For some reason, Houzz is not letting me edit my own post above. Here is the update on the potting project. I found some intermediate size pots a little larger than 2 1/2" for plants not yet ready for 4". I am testing them out. Also found a brand named Fiskar that makes high quality 4" pots that resemble clay pots. They are rigid, heavier than the green plastic. They look good. But the green plastic seems to work best.

I moved all the plants out of the bedroom. We would wake up during the night sneezing. It is allergy season here. Moving the plants out stopped the sneezing. At night, plants suck the oxygen out of the air. During the day, they exhale oxygen. When I read that, I thought it would help with our breathing difficulties to move the plants out.

Am also repotting some Optimaras into better quality potting mix. It is sometimes hard to tell what are roots and what is the Optimara peat. It all seems to clump together with the roots hard to see.

Some Optimaras have strong roots, others are smaller with fewer of them.

What on earth is the mystery plant? I have two Witch Doctors now. Did you use epsom salts on Watermelon Snow? I've never grown that one although it looks beautiful but that probably explains what happened to the variegation or else it's conditions. Always the conditions. I'm looking at 6 stupid Edee's Rosebud Trails that were supposed to be one ERT and none show variegation. Toss 3? Pot 3 together? Put them in the fridge? I don't need 4 ERT either.

Pots are disappearing. I don't know what's happening to them. My sources seem to have fewer sizes each time I've looked.

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/flowers.asp

We have the plants in the bedroom. It seems that they don't take away very much oxygen. Of course the soil could be causing some of the allergy issues. I wondered if that were really true. Sort of, I guess. Just keep the nurses out though :) My aunt always said as long as you stayed away from the doctors you were okay. I guess she had a point there. She lived to be 98. Her obituary called her a "flower girl." (I had to look for it for her age.)

Diana in PA

So cute! (Snopes article) come to think of it, i used to have a few live white roses in the BR, they did not seem to bother me.

Another I had was Old Fashioned Love that I finally mastered after killing at least 2 or 3.

I agree with your aunt.

I once had a trailer that looked like it had rose buds. Although it was not the one you have. I separated all the crowns into separate pots and a friend brought them all to a senior lunch center. where her mom worked There were around 6 including the main crown which also got donated.

Optimara has a new all green flowering plant, My Sensation. It reminds me of the hydrangeas that first open up green but then turn blue or pink. What do you think of it? It doesn't look like I would want it as I like the color contrast of blue or purple flowers on a background of green leaves. I guess people will like it for the novelty of it.

I gave my Rod's Combustible Pigeon some epson salts-less than recommended and the center leave are now mostly green and the edge leaves are mostly white--compared to the top row middle plant. So will this change be permanent?

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2808747/mini-violets-with-no-id?n=19

Good question!

I never heard of Antique Tapestry but I used to want Old Fashioned Love or maybe I wanted Old Fashioned Rose. The second photo of OFL is stunning. Did you try more than one copy of it? Maybe you got a bad one. Antique Tapestry isn't listed as having mosaic foliage. I'm fooling with that again this year.

I like Witch Doctor fine although the leaves are darker and silver. I have wondered if some of the issues people report are due to too much light. Witch Doctor's blooms don't look nice at first but then they open and look all right. Sometimes I wonder what people want a plant to do. It's not a beautifully shaped plant but it's okay and I like the colors. Mine is cupping the pot but it's also in the cold window.
https://flic.kr/p/o8DzSg

I believe I have Hand Picked too and so far it doesn't look like much. I hope it will come around. I had Ellie Gardner before and I may have it now - babies or on a leaf or something. I'm okay with them not needing a lot of attention like Rob's too. There are quite a few that are sort of like rosebuds. I'd like Dresden Doll though. I have too many pink ones but they'll sort out.

I don't much like square pots either and I think those are still available. I have a bunch and use them once in awhile. That's funny. The 2.5" square pots on sale cost more than the 4" azalea pots on sale. I wonder if they are phasing out the round ones? The 3" ones aren't available any more. I thought maybe the square ones fit in those 1020 flats better. They did drop the 2.25" square pots some time ago. I got some 3" round ones elsewhere and they are much flimsier than my old ones.

I haven't seen any of the new Optimaras in real life but I have Frozen in Time and it's not real happy and to tell the truth, I don't like it much. When they had the AVSA slide show on the home page, I liked all the plants and when it get to FIT, I'm like ick. I see they've changed that now. I remember Alliance was really nice. I have Mac's Misty Meadow and it's kind of cute. FIT blooms, it just doesn't do well and I'm trying to get a new one started. I have young plants of mySunshine and one of those should bloom some day though. We'll see how that one goes. I wonder if people will like mySensation in the box stores? I remember when people thought my pothos (variegated) looked sick because it was green and white. They were only used to green plants. I wonder what people will think of a green flower on an african violet. I had the minis pretty much to myself although maybe a few were gone.

Re epsom salts: I think maybe I would repot them. The change shouldn't be permanent but I don't know how long it would last in the soil. Rob's, esp., like being repotted fairly frequently anyway. He says how often and he's not kidding. My old ones can go along forever compared to his.

