Story: African Violets
Episode: 3
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
Air Date: 16th March 2024

Trevor heads to the Australian Horticultural Trials Week and checks out some African Violets.

• The Garden Gurus annually sponsor the Australian Horticultural Trials Week event, hosted in Victoria at top nurseries, to rigorously test and showcase new plant breeds for their suitability in Australian home gardens.
• The results of years of breeding excellence are unveiled during this trials week, where the finest genetic specimens are displayed for industry professionals to explore and potentially order for public sale.
• The first stop on this journey is Haar’s Nursery in Somerville, Victoria, renowned for its commitment to innovation, ingenuity, and investment in superior genetics, ensuring high-quality plants for consumers.
• Employing ebb and flow benches, Haar’s Nursery practices efficient and pristine watering methods, allowing water to be absorbed from underneath, minimizing foliage damage, and ensuring water use is recycled, treated, and reused.
• Haar’s Nursery takes pride in its meticulous cultivation of African Violets, a popular and in-demand crop, and the facility's team focuses on producing visually stunning and well-grown African Violets throughout the year to meet customer demand.
• The African Violets thrive in a carefully controlled environment maintained at a constant 22 degrees Celsius and high humidity, ensuring optimal growth conditions for these delicate plants.
• The nursery also closely monitors the pH levels of the growing media for each crop, maintaining acidity to regulate growth, and ensuring a pH reading under 7.0 and adjusts the watering regime with necessary compounds as needed.
• The nursery's collaboration with Dummen Orange further emphasizes the importance of superior genetics in achieving outstanding plant quality.

For more information, head to:
https://www.haarsnursery.com.au/