Biography of Nancy Robitaille

Nancy Robitaille received her bachelor's of music from University of Texas in El Paso and began her professional musical career with North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, in Quebec City Symphony Orchestra and the well-known Montreal Sympnony Orchestra.

On retirement from her musical life in 1980, Nancy took up growing and showing of African violets and other gesneriads, introduced to her by her mother. Together they attended many African Violet Society of America conventions.

Nancy Robitaille became a member of AVSA in 1980 as well as becoming a member and has spoken often before African Violet Society of Greater Montreal, Société Saintpaulia de Montréal, African Violet Society of Longueuil and African Violet Society of Canada.

Her plant room is the largest room in her home and it contains 6 light stands with hundreds of plants. She has over 125 different varieties of standard plants and over 50 varieties of minis and semi minis. The room also contains various "other" gesneriads.

Nancy Robitaille has studied entomology and horticulture with Jardin Botanique in Montreal where her special interest in insects developed. Using her experience as a writer, Nancy wrote her first book, INSECTS, PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE AFRICAN VIOLET FAMILY in 2005. Her articles have appeared in HORTICULTURE, AFRICAN VIOLET MAGAZINE, CHATTER, LA VIOLETRE, and other publications. She has also had a number of short stories published.

As a commercial member of AVSA and AVSC, Nancy sells leaves and plants on Ebay and from her home as well as at the convention Reunion Horticulture each year in Montreal.

Nancy has begun to dabble in genetics and hybridizing and has produced a few very interesting semi miniature African violets, one named BELLE STARR. She has developed a streptocarpus of orange hue called ORANGE JULEP and has several episcia seedlings which are developing into interesting specimens, one called GREEN THING and another, No. 2, as yet unnamed.

Some of the articles printed in various magazines are: A STUDY ON VARIEGATED VIOLETS, EPISCIAS WITH PINK VARIEGATION, CULTLURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EPISCIAS, TRAILING AFRICAN VIOLETS, LIGHT AND THE AFRICAN VIOLET, SHOWING MINIS AND SEMI MINI AFRICAN VIOLETS, SOIL MEALY BUGS, CYCLAMEN MITE, THOSE EVASIVE FUNGUS GNATS, and many other articles.

Mrs Robitaille is monitor of two forums

African violet insects
http://tech.ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/africanvioletinsects

Canadian African Violet Exchange
http://tech.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/Canadianavx

Mrs Robitaille has won BEST OF SHOW with PIXIE BLUE, a trailer in the national convention of AVSC. She has won the trophy of BEST MINIATURE with Lucky Lass. Many Best in Class ribbons decorate her large plant room which contains six light stands. Her isolation stand is in another room.

INSECTS, PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE AFRICAN VIOLET was written because Nancy felt there was a need in the African Violet world to have a single volume with all the information on all insects, pests and diseases. This book is chock full of black and white illustrations and pictures and features 24 color pages of beautiful African violets in show perfection. It gives the grower a choice of three ways to combat the insects and pests of African violets.