The Toronto African Violet Society
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Join us on the web at: http://www.bluejasper.com/tavs/
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I
hope everyone has at least one plant
to enter in the show next month.
If you have been following Louise’s suggestions, you should have a show plant
ready to go.
Have you noticed how your indoor
plants have perked up? They sense the
coming spring. Pay close attention to
your violets, if you have a leaf growing
out of place, carefully move it to allow
it to be more symmetrical. A day or two
can make a big difference.
Our Dog show produced several winners. I hate to admit Albert did himself
proud again. He took first place and no
doubt the plant entered by Mae was his
also. Only Albert could produce two
plants with such quality!!!!!!!!
Maybe this is a category that we should
add to our show schedule. We could
call it “What not to do!” or, maybe
“Albert’s corner”
Thanks to all who participated. It was
great fun and also educational as Doris
and her panel of judges critiqued each
plant and suggested ways to grow and
improve them.
There will be a show and tell this month
Don’t be shy, Bring in your best or your worst
plant.
Show it off for everyone to see, or ask what's
wrong with your plant to see what everyone
else thinks..
Our Beginners Corner this month will
be, “Putting it all Together”. This will
be a summary of all of the previous
months that our beginners have had. It
will be a chance to ask your questions
as well. Come about 7 p.m. and we will
— Don Macdonald
President.
have a number of the past presenters there to answer your questions.
This coming month has a number of
flower shows, Spring can’t be too
far away. Canada Blooms, Successful Gardening and The Toronto Gesneriad Society Show at Sherway
Gardens. Get yourself out to one or
more and chase away the winter.
Nothing nicer than standing in a
patch of flowers and smelling
spring.
Enclosed with this newsletter is the
Entry Form. Try and enter some-
Volume 52, Issue 3
March 2009
Points of Interest
 This
month’s speakers will be Ray and
Sharron Morrison,
subject “judge for a
day”
 There
is still time to
get your project plant,
 TBG
Announcement
 Show
time informa-
tion
prat·tle
Noun.
1) Idle or meaningless chatter; babble.
2) A sound suggestive of such chattering; a
babbling noise.
thing. We need to have participation from our members to make our
show a success. Don’t know what
or where to enter a plant? Bring it
along and someone will help you
find a class for it. It is easier for
entries to have a list prior to the
show date. Makes things run a bit
smoother.
We participated in Get a Jump on
Spring at TBG and we had a great
time. There were lots of questions
and an opportunity to promote our
upcoming Violet shows. A very successful day.
Don
Inside this issue:
President’s Prattle
1
February’s Minutes
Project plants
Show and Tell
And the winner is...
2
This month’s guest
speakers
Beginners Corner
Wanted
Letters to the Editor
3
Show time
Pre-Show Activities
4
Upcoming events
TBA Announcement
Meeting Information
5
Your executive and
Newsletter Crew
Wordsearch
6
Page 2
The African Violet Sheet
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
One of our project
plants, the
streptocarpella is
a subgenus of the
Streptocarpus.
See the
Dictionary corner
on page 3.
Would you like to
take a more
active role within
TAVS?
There is always
room for more
hands.
Take a minute to
chat with Don and
ask what you can
do.
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
T
he Meeting was called to order at
7:30pm with 27 people in attendance. Don read the financial statement, and announced that project
plants were also available to members.
There was a change made to the bylaws,
the executive recommended a life membership be made available at 15 times
the current cost of the annual membership fee. Motion made by Sonia Brock,
seconded by Doris Brownlie, carried.
Don announced that starting next September we will no longer have accommodations available at the church for
our meetings. He encourages everyone
to think about where our club could
meet. It should have parking available
as well as TTC access and kitchen facilities.
Doris regretfully announced to the club
that Eleanor Elston’s daughter had
passed away the evening before the
judging school in February; our thoughts
and prayers go out to her.
Doris also reminded everyone that the
gesnariad show is the last weekend in
March and the Lakeshore show is the
last weekend of April, both at Sherway
Gardens.
Louise Cheung announced that AVSA
has approved out show schedule and is
encouraging everyone to enter at least
one plant.
Marilyn Crompton made a motion to
close the meeting at 8pm, seconded by
Louise Cheung, all in favour.
Minutes respectfully submitted by
Deanna Belli, secretary
Don has a number of project plants left
over from last month. If you missed our
February meeting and would like to get
a project plant then make sure you
make our March meeting and pick one
up from Don.. There are two project
plants this year, a miniature sinningia
And a Streptocarpella. Both easy to
grow. The plants are purchased for $1
each and this becomes the prize money
for the best grown plant as judged
by a team of judges.
