Hi Jane,

FC2 stands for First Class Version 2, a software program that contains descriptions and photos of thousands of registered African Violets. Below is a link with more information. You can do other things with the program, such as add your own information, print labels, do searches for specific features, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: First Class Version 2

AHA!

Wow, thanks for the information Donna! I knew I wasn't "in the know", but now I really know I'm not "in the know", LOL!

Sounds like a great tool for the serious AV collector! I don't think I fall into that category (yet...) but its very neat to find out there is such a program out there.

With all the different hybridizers, patterns and genealogies of the plants, I can see where this would be invaluable.

Good to keep in mind. Thanks!
-Jane

You can purchase this program from AVSA and there are about four updates each year.

Presently there are 17,089 names of plants in the program and many of them have a picture or two to show you what they look like.

I use FC2 every day.

Nancy

WHOA! 17 THOUSAND and Eighty-nine? I guess the blurb on the website about over 15,000 didn't really sink in when I read it the first time - I just went back and read it again, and yeah, that is a heck of a lot!

And, with the exception of species, they're all AVSA registered cultivars? That's amazing. No wonder some of the older varieties are falling out of cultivation. Who could keep them all going? In the Begonia Society, we have a list called Save Our Species, where there is a listing of who is growing which species, since many are threatened in their native habitats. And that's a huge project. I can't imagine keeping track of all the growers of different vintage and new hybrids. It boggles the mind.

One thread about sources mentioned how some of the vendors have particularly large collections of, say, minis, or big flowered standards, etc. I went to the one mentioned for vintage violets, and was AMAZED at some of the dates on hybrids offered. Here I thought the wasp flowers were a fairly recent development, but I guess they've just had a resurgence in popularity. There were hybrids from the mid to late 1960's.

And some of the older varieties are really fabulous!

Gosh, this makes me realize how very little I know. And here I've been growing AVs for a long time, have come to recognize several of the names of hybridizers as I come across the cultivars, and have had the pleasure & opportunity to visit some of the major vendors. But I've barely got my little toe dipped into this vast ocean, *guffaw*!

Now I'm wondering if a friend in the Gesneriad Society is trying to do the same thing for gesneriads. He's got a database of his own started, and is in AVSA, too, so I'm sure he's aware of this FC2 list. Although, he might just be cataloging his own extensive collection.

Wow. Very nice - it looks like its based on FileMaker Pro. I'm very impressed.

-Jane

Hmmm, OK, so maybe not FileMaker Pro, but some other comprehensive contact management software, with a nice interface. And now I know how Fay Wagman made those spiffy labels with pictures of the bloom I saw at the gesneriad convention a few years back!

-Jane

I tried to upload this and something went wrong any suggustions?

Did you purchase it through AVSA? The file you find on a search doesn't load the whole program.

oh yes I bought the CD from AVSA it will not even let me go as far as adding a password...I have v-2 I should not need another CD first should I ?
thanks yall I dont know what I am doing here, I know its scratched son came over and he knows how to do anything with computer stuff and he said its a damaged disc. But I was wondering if there is a first CD?

thanks yall really help me a lot.
bye for now
j.bee's

No, there isn't a first CD - the one they sent you should be all you need. If it's damaged, contact them and ask if they'll send you another one. - Donna