Mini and Large Violets
Rob and Olive~~
One Happy Life

Oh, the wonder of discovering the personalities behind the faceless names listed behind the variety names of our favorite violets. Oh, the amazement and awe when the incredibly interesting lives of these two famous hybridizers. This editor will never again hold a Rob's mini or a Ma's variegated without feeling very grateful for the efforts of Dr. Ralph ("Rob") Robinson and Olive Ma Robinson.

These dedicated African violet breeders, together, spend their days at work they love. They both freely admit they are living out their dreams: appreciating each other, enjoying the present work, and looking forward to future achievements. Together, they own The Violet Barn, 'though most people know us as 'Rob's Violets', which is our 'mail order' business."

First, a brief summary of the business history: Rob began hybridizing in 1981. His fiirst named varieties were registered with AVSA and sold in 1985, at which time he became AVSA commercial. He sold part-time until 1990 when African violets became his full-time business. Olive owned and operated Violet Fun Greenhouse in Taiwan beginning in 1996. She married Rob (sold Violet Fun) and moved to US in spring of 1998 and joined the business.

"The part-time business started from a studio apartment with a 'walk-in' closet, with plant stands in the closet and in living area, then moved to a larger apartment, then went full-time from a home with a basement (a one-man operation). In 1992 , I moved to Naples, into a 100-year old renovated barn (our current location). Plants were grown in lower level (basement) of the barn. In 1997, an attached glasshouse was added along the east-facing side of the barn. In 1999,we constructed a large working and growing area onto the north side of the barn. In 2002, we constructed another growing area, lobby, soil preparation and storage area, onto the south side. "

"The end result is an operation that, at any given time, has over 20,000 saleable plants (not counting cuttings, immature plants, etc.). Not counting ourselves, we currently employ 4 full-time and 3 part-time, year-round, employees. We sell over 50,000 plants annually to customers in every corner of the world. " The Violet Barn is both a wholesale and a retail business, "though most of our customers are individuals. We specialize in our own African violet and Streptocarpus hybrids, gesneriads, hoya, begonias, miniature plants suitable for container gardens, and other "collectible", unusual, or hard-to-find indoor houseplants. ALL plant material is propagated and grown on premises (we don’t buy and resell). We grow and sell all year-round (this is not a seasonal business), and ship anywhere in the world, at any time, safe-delivery guaranteed." (Below:  Rob's Violets Commercial Table at 2003 AVSA National Convention)

They will be attending the 58th Annual AVSA Convention. "This will be our 21st convention. We’ve exhibited in every one attended, and have had a commercial both in the last 12. We will again be selling in Tucson, as well as exhibiting a fair number of plants."

Rob and Olive were very generous with their detailed answers to our questions and we appreciate the time and effort they devoted to our questions about their business, their violets, and their personal lives. As they describe their cultural methods, we realize we have much to learn about caring for our significantly smaller number of violets.

"About 75% of our plants are grown under artificial light—Gro-lux WS florescent bulbs, on for 13 hrs. per day, 18" above standard violets and other plants in 4" pots or larger, 10-12" above miniature violets and plants in 3" pots or smaller. We use the GLWS bulbs for two reasons: it makes for a more pleasant working environment, and are best at making the plants appear as they would in one’s window. "

"We water three ways. Very young, or very small potted plants, are grown in trays, which we "scoop" water—i.e. we "scoop" a measured amount of water into the trays, so that all the plants in the tray are, in effect, bottom/saucer watered. Most of the more mature plants, including miniature and standard size violets ready for shipping, are grown on "capillary matting". We have large shelves (50 square feet or more) sealed with fiberglass (like a boat) to make them waterproof. Over these, we place (cheap…get them at Wal-Mart) acrylic blankets, that we cut to size. Lastly, some of the largest plants, like the baskets hanging in the glasshouse, the Streps in 5" pots, or our large show and stock plants, we water from the top. A watering wand is attached to the end of 30 feet of rubber surgical tubing (hose), connected to a submersible fountain pump, which sits at the bottom of a 32 gallon tank (on wheels, so it can be moved to where it’s needed). A few, wet-loving, plants (like Gesneria) are in self-watering pots or wick-watered."

"Our water comes from a well and is very alkaline, with a pH between 7.4 and 7.6. To compensate, we add two and one-half tablespoons of distilled white vinegar to every 30 gallons of water. In the summer, we collect the excess water from our air-conditioner (basically distilled water), and use this. On very warm days, we can collect 60 gallons, or more, of water this way."

"All plants are fertilized using one of two formulas: Jack’s (formerly Peter’s) 15-16-17, or Jack’s (formerly Champion) 17-17-17. We fertilize every watering, except on occasion during the summer in the glasshouse when plants are watered very frequently and process a lot of water. Dilution is two and one-half Tbl. Per 30 gal of water. "

"Our soil mix is the following: 3 part Pro-mix BX, 1 part extra-coarse vermiculite, 2 parts coarse vermiculte, with 1 cup of horticultural charcoal per 4 gallons of soil mix. This is the mix we use for virtually all of our plants. The exceptions are our large streps for sale from the shop (for which we use our "wicking" mix which replaces the coarse vermiculite with coarse perlite), and our orchids, which are potted in bark, or a mix of bark and Pro-mix. "

"We grow all plants in an "closed" environment. Windows are never opened (only under the most extreme conditions). All growing areas, including the glasshouse are centrally heated (using oil furnace) and cooled (central air conditioning). Should the electricity be interrupted, we have a generator that can be used to provide emergency power for heating/cooling and minimal lighting. Should the furnace or generator fail, we have wall-mounted propane heaters that will turn on in an emergency."

