• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Diseases
    • Plant Profiles
    • Raised Bed Gardening
    • Seed Starting
    • Tools & Equipment
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Me and My Big Mouth!

March 18, 2010 by Jeanne


Ever write an email or a letter, then later realize you came off too strong? I guess I had a hissy a few months ago about an article in County Gardens, a magazine I look forward to each month. The winter issue had a good article about African violets in it, but the authors never mentioned chimeras. I have first hand experience with this. And I guess my annoyance and lovingly tending my violets for over a year to find them all…identical…may have oozed out from my fingertips and through my keyboard.

I’ve got 20 identical dark purple violets as living proof. I took cuttings from my sister’s plants. I know that each cutting survived. Yet even though the parents had pinwheeled and maroon colored flowers, every single blessed one is…deep purple. My favorite rock band, a great color, but I really wanted those pinwheel-flowered ones!

So today I got an email from the author of the article. I am sorry my tone upset you. I know what it’s like to have someone poke at your writing. Oh boy, after 20 years of freelancing – I sure do know it!

The long explanation about why this happens with violets is here, on the Department of Horticulture website from Ohio State University:http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/tisscult/chimeras/valprop/val.html

You can make an identical plant with the pinwheel types, but you need to separate the plants at the crown, not the leaf. Others will propagate true to type from leaves.

So, dear article author and African violet expert: I sincerely apologize for my tone. I can be too strong sometimes too. Please don’t take it to heart. As a fellow writer, I should have been kinder. I just got stuck with 20 identical African violet plants, so I know this to be true…cuttings don’t always produce identical plants. (Exhibit A: yes, today’s picture is one of the nauseatingly identical plants I lovingly cultivated. I’ve got the monocolor thing down pat in my plant room.) And I’d love to have you as a guest blogger if you ever want to share your experience growing prize winning violets. I just love my violets, even if they are all dark purple!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Planting Peas on Saint Patrick’s Day
Next Post: Signs of Spring »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz

    March 19, 2010 at

    You have passion in your writing. You care deeply about your garden, your family, your pets, your faith. That makes you an interesting person and makes your writing interesting too. And it is the passion that sometimes makes us impulsive and “sandpapery”. Bet it was the passion that made you find out why your cuttings turned out like they did.

    Liz

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Substack
  • YouTube

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Three Easy Steps to Improve Garden Soil
  • Beginner’s Tips to Starting a Vegetable Garden
  • What to Plant in Early Spring: Vegetable Garden

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

lettuce growing in a raised bed

What to Plant in Early Spring: Vegetable Garden

What to plant in early spring depends on your gardening zone, but there are many great choices for vegetable gardening that can make your backyard garden productive early in the season. Spring Vegetable Gardening With careful planning, the average backyard gardener in most gardening zones in the United States can grow fresh, organic vegetables throughout…

Read More

green beans on the plant

How to Grow Green Beans Organically

Beans – whether green beans, snap beans, heirloom beans, or any other kind of beans – are easy to grow organically. They need warm temperatures, full sunshine, and fertile soil to grow at their best. While there are insect pests that will eat the leaves of bean plants, they generally don’t harm the beans themselves,…

Read More

a red wheelbarrow filled with mulch with a shovel leaning against it

How to Adjust Soil pH for Vegetable Gardens

How to Test Soil pH If you slept through high school chemistry class, never fear. You can still learn the basics of soil pH for vegetables to ensure a great garden this year. pH refers to the scale of acid to alkaline, a scale developed in the early 20th century by chemists trying to describe…

Read More

polyphemus moth caterpillar

Meet a Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar

We were on our evening walk last night when this beauty crossed our path: a polyphemus moth caterpillar. What Is the Polymphemus Moth? The Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is a large and visually striking moth native to North America. It belongs to the Saturniidae family, which includes many of the giant silk moths. Its name…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme