I was wondering that too, then came up with the theory that trailers probably grow a bit leggier than minis. Will get some this year if i can :-)
i like using the suckers for extra plants, so i haven't let them 'go' as it were.

Hi, I learned about this from older posts by Irina. I got an Optimara mini called Little Hopi Girl II that made three crowns but did not bloom again. I divided one of these plants into three but gave them to my club. Fit the other plant, I divided its 3 crowns 3 weeks ago. All three took, including one that had no roots. The biggest one is now in bud. From that, I concluded it needed to be single crown. I am going to my club on Sat so p
perhaps I will find out how the other minis are growing. I think Optimaras might have a tendency to form multiple crowns
, which I believe is a trait of trailers. So perhaps their minis have the same trait. I had two trailers. I could not control them, they went all over. I gave both away. The book Growing to Show by Pauline Bartholomew describes two types if trailers, one clumping, the other more vining. The O minis are examples of clumping. The two small standard NOIDS I had were vining. One had small pink double blossoms, but just a few. The other had small light purple single blooms scattered throughout, but not a lot.
They needed a lot of window or shelf and
needed to be high up. They were very leggy. The true trailers were spliced with a gene from another species. Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Thu, Mar 20, 14 at 16:31

A plant's classification is decided by the hybridizer. When plants are registered they are identified as standard, semi, mini, or trailer by its breeder guided by the way the plant grows for him/her. The plant may not grow as classified for everyone who grows it.

This is one reason some plants make good show plants and some do not. A plant that does not grow as registered for most growers will not make a good show plant as it must be forced to conform to its standard.

Minis have trailers in their lineage. This is why most minis sucker profusely. I have an 'Aca's Blizzard Bunny' that refuses to be kept to a single crown. I divide it and the next day it is very multi-crowned. In a situation like this, it is best to let the plant do what it wants. You won't win this battle.

Linda

Does your plant bloom well that way and does it look like a trailer?

Cetainly not all minis sucker so much. When I was redoing my neglected plants, the only one that was suckering was a girl-leafed "mini." Well, that seemed likely since this plant had had a sucker so large that I couldn't tell which was the plant and which was the sucker so I'd potted them both. Now comes the bad part: It was one of my few unmarked ones and it's Fantasy Girl. It's a vintage one and it's supposed to be a standard.

Smitten Kitten hasn't suckered and it's a truly small mini. I've had a sport of Misty Miss and that didn't sucker nor did Baby Moonbeam. None of my semis suckered either. Now some of these are Pittman plants and maybe that has something to do with it.

If I recall correctly, some of Rob's can be sucker factories, at least until they get going.

Linda,
Maybe that it is why I had problems finding Aly's Blizzard Bunny. i lost my little semi white NOID and needed a replacement. It looked like a nice little plant but wasn't carried many places.

Diana

I agree with Diana, most of my mini violets from robs do sucker a lot. Come to think of it so do some of my semi minis from robs. Its like when I see a sucker on a plant, I'll think " this has to be a robs" and yes it turns out it is. I thought I was the only one experiencing this and I was doing something wrong.

Cooks.

Aviolet,

My ABB blooms well but does not look like a trailer. It looks like a multi-crowned mini. It is rather small.

I also have a few micro's only one of which is single crown.

As noted, some minis and semis do not sucker much, if at all. These are the ones that do well as show plants, (depending on bloom) as they do not need to be tortured into sticking to the standard. My ABB would never be entered into a show because it just does not want to conform.

Personally, I think violets hybridized by commercial growers have a tendency to sucker more than those grown by home growers. One of the reasons plants sucker is stress. Commercial growers grow out their plants in a greenhouse: perfect conditions-light, water, humidity, etc. The plants are hot-house babies who have a difficult time adjusting to home conditions. They get stressed by less than ideal conditions and throw suckers. A hybridizer who is growing in her basement is going to produce plants that are tougher and used to less than ideal conditions. These conditions do not stress them into throwing out copious amounts of suckers.

It would be an interesting experiment to see if this follows true.

Suckering is also in a plant's genetics. How much of the trailer gene a plant carries and whether it is expressing itself will both have an influence.

Linda

Of course, my Ramblin' Lassie and Pixie Blue aren't suckering either and they are supposed to be trailers :). Ramblin' Lassie has never been much of a rambler.

I keep forgetting my semis that are in the other windows. There's been no suckering on them either - mostly Lyons - Snuggles, Snuggles Little Dreamer, Ice Storm, Ness's Crinkle Blue. I think I got them all. Pixie Blue does have a few little ones.

Cooks,

I do think I've seen others say that Rob's sucker over the years. It may not be all of them for he has put out so many varieties. I grew some and but don't recall the details.

Diana

This post was edited by quimoi on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 14:57

Linda, Just to clarify, are you saying that if a sucker is removed at home to start a new plant, or a multiple crown divided, or a leaf started, the resulting new plants might be less likely to sucker because they are acclimated to a different environment? (Normally, I don't grow out the new plants for a long enough time to observe. I usually give them away before they reach that point.) Here is a question related to that. I had a theory that leaves from plants that are likely to sucker will produce multiple babies. That might be more of a genetics consideration.)
@ Diana, Is Ness Crinkle Blue more blue than violet in color? Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 15:50

There are a ton of photos of this one. Mine hasn't rebloomed yet although it has buds. I'd say it is a blue. I think it's on the best varieties list but could be mistaken. It's been there though.

Diana

Diana, Thanks, I was just thinking to look it up!
And I did, it is beautiful. Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 19:33

Joanne,

Sometimes a violet that is started again through a generation or so will adapt to your conditions. Some are just fussy varieties and never will.

I have never noticed or read about sucker-prone plants producing more babies. It would be interesting to follow some leaves while rooting and see what happens. What I have noticed is that the larger the leaf, the fewer babies it produces. It seems kind of backward but for me that is usually what happens.

Linda

Linda and Cooks, Good advice! Thanks, Joanne