African Violet Show

This weekend Oakland County can enjoy a very special, unique treat at the Oxford Library ? free. The Town & Country African Violet Club will stage a spectacular show of African Violets and Gesneriads. Hours are: Saturday, March 29th from 11:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 30thth from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Oxford Public Library, 530 Pontiac Road, Oxford, MI.

Entries for the guest class can be brought to the Community Room at the Library from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. March 28th or 10:00 a.m. Saturday, the 28th until Noon. They do need to be blooming and planted in plastic pots. A cash award for the best Guest Class entry is open to all. Bring that blooming violet and show it off.

The Town & Country Violet Club started meeting at the Oxford Library in May 2001. Members come from as far as Lansing and Ann Arbor to meetings the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. This club is the only African Violet Club now meeting monthly in the state. Meetings are free. There are many interesting programs given throughout the year: the basic how-to information to keep African violets thriving, speakers, demonstrations, slides from National events, etc.

Some 150-200 plants in glorious flower will be part of the two-day display. In addition, there will be an Artistic Design Division and collection of Gesneriads. Gesneriads are the flower-world cousins of the African Violet and include names like gloxinias, episcias and chiritas. African Violets were first found growing wild in Africa in late 1880’s by Baron von Saint Paul, and now technically are called the genus Saintpaulia. They were small, single blue and purple flowers which looked like the wild violet, hence the name “African Violet.” About 20 original species were discovered. Using those few species to hybridize with, plus mutations for a century, give us today’s 40,000+ hybrid varieties in double and trailers and every color: pink, red, blue, white, purple, green, lavender, coral, and even some yellow flecks starting to appear in new varieties. Some of today’s fantastic flowers are as large as three inches across. Leaves come in all colors of green and some have white, cream and even pink variegation which make beautiful patterns.

African violets do very well indoors on window sills and under fluorescent lights on plant stands. Like most houseplants violets like their soil to be damp but can’t survive standing in a saucer of water which makes the roots rot. Wick watering is the secret for most growers. Violets need good, bright light but not hot, direct sun on them. An eastern window is often a perfect place for these charmers. Most large show plants grow under fluorescant lights on plant stands. Sizes of African Violet plants vary from the two-inch miniatures to 20-inch large hybrids. Some of the bigger show plants can have more than 40 flowers at a time. There are also semiminiatures and trailer types to be displayed.

Monthly programs at the Oxford Library teach how to make your own potting soil, how to wick the plants, grooming, starting and potting plants, hybridizing your own varieties, arranging with flowers and much more. Members trade leaves and help each other with their collections. One member has 50 years experience and has judged and shown plants in competitions all over the country.

Everyone is invited to this delightful, family-oriented and free Oakland County event. Sales plants will be available with hundreds of new varieties. There will also be fresh-cut leaves, starter plants, and Gesneriads for sale. Some of the show plant exhibits will also be for sale to the lucky buyers on Sunday afternoon. Sales profits will support the Club’s programs and activities and be shared with the Library for development of their gardening books collection. With Mother’s Day and Easter coming, plan now to surprise someone with one of America’s favorite houseplants. Bring them to see this lovely show.