GROWING LARGE SHOW PLANTS
by Nancy Robitaille

The following is an article about Therese Decelles that was first printed in Chatter 1987.  Her husband, Yvon Decelles, hybridized some beautiful varieties which his wife would grow to Show.  Although Yvon is gone, his beautiful plants are still being grown.  Therese, having remarried, is no longer growing these beautiful violets, but we thought you all would enjoy looking back to when she dominated the Shows she entered with these amazing plants!

Photos copyright © of Therese Decelles

Decelles' Fascination

At the March 9, 1987 AVSGM meeting, Therese Decelles told her ‘secrets’ of growing large show plants.  She is one of the best growers in Canada.  She won Queen of Show in the 1984 AVSC National Convention in Montreal with ‘Anna Kreek.’  She entered three ‘Canadian Moonlites’ (at left) in various classes of the show and won Best variegate as well as other prizes in the same convention.  In the recent AVSC Convention Show, Therese carried away many of the awards including Queen of Show.

Therese Decelles likes variegates best of all African violets.  She recently repotted 100 plants into 6 inch pots.  She mentioned that girl leaf varieties are hard to grow.

Mme Decelles said that the first thing a grower must do is to choose a plant that has a possibility to grow large and the plant must have a natural symmetry (leaves are formed in a wheel by themselves.)  It takes one year to get a 21 inch plant and to do so for next year’s show the plant should be already in a 2 ½ inch pot.

Decelles' Triomphe

Therese’s method of growing those huge plants is to take that plant that has overgrown a 2 ½ inch pot and repot it in a 4 inch pot.  She always dates the pots when they have been repotted.  She uses AZ pots (Azalia pots) which seem flatter on the bottom, thus the plants are closer to their water source.  She waters from the bottom only because many of her plants are so large and the leaves grow overlapping and close together so she can not water by the top to the soil.  She does not have fertilizer salts build-up because she repots them so often.

The plant that has been transferred to the 4 inch pot stays there for 6 months.  This is why dates on the pot are necessary.

A partial disbudding means cutting each flower stem to ¼  inch leaving a stub so as not to upset the buds forming directly on each side of the stem.  This type of disbudding Therese uses constantly so that none of her plants in 6 inch pots has more than one flower stem blooming at any time during the year. Her plants in 4 inch pots have blooms so there is some color in her plant room.  Therese says that if you let the plants come into bloom, it breaks symmetry.  She reminds us to remove baby leaves.  She sticks white pieces of paper on baby leaves so she will remember to take them off as necessary.

Decelles' Romance

Therese repots her plants any time of the year.  When plants are in a 2 ½ inch pot they must be watered carefully so they do not dry out.  When the 2 ½ inch is transferred to a 4 inch pot, Therese does not water as often because the larger pot will not let the plants go so dried out as the 2 ½ inch.  She simply puts the 4 inch potted plant into water for 5-10 minutes.  (An hour in the water would not hurt plants—but longer is not advised.)

Mme Decelles uses Cool White/Gro Lux for vision—not for the plant, simply because it makes them look nicer under the lights.  She turns all plants under the lights so that they are evenly lighted.  During the year, she has lights on for 12 hours, but she increases to 14 hours before show.

Fertilizers are 12-36-14, 15-30-15, Superthrive, Sturdy—all used one quarter teaspoon to a gallon of warm water each week.  She waters her plants weekly and every fifth week, she waters with clear water.  But as previously mentioned, since her 21 inch plants are too heavy and too large to hold and since the leaves are too thickly overlapped, she can not water by the top.

Therese Decelles does not use wicks or Texas Style.  She does not often keep plants after show.  They are in such great demand that she doesn’t bother to bring them home; she simply sells all of them, knowing that at home there are hundreds of plants in 4 inch pots ready to be transplanted into 6 inch pots for next year’s show.

Decelles' Papillon

 Occasionally, after a show, Therese will keep a special plant because she can’t part with it or because she is not sure if there are others like it a home.  In this case, she takes off a row of leaves, scrapes the neck, and repots the plant.  Her plant room has enough humidity that is it not necessary to mist.  Her husband sprays pesticides occasionally,usually once a month (Malathion) for prevention.

Suckering is always a problem when plants are disbudded for long lengths of time.  She has noticed many suckers at soil level this time of year (March.)  She even had one sucker with a bloom!

If you disbud for long lengths of time, let some of the stems come in to see if the plant is true (same color as hybridizer lists to variety.)

Large ring supports are valuable, Therese recommends.  She starts disbudding all show plants at the end of September, then stops disbudding all doubles eight weeks before show; all singles six weeks before show.

Naturally, Therese says, if your plant room is cool, you must give a longer time for blooms to come in.  And contrarily, if your plant room is quite warm, you must adjust the above schedule.

Therese cleans plants by holding them under water, by brushing with a man’s shaving brush or long handled painter’s brush.  (Do not use harsh bristled brushes which will damage leaves.)  Just before show, Therese waters with Sturdy, one teaspoon to one gallon water.

You may be sure that if you follow Therese Decelles’ method of growing large plants, you should have great success at the next show.

Wouldn't we all like to have row upon row of african violets, all capable of winning Best in Show, just sitting on our shelves at home.

 
Just a few of Therese Decelles' Plant Shelves