Pesticide use? "We use them only when necessary, and don’t use them on a preventative basis. Mostly, we try to avoid getting problems in the first place—closed environment, don’t buy plant material for resale, quarantine (always disbud and usually decrown) plants that we do add to our collection and, most importantly, DISCARD into the compost pile any plants that are even suspected of having problems of any kind. We also make it a practice to grow plants only in certain designated areas (standards, minis, streps, begonias, episcias, etc. etc., all have there own areas) and never move or mix plants together. This way, if there is a problem, it stays within a certain small area, and doesn’t’ easily move elsewhere to other plants. Visitors to our shop are also requested to observe these rules!"

" When we do have a problem, we try to treat with non-toxic means first. For example, Neem oil is a great remedy for powdery mildew and minor insect control. We have, on at least one occasion, had virtually all the pests that are common to the plants we grow, and have had to use harsher chemicals. For mites, we’ve used Avid and Talstar. For mealy bug, we’ve used Admire (as a drench), and for thrip we’ve used Conserve (the only effective chemical we’ve found for this). We’ve also used predatory insects on one occasion (for aphids), with success. "

"We can’t emphasize enough that the best approach is a preventative one. Keep things clean!! We are just about the most meticulous, cleanest people you could want to know. Our growing area is usually about as clean as you might ever see among commercial growers. This means: keeping plants groomed (no extra or decaying leaves or blooms), shelves and mats clean (we wipe down shelves and wash mats in bleach and soap every 3-4 weeks), use only sterile soil and ingredients, keep area around plants clean (we have cement floors, even in glasshouse….no gravel or dirt). We also sterilize everything we reuse—plastic pots are soaked and cleaned in a bleach solution. All of our employees are instructed on the importance of being neat, clean, and free of pests. "

How do Rob and Olive choose varieties to propagate? "It must sell well (we’re in business). It must be easy to grow and bloom. If it’s a pretty variety, but it requires too much time/effort to grow, is difficult to ship, or blooms poorly (plants sell best when in bloom), it won’t be selected."

Planning for time of sale is done many months in advance. "For minis, about 9-10 months from time leaf cuttings are rooted (3-4 months from time plantlets are potted from leaf), for standards, about 10-12 months (4-5 months from plantlets). We often remove first set of blooms/buds, so that plants are more developed and in heavier bloom when they are shipped (especially true for minis, which we can more easily ship as mature plants). This means that we are always thinking a year in advance."

We asked how they could possibly know how many of each to grow on: "This is only an educated guess, based upon expected demand and our past experience. We do keep a record of exactly how many plants of each variety are ordered and shipped during the year, and use this as a guideline for what stays on (or is dropped) from the catalog, how much to propagate, etc. As for new varieties (where there is no history), we can only use our best judgement."  (Below:  Ma's Pillowtalk, Olive's entry and winner of Best African Violet in Show, Commercial, Third Best New Cultivar,and Best in Class 80)

Our members were also interested in how Rob and Olive marketed their plants. "About 80% of our sales are through mail-order; another 10% from shows, and about 10% from the shop. Most of the mail-orders are received via our web-site; the remainder we take by phone or receive by mail (in the beginning, they were mostly by mail). We advertise in the African Violet Magazine, The Begonian, Horticulture Magazine, and People Places & Plants Magazine. We also do a lot of self-promotion—we attend a LOT of shows each year (4 local, 3 state/regional, and 2-3 national shows, as well as 2 flower & garden shows). Besides selling at these shows, we make a point of growing a lot of showplants. People want to buy what they see winning awards, or at least want to see what the plant they bought could look like. Growing showplants (and sometimes winning) also leads to a lot of "free publicity", in the way of pictures in magazines, and "how did you grow that?" kind of questions. "

"Of course, success breeds success and leads to more publicity—newspapers, magazines, television, etc. We’ve gotten a lot of publicity through our appearances in local television programs, and both our plants and ourselves appearing a number of times with Martha Stewart on her program. We’ve also appeared a few time in Martha’s Living magazine, and have given a number of interviews for newspapers across the country. We also do a lot of educational work, like lectures a violet clubs and conventions. We also make our shop available to local garden clubs for meetings and tours, and host two meetings each year of the local gesneriad club. Lastly, we (irregularly) publish our own small magazine, VioletsFun, which is done more for our (and our reader’s) enjoyment but, nevertheless, makes our customers feel more familiar with us."

"In a nutshell, success in this business depends greatly upon reputation and presentation—sell and show only the best plants, grown to perfection, and provide fast, reliable, service. Word of mouth and reputation are priceless commodities. "

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