For some people, African violets are a challenge. For Tricia Taylor, they’re a passion.
Tricia, of Kansas City, is a member of the Sho-Me African Violet Club, which is planning its annual show March 29 and 30 at Loose Park.
Tricia’s other passion: Motorcyles. She’s named her motorcycles Agnes, Bob, Gladys, Maxine, and RickeyKay.
So she turns some heads when she shows up to judge an African violet show.
“They don’t know what to think when this woman comes riding up on a motorcycle and says she is there to judge their show,” she says. “Ha!”
Tricia, who moved to Kansas City in 1979, works downtown as a claims authorizer for Social Security.
She began growing African violets in 1977 in Oklahoma when a friend offered her leaves so she could grow her own plants.
Optimara sequoia, a favorite (from optimara.comDue to beginner’s luck it worked,” she says.
Now she has more than 30 years of experience and some worthy tips.
Two major misconceptions: That African violets are hard to grow and that water should not touch the leaves.
“Violets are easy to grow if they get enough of the right conditions,” Tricia says. “Violets can have the dust washed off them under tepid running water. It is best to not get a lot of water in the center (crown) of the plant, however.”
Other tips:
Use a weak fertilizer every time you water. The fertilizer should have the middle number higher than the other two.
DO NOT OVERWATER! Most violets are killed by too much love, which is too much water. They should not be top-watered more than once a week. They can stand to be too dry more than too wet.
Violet roots need lots of air. Therefore, a very light soil including perlite and peat moss is ideal.
They should be grown indoors. Temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees are ideal. Most violets will suffer greatly or even die in an un-airconditioned house in the summer.
Violets need bright light to bloom, but do not do too well in lots of direct sunshine. Growing them under florescent lights is ideal.
As for favorite violets, hers is DEAR TRICIA, hybridized and registered with AVSA (African Violet Society of America). She also likes BIG SURPRISE, which is a red and white chimera. OPTIMARA SEQUOIA is a double purple that grows a very nice, flat plant without her having to do anything.
As soon as she moved here, she called the library and asked where she could find a violet club. She went to the next meeting.
“I wanted to learn more about violets while expanding my collection to many unusual varieties I had never seen before,” she says. “Now I have nine plant stands with three to four shelves per stand.”
Tricia already belonged to two other violet clubs when she joined the Sho-Me African Violet Club because its show was in May, a month when her violets were usually beautiful.
“The show has since been moved to March, but I like the group of people in this club so well that I continue in it,” she says.