Ba-Ba-Ba, Ba-Barbara II
I got this little bloomer in a twofer pot. There were two violets blooming in the same pot so I got two for one. Which makes me almost want to think that the other one (Juliana) may be a sport of Barbara II. If not, then these two were accidentally planted together. The specks on this are diatomaceous earth that puffed out of the container a little too condensed.
Either way, it worked out great for me. I got two beautiful violets for the price of one! And this one is a profuse bloomer. It's one of the best bloomers I have. Actually, the other one is too. Both of them go crazy with blooms.
The first time it bloomed after the first flush of flowers were gone, it had thrips!!! Oh no! So I did what they recommend and plucked about a hundred buds off of it, treated it and waited for the next flush of blooms. Thrips again! It seems thrips love dark purple flowers since they do not bother the other one that came in the pot with it.
This time I did NOT pick off about a gazillion buds, I was determined to see them all bloom this time. Apparently picking them off last time didn't kill those thrips after all. So I'll be danged if I'm going to do it again. This time I treated them with systemic imidacloprid (like before) and sprayed every 3-5 days with neem oil (like before) but this time I also puffed diatomaceous earth all over the plant and inside the flowers AND I sprayed a little permethrin in the soil. I guess I'll have to do this every time it blooms. Oh well.
I refuse to let those thrip take over my blooms. With each drenching of neem spray, the powder gets washed down into the soil and my theory is - eventually all the thrips will die. But I have a feeling that I will be treating all my dark purple violets like this each time they bloom anyway.
And that's O K with me as long as I get to enjoy the blooms, I can isolate and keep them at bay. I'm going to get to see all those blooms. Drat you thrips!!!
Either way, it worked out great for me. I got two beautiful violets for the price of one! And this one is a profuse bloomer. It's one of the best bloomers I have. Actually, the other one is too. Both of them go crazy with blooms.
The first time it bloomed after the first flush of flowers were gone, it had thrips!!! Oh no! So I did what they recommend and plucked about a hundred buds off of it, treated it and waited for the next flush of blooms. Thrips again! It seems thrips love dark purple flowers since they do not bother the other one that came in the pot with it.
This time I did NOT pick off about a gazillion buds, I was determined to see them all bloom this time. Apparently picking them off last time didn't kill those thrips after all. So I'll be danged if I'm going to do it again. This time I treated them with systemic imidacloprid (like before) and sprayed every 3-5 days with neem oil (like before) but this time I also puffed diatomaceous earth all over the plant and inside the flowers AND I sprayed a little permethrin in the soil. I guess I'll have to do this every time it blooms. Oh well.
I refuse to let those thrip take over my blooms. With each drenching of neem spray, the powder gets washed down into the soil and my theory is - eventually all the thrips will die. But I have a feeling that I will be treating all my dark purple violets like this each time they bloom anyway.
And that's O K with me as long as I get to enjoy the blooms, I can isolate and keep them at bay. I'm going to get to see all those blooms. Drat you thrips!!!
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