Excuse me, I said they both have white and purple blooms. That is not correct: Festival is white and pink and Muskaan is white and fuscia - but the photos are not too dissimilar so depending on how they grow in my conditions may or may not be an identifier.
The other thing I just thought of is that the mother leaf did NOT have a bustle back. So could these be a sport? I only kept the two healthiest babies from the leaf when I separated them and I didn't notice these bustles at potting time - just seeing them now.
Anne

What are bustle back leaves?

Thanks!
Best,
Judy

Judy,
Don't blame you for asking - I'd never seen one before either, just read about them. Try this link below for a photo and description. (You'll need to use the slide bar on the left of your screen to scroll down through the different photos of leaf types. The bustle back is not too far down...viewed from it's back side (of course!) ;-)

Anne

Here is a link that might be useful: AV bustle back leaf

Oh odd! Is this like a sucker, Anne?
Am I to understand this correctly as that these are regular leaf shapes for AVSs, that aren't caused by mites or other things>

Thanks so much for the education!
Best,
Judy

Bustle Back leaves are not from mites or disease, but a mutation found on AVs with the wasp shaped blossom. Some varieties have the wasp blossom but not the bustle back leaf. But the bustle back leaf is only found on the wasps, if I recall correctly.

Lennie

Judy,

Bustles are not suckers. They are normal leaves on some varieties of violets. The plants with this foliage never became as popular as other leaf-types as they do not grow as shapely as the other foliage types. Therefore many did not grow these types for show. If you look at the schedules for violet shows, there is usually a separate category for bustle back violets.

Here is a good picture from AVSE.

Linda

On the video podcasts on the website "All About African Violets" by "Annie" are several interesting interviews with Jeff Smith, a hybridizer. In two of the interviews, Annie goes to his house and takes a tour of his personal collections. He has one collection of unusual species and
other plants including a number of bustle-backs. You could probably find the interviews either on her website or using Google search. Joanne

I haven't grown either plant you mention, but it seems that most likely you were sent Morgan's Muskaan. The two hybrids are otherwise so similar that it would be easy to mix them up. The best way to know would be to contact Bloomlovers and send a picture to them.

Blue Tail Fly is a good example of a bustle-back variety. They have an extra little curved leaf growing below the big leaf at the back. I guess you either love them or not.

It seems to me that what Linda was selling as listed as Morgan's Festival (sport) although maybe you bought something else. Mine has had plain leaves so far, no blossoms. Morgan's are newer varieties so it could be mislabeled or maybe it did revert or sport. Wait for a bloom.

There is a FB group for Wasps (and some other things). Maybe they could help.

Diana

Yes, I will have to make time to get a good photo of these baby plants and email them to Bloomlovers and see if she can tell me what I've got here. I don't know how long it will be before they bloom as the plants were just separated from mama recently - they're still pretty small.
That's one of the things I love about AV's - there is so much variety! Used to be I only looked at the blooms, but now I choose my new acquisitions as much for their leaves as I do the blossoms. :-)

For some reason I was thinking Bloomin' Jungle instead of Bloomlovers. I think I have a leaf of Morgan's Muskaan from BL but it just came recently. The Morgan's Festival (sport) from BJ is ready to bloom and looks like it's going to be on the purple side - no bustles there.

Diana

Thanks, Diana. I don't "do" Facebook, so I can't check out that group who might know more about the wasp type AV's. But thank you for checking your Morgan's Festival to see if there were bustles. That's what I thought - that it did not have them.

So I get that M.Festival is a sport...but is it a sport of Morgan's Muskaan do you know?

Hi, It is possible to view Facebook without having to join it.
Some of them are public. You might have to find out the name of the FB, perhaps Google search can help. Joanne

What I bought from Bloomin' Jungle was listed as Morgan's Festival (sport) but Bloomlovers has photographs of Morgan's Festival and it appears to have no bustles. I guess BJ is selling a sport of Morgan's Festival. MF isn't listed in FC2.

The sport hasn't bloomed yet but has blossoms and looks like it will be purple. (Edit) The sport has bloomed and I'm not sure this was one of my better purchases. I tracked down the original listing and this is what it says: (The auction says Morgan's Festival Sport)

"Morgan's Festival (C Eros) White wasp. (most photos purple) Medium green. Semiminiature this one is purple with some white edge and reverse"

The plant is rather large and the blossom is just a regular wasp and it's red-violet, just plain red-violet. It doesn't look at all like the Morgan's Festival on Bloomlover's. It looks more like it reverted to something.

I will try to track down the leaf of Morgan's Muskaan when I am poking around in them. I seem to forget that they grow up when I order leaves. Bloomlovers has a photo but it's not so great.

Diana

This post was edited by quimoi on Wed, Oct 22, 14 at 18:11

morgan's festival is not a sport of muskaan, it is a semi double bustle back wasp which is a purple and white thumbprint. they both come from the same seedpod. but are very different in appearance. for example: morgan's muskaan is more upright where as festival is more well behaved and lays a bit flatter and symetrical.

Thanks, Carol. I recently acquired what was called Morgan's Festival also. Mine has not flowered yet but is VERY upright and leggy with a bustle leaf. It is currently 6" tall and the leaves grow almost straight up. It has a single bustle leaf that appears to fold itself in half under each leaf. Very interesting and pretty plant. i like unique. But after reading some of these posts, I'm wondering if i was given the morgan's muskaan?

If you live in the usa or canada I will send you leaves.