Hi, Linda,

You have some of Rob's best growers. Congrats.

In lieu of stripping all flowers and buds and repotting, as an alternative you can isolate them from your other plants, let them bloom, and repot when they are done.

It won't hurt them to recover from their journey a bit before repotting anyway. The key is isolating them. You will still want to do that after repotting.

Good luck.

Barbara

Hi Linda,
As Barbara said isolation is the key even if they aren't in bloom. Keep them away from your collection for at least a month or even two. At one point when I was growing in a basement I would take my new plants to my Mothers house for isolating. It was a bit extreme I admit but I never had a problem because they were 75 miles away. I also hate to disbud but I do it because it is better for the plant in the long run.
Fred in NJ

Hi Barbara and Fred, I have isolated the new plants.....in the bathroom. lol Looks like I'm thru, I'm running out of rooms. But by next Spring I'll be devouring the AV catalogs and websites again looking for that violet or two I can't live without!!. Thank you both very much for taking the time to help me settle in the new plants.

Have been seperating babies from Moms the last few days. It's work (play) I really love; I've been watching these babies since they were tiny mouse ears. Looks to me like the repotted babies are growing much faster than when they were on Mom. Such Fun!!! junebabe, smiles, Linda

I have a very hard time disbudding plants that come with blooms too. My favorite seller is David Thompson. I don't know how he manages to get the plants safe & sound, usually in full bloom, but always with enough to see what it is going to look like when it blooms for me. His plants always seem to do well for me too.

Mary

I've never had a problem with Rob's plants. They always grow like mad for me!

I'm also hoping to make a last minute order. I'm tempted to venture into semi-minis (I only have grown standards so far). What are some semi-minis from Rob's or Lyndon that don't get too big (for a semi-mini)?

In colder climates the rustle of leaves warn us that winter will soon be here. I know some vendors ship in the winter; my only experience with that wasn't good.

Mary, Rob is well known for his miniatures. I have never bought off ebay (I need lessons lol) but I enjoyed looking up David Thompson and will remember your good experiences with him and one of these days I "may embrace" the whole ebay experience and jump right in!!!

Eleven and Gardener, I just watch the description Rob gives by each plant; I haven't a lot of experience watching Rob's minis grow. Right now his Wagga Wagga and Toorooka (ordered earlier) are impressive. His other plants have done well for me too, all except Gillian It has suckered so much, never bloomed....if anyone wants young suckered Gillian plants next Spring, I will have a bunch. I like to order from Lyndon Lyon greenhouse too I ordered the minis, Chantaspring and Lil' Runaround from Lyons' and they have stayed very small.

Dear Friends enjoy your violets, junebabe, smiles, Linda

I've tried quite a few Rob's but there are so many. I thought Love Bite was terrific but then it just "went off" for me. This happened with it and Rob's Shadow Magic and starting over didn't help. They just never grew well again. I now grow Rob's Outer Orbit and Rob's Pewter Bells, although I think that one tends to get a big large if you don't control it.

Sometimes there's not much difference between semis and minis but some I like are Snuggles (easy), Snuggles Little Dreamer, Ness' Crinkle Blue (everyone needs it), Ness' Angel Glitter was always a dependable bloomer, Irish Flirt (green, wht, frilly), gave it to DD and it's doing fine for her, Optimara Rose Quartz - keep throwing it out and it comes back ;), Ness' Satin Rose, Smitten Kitten is small but I like it a lot.

I have a zillion (really) leaves coming on so just stop around in a few months. I have to pitch the extras.

Diana in PA

I loooved Rob's Boolaroo. Once it got big enough, it bloomed all the time, and it was so cute. Unfortunately, I lost it and a bunch of others when I got way too busy to care for them correctly. I haven't managed to replace it, and probably won't anytime soon due to space reasons, but I hope it blooms lots for you! Enjoy!

Just a little update. All the minis that came in the mail from Robs are doing fine. They have been repotted and set up for wicking and seem happy. Also I put down at least 2 leaves from each plant so there may be lots of baby minis by Spring. Thank you everyone that answered my post. This is a wonderful forum.