Diana in PA

Hi, The photo is gorgeous, as are your other photos and plants. thanks for posting the link! I have always liked the color of the blooms in photos. I have Marie Lorraine, that is a color that might be similar. I like it. It is a deep, dark pink, almost a bright red. The leaves are bright green with watermelon veining.

I have ordered at least four or five Old Fashioned Love's over the years. They always perform the same. I used to think it was my haphazard care that they did not grow much. So now I know how to control the variegation by giving them Epsom Salts to green them up a little. Now that I am much more of an AV gardener, and pay attention to the plants, they still perform the same, they just look healthier while expressing their quirky growth pattern. That is the problem with Lyon's showing only one leaf and one blossom. There is no scale and no perspective. But that is how they prefer to show their plants. Catalogues used to be like that years ago. It is simple and economical.

Old Fashioned Rose is a very different plant. It is a mini, a Rob's, with tiny pointed light green leaves and small rose bud blooms. It does not bloom as well as other minis I have of his. Thanks for the tip that Rob's needs repotting and TLC. I repotted it, is is happier.

Yes, there are lots of pink doubles now. The growth pattern on the HandPicked looks more lie a wild flower rather than the typical AV rosette. I like it because it is different, a little understood, which is also ok.

the minis are getting to be quite popular here.

That is what I mean about Antique Tapestry, most people have not heard of it and when they see it, don't like it much. Either the photo or the plant itself. I happen to love it and have no idea why. it appeals to me so much. Maybe my aunt had it years ago.

When I first gave someone a variegated plant, she thought it had a problem. The variegation was uneven, kind of spotty. So I know what you mean!

I think I have always known about variegation, I think we had hosta and some kind of variegated spring bushes, azaleas or rhodies, so I like variegation.

I like the variegation on Witch Doctor, it is like a fine mesh net overlay of color.

My Witch Doctor just decided to send up 2 bloom stalks out of the crown instead of the next leaf! I've never had that happen with a violet. I'm so disappointed! Luckily there's a small sucker near the crown so I removed the bloom stalks and I'm going to try letting the sucker grow in as the new crown. I don't know if it'll straighten up and look ok but my fingers are crossed.

I have heard strange things about Witch Doctor. I don't like the name, so maybe I will water it with Holy Water! Regarding a bloomstalk at the crown, I wonder if that is how the "bouquet" Optimara's grow. I was studying one, trying to see where the blooms come from, as the plant has very few leaves, only about five, with a big burst of bloom. So far, my Witch Doctor is behaving very well. Maybe it is just biding its time before doing something strange. Joanne

Witch Doctor is described as "burgundy" so I don't think it's like Marie Lorraine which says red-coral. That one looks nice and is probably a better overall plant but no mosaic :) I think Witch Doctor is a sort of pink, as opposed to coral or red. It does appreciate being watered.

Old-Fashioned Rose is a lyon's semi. It looks pretty but so many pinks. They have a new one that looks a good bit like it. I'm trying to figure out an order since someone has one I really want.

Thanks for the compliment although I need to try to get some new photos and wish I could take better ones. At least the color came through on WD. I like the combination of the blossom and the leaves. I also like it sitting with Fredette's Sweet Jenny. Matchy, matchy :)

I have to go and take care of the ones I have.

Diana in PA

Thanks! I was just going by the photo. Burgundy will be lovely! I just read an article by Jeff smith in an old AV mag in which he explains what is meant by "coral"--it is an AV term that means a particular sugar that contributes to the appearance of color is MIA. Some people describe Marie Lorraine as red. Anyway, the color is a vivid, deep pink. Sometimes the flower it two-tone, but to my eyes, it looks monochromatic. The leaves are bright green. It is a nice plant. It is a little touchy, as the reds seem to be.

Old Fashioned Rose grows as a mini for me. Maybe I keep it in too small a pot. The leaves are pointy and not fuzzy, they don't look like the typical AV leaves. It is light sensitive.

Fredette's Sweet Jenny in your photos is absolutely stunning. I did admire it. One day, I will remember to track it down. Joanne

Plants do not take oxygen from the air. They take carbon dioxide and give off oxygen while animals do the opposite. Just a factoid for a rainy Wednesday.

Linda

Linda, I had checked Snopes on that because I wondered. However here is another source that says that plants do indeed need some oxygen.

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=760

(I'm not taking them out of the bedroom for fear we'll suffocate though! I let the cat suck our breath out - another old wives' tale)

Joanne,

I like Fredette's Sweet Jenny but it does tend to have weak blossom stems but who cares with all those pretty flowers ;) I really think they do better in the window than under the light. There aren't many of the frilled doubles now and I like them. Often the minis and semis blur together for me. Any time I start saying something is a "funny pink," it's apt to be some coral. Mac's really do look coral to me though.

Diana in PA

Interesting about the macs as i have one that is more of a coral two tone. if I can find it, will post the pic again. Joanne