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News Letter 
August, 1951 
Hey there! 
Am going to abbreviate to save space, and in 
the meantime, you all, tell your violets to behave 
for a couple of months ’til we get caught up with 
all the back Q’s. 
Q. ...nice looking plants don’t bloom. (Tak- 
ing care of roughly a dozen queries right here). 
A. Possible trouble: not enough light. Soil too 
rich in nitrate. Try more sand in potting mixture 
and bone meal instead of manure or other nitrogen 
rich fertilizers. ; 
Q. .... scrawny plants don’t bloom. 
A. Possible trouble: Not enough light. Soil 
texture probably too heavy. Violet root system de- 
licate. Needs loose loamy quality soil. Beware of 
clay types that gum up. Add sand and/or peat. 
Q. How do you start violet leaves? 
A. Cut stem about 1% inches long. Longer 
the stem, the longer it takes to root. Allow cut to 
heal (lose slick look) about fifteen minutes. Put in 
water or damp sand or vermiculite. If in water, al- 
low roots to form ONLY. If you leave the leaf there 
until plant grows at end of stem you're in for 
trouble when you shift it to soil. If using sand or 
vermiculite leave it there as long as you want. Be- 
gin feeding mild Hyponex solution as soon as 
leaves appear at surface. You can shift to soil any 
time the notion strikes you or leave it in sand or 
vermiculite indefinitely. But you have to feed it. 
Q. Name of violet, very deep blue, with white 
edge on flower? 
A. Lady Geneva. 
__Q. Name of a violet which sends out a stem 
with four or five leaves at the ends. Blooms come 
from among those leaves. 
A. You have what is euphemistically called a 
“hanging basket” plant. Ruffles frequently does 
this, but it has been known to happen on nearly 
all varieties, particularly on those which form lit- 
tle secondary leaves on the bloom stalk. Like leaf 
variegation, it seems to happen in isolated plants. 
The tendency doesn’t propagate true, either by cut- 
tings or seed. 
Copyright, August, 1951, Russell Gray 
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