remove the stems and debris. Make sure seed is completely dry, then store in refrigerator until planting if it will be more than a couple weeks. Share with friends!
If you have any other questions about these wonderful microminiatures I can help with, or any ideas that you'd like to share, please send me an email to vincent@gardener.com
Sinningia pusilla likes:
I think you'll find that once these conditions are given, all of which are fairly easy indoors, these little gems will stay happily with you for a very long time!
Happy Growing!
-Vincent
In next month's newsletter - More on Pests
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