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 
ant to show off a beauty
or do you have a problem
plant that you don’t know what to do
with. Bring it in to our March meeting
for a group discussion. Don’t be shy, it’s
how we all learn. It’s surprising how
many good ideas can spring forth when
people start to open up and discuss
things in a group fashion.
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I
n last months
newsletter I
asked if anyone
could remember
who won the previous years (2008)
“Dog Show”. Well I
shall have to remember all this for
next year I will be able to just copy this
years articles…. Yep you guessed it….
Albert won again. There were a couple
of other winners as well, just to make
sure that more than one person could
share the glory…
Albert, Albert, Albert.
Volume 52, Issue 3
   
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T
wo well respected show judges and
talented speakers, Sharon and Ray
will share with us some of the intricate
points of being a “Judge for a Day”.
They will show plants and discuss what
judges look for and how they are scored.
Members will then get a chance to try
their own hand at judging.
 
often one of the first major purQ uite
chase for someone just starting to
grow African Violets is the dreaded
“light stand”. We have had a few of our
new members asking for sorces of good
second hand light stands.
If you have, or know anyone else who
has a good solid light stand for sale
please tell Don
so he can pass
on the Information.
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
Streptocarpus
A genus of herbaceous flowering plants
in the family Gesneriaceae, closely related to the genus Saintpaulia. One common name is Cape Primrose, referring to
the nativity of several species to South
Africa and their superficial resemblance
to the genus Primula. The genus is native
to parts of Africa and Madagascar (with
a few odd species in Asia that probably
do not belong in the genus). The plants
often grow on shaded rocky hillsides or
cliffs. About 155 species of Streptocarpus are currently recognized. They are
found growing on the ground, rock crevices. Some species such as S. dunnii are
unifoliate with the plant producing no
true leaves, only a single cotyledon that
continues to grow throughout the life of
Page 3
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T
his month’s Beginners’ Corner will
recap what we have covered so far
this year. If you missed one of the sessions, or if you would just like to recover
some past material that you are not sure
about then be sure to come to this
months meeting bright and early in order
to participate. Maybe you tried some of
the methods that were described in earlier sessions but have not had to much
success, or maybe you have had real
good results and would like to share
those results with the group.
Previous topics in
our Beginners Series
have included such
topics as Potting up
babies and Watering
  
T
his section has been left intentionally blank… Because we don’t have
any… please consider correcting the
situation ;-)
Are you a member of our yahoo group? If not consider joining us online.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TAVS/
 
the plant.
The unifoliate species
are monocarpic and die
after producing seeds.
Other species are perennial and
come into flower during different parts of
the year. . The genus is defined by having
a spirally twisted fruit (hence the name
"streptocarpus"), although this character
is also found in some other Old World genera of Gesneriaceae. Recent phylogenetic
studies strongly suggest that although it
does not have a twisted fruit the genus
Saintpaulia has evolved from within subgenus Streptocarpella.
Page 4
The African Violet Sheet
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
Louise Cheung is
our Show Chair
for the 2009
Annual Toronto
African Violet
Society Show.
April 18-19th
2009
D
remove any leaves that you could decide
on earlier and now it is obvious that it is
not needed for the symmetry.
Below is the rest of the schedule of activities until Show Time:
ear Members,
Hope you’re seeing the same results that I’m having with my plants. The
plants are now filling out and the symmetry should be evening out as you turn
the plants every time it reaches out depending on its location and the light
source.
I will talk about packing your plants at
the next meeting.
If you are using lights, you should be
up to 14 hours per day.
Stop disbudding of doubles and
semi-doubles and star blossoms
Do a final disbud for Singles this
week
Check for suckers and make take
one more look at the symmetry and
The Preshow
Activities table is
based on Louise’s
previous
Disbud singles for the last time. Check for suckers.
Wash foliage.
If the minis/semis are not showing their first flower,
move to a warmer, brighter location and give extra humidity. Some plants may require assistance in the positioning of their bloom stalks ( to avoid a bloom getting
stuck under a leaf).
12-36-14
Identify plants that will go to show and enter into the
show entry form.
Prepare boxes to carry the show plants. Pack tools
needed for the Show.
Minis/semis should look ready for show
12-36-14
12-36-14
04-18
Remove spent blossoms, peduncles, and pedicel stubs.
Check for suckers. Brush away soil particles, etc. Pot
down necks or pot up only if necessary (see “Last minute Potting Tips”).
Again remove spent blossoms, etc. Remove leaf support
rings and foil wrap pots (if required by show schedule).
Place plants in transporting boxes so that the foliage is
supported.
