I EARN $20 AN HOUR...RAISING VIOLETS

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STARTER PLANTS

Did you know that a plant can be patented? Well it can, and the very best African violets sold by firms such as George J. Ball, Inc. (P.O. Box 335, West Chicago, Illinois 60185, telephone 312-231-3500), are all patented. This means that before one of these companies will sell you any of its patented e starts, you will be required to sign an agreement which states that you will not propagate any new plants from the starters in sends you.

It's all rightin other wordsfor you to buy these patented starts, raise them up, and then sell them ... but it's definitely not all right for you to buy the patented starts, raise them, start more plants from leaf cuttings taken from the original starts, and then sell the propsgated plants.

If this restriction cramps your style too much, you'll be better off dealing with commercial suppliers of unpatented African violets. There are severalincluding Fisher Greenhouses, Linwood, N.J. 08371 and Tinarl Greenhouses, 2325 Valley Rd., Box 190, Huntington Valley, Pa. 19006and you should have no trouble finding a source of unpatented starts that you enjoy dealing with.

And if you're launching your new business on real shoestring, there's a lot to be said for growing your original "mother" plants from leaf cuttings taken from a friend's favorite unpatented African violet ... cultivating the parent stock ... and then propagating a regular supply of starts from their leaves. You'll spend a little more time getting your enterprise rolling this way . . . but a lot less money. And, once you are underway, you'll always make more profit on any plant you sell that you propagated yourself (for free) instead of bought from a supplier.

But let's say that you can afford to buy your first starts and you want to get into the African violet business as quickly and as easily as possible. Contact the supplier of your choice for current availability and prices of starts (the going price, by the wayat least for patented varietiesincludes a colorful plastic name tag for each little plant). You will usually have to cover any shipping charges yourself, too, so make sure you know what it's going to cost to get the starts to you. (Air Express is the most expensive way to transport the plants. Truck and/or rail delivery is less costly and generally quite satisfactory.)

WHEN TO ORDER YOUR STARTS

FACT ONE: The best time to sell blooming African violets is just before a holiday. (A fall, winter, or spring holiday. A certain number of the flowers can be sold during the summer too, of course, but not as many as will move during the other three seasons.) The best holidays of all for violet sales, I've found, are Christmas (red and white blooms), Valentine's Day (red, white, and pink)

Mother's Day (all colors), and Memorial Day (all colors). The heaviest buying of plants usually begins about one to two weeks before the actual holiday, and continues right up to the last possible moment. Some forgetful people even make their purchases after the Big Event.

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