Judging
04-19
Show and Sale
6
03-06
5
03-13
4
03-20
3
03-27
2
04-03
1
04-10
Day 1
04-17
experience and
on the AVSA’s
“Growing for
Show” book
A good addition
to any AV
Enthusiasts
library.
12-36-14
12-36-14
12-36-14
12-36-14
Volume 52, Issue 3
Page 5
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Date
Speaker
Topic
April 18th—19th
At the botanical Gardens
Annual Show and Sale
May 19th
Vincent Woo
To Be Confirmed
June 16th
No Speaker
Awards Dinner
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
TORONTO BOTANICAL GARDEN APPOINTS PAUL
ZAMMIT AS NEW DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE
Toronto - Toronto Botanical Garden is pleased to announce the hiring of Paul Zammit as its new Director of
Horticulture commencing March 1, 2009. Zammit succeeds veteran horticulturist, Cathie Cox, who was instrumental in the conception, development and installation of the newly developed gardens. Zammit will be responsible for the management and future direction of
the gardens and plant collections, along with spearheading the organizations strength in delivering exceptional gardening education to the public.
"We are absolutely delighted to have
Paul joining our team," states Judy Willmott, TBG Acting Executive Director.
The TBG web site can be found at:
http://www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca/
Pail Zsmmit runs his own website at:
http://www.paulzammit.ca/
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Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month from September to May.
They are held at the German United Church which provides us with a centrally
located venue that has ample free parking.
German United Church
20 Glebe Road East
Toronto.
(3 Blocks North of Davisville, east of Yonge St)
7:30 till Approx 10:00pm
Guest Speakers, refreshments, raffle table are commonly on the agenda
If you are interested in attending one of our meetings then please contact us for
more information..
Many of you will
know Paul
Zammit
The press release
from the Toronto
Botanical
Gardens
announced Paul’s
appointment as
Director of
Horticulture.
Page 6
Volume 51, Issue 4
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The Toronto African Violet
Society
President
Don MacDonald
[email protected]
Vice President
Sonia Brock
[email protected]
Treasurer
Jackie Mills
[email protected]
Secretary
Deanna Belli
[email protected]
Directors
Doris Brownlie
[email protected]
Web Site:
http://www.bluejasper.com/tavs/
Dave Blakemore
[email protected]
Email:
Marilyn Crompton
[email protected]
Louise Cheung
[email protected]
Olga Vertlib
[email protected]
Marjorie Jackson
[email protected]
[email protected]
Phone:
Don MacDonald at 416-964-9305
Dave Blakemore at 905-264-1199
The African Violet Sheet
Preamble:
TAVS, The African Violet Sheet,
The newsletter of the Toronto
African Violet Society is put
out on a monthly basis with
the exception of July and Aug.
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The Production Crew
The Production crew wears
many hats. ( especially Sonia )
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Editors, copy setters, writers,
printers and general dog’s bodies: in no particular order your
production crew consists of:
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It is provided to all current
members of TAVS
Contributions:
Contributions and ideas are
always welcomed. For more
information contact;
[email protected]
Dave Blakemore
Don MacDonald
Sonia Brock
And of course, our thanks go
out to our many contributors.
Legalese: Please note that all
materials presented in this
newsletter are copyrighted.
Reuse of the content is only
permitted with expressed permission of TAVS and the content author.
First find all of the words and circle them, then
reading from top left use the unused letters to fill
in the blanks at the bottom of the page.
__ __ __
__
__ __ __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
__ __
□ MINIATURE
□ SEMI
□ LARGE
□ VARIEGATED
□ FRILLED
□ DOUBLE
□ SINGLE
□ STAR
□ FRINGED
□ FANTASY
□ PLAIN
□ CHIMERA
□ SERRATED
□ QUILTED
□ SEMIDOUBLE
□ RUFFLED
□ MEDIUM
□ POINTED
□ SCALLOPED
□ PANSY
Be the first to give the
solution to Dave at the
March Meeting to win.
PLANT ENTRY FORM
Exhibitor’s Name
Address
AVSC Membership Expiry Date:
Exhibitor’s Number
Telephone #
AVSA Membership #:
NYS Membership #:
TAVS Membership Expiry Date:
Plant #
Name Of Plant or Class Title
Class #
Price If For Sale
Complete this form and mail to: Louise Cheung, 48 Kathrose Drive, North York, Ontario M2J3P3
before April 10, 2009. Telephone (416) 496-1699 or E-Mail to: [email protected]
Please retain one copy for yourself and please bring it with you. 20% of the selling price of show
plants will be retained by Toronto African Violet Society.