That's the only company. They come in a mixed assortment of basic colors. People report success in growing them. Joanne

There are also nadeau seeds. That's usually where the eBay vendors get their seeds from as well. I think their seed packets are 'mini' 'fantasy' 'trailers' etc. several people in Facebook have reported success with them.

Personally, I grow my own seeds - more fun ;-p

Karin

How do you grow seeds?

Not sure, but I think Nadeau and Park are the same and "fantasy" is just a name, like "magic" but the flowers are plain single solid colors. there were some discussions on older threads, way back when ... My club members got a seed packet and divided them up and are now growing seedlings. Impressive! Joanne

Thanks, y'all! I bought some from Parks last night. I can't wait to get them! If growing from seeds turns out great, Ill buy some from Nadeau next time.

The Nadeau's seed site http://nadeausafricanvioletseeds.com/ states that they sell to Park, so if you buy from Park you are really getting Nadeau's. Nadeau's also wholesales to other companies as well, and does retail over the internet only. They sell 5 types of seed: Standard (plants that grow to 12"+), miniature (plants growing to 6"), trailers (plants that grow with several crowns), fantasy (plants with "speckled" flowers), and seeds for plants with variegated leaves. The term fantasy is really more than just a name but is actually a technical term used to describe plants that have flowers containing flecks of a contrasting color to the background color. The violet hybrid called Rob's Dust Storm is a good example of this type of flower.

I have grown some seed from Nadeau's in the past and it sprouted quickly and easily. Quickly when talking about violets or any other plants in the family is anything in the 4-6 week range. The plants grow easily for me as well, but I didn't wind up with anything to write home about either. It is fun to see what will grow from those seeds, and as stated above, is a nice AV club activity too.

zzackey, you can grow (hybridize) your own seeds by pollinating your own blossoms and waiting a loooong time :)

pretty much the way it works id just take the pollen sac off one bloom, cut it open and put the pollen on the style of another bloom. cross your fingers and wait six months ;-)

the advantage of the nadeau seeds is that they have "perfected the outcome", so to speak. meaning, they have the experience and records to get a better rate of sprouting, more color variation (if they mix seeds from different pods) probably fewer droppers (blooms that drop off after a short time) etc.

that ends up being more exciting than waiting a year for a bunch of purple droppers (which is what most of my first batch of seeds ever produced, rather than the wide geneva edged pinks i had hoped for - go figure blue/purple is dominant to everything else...)

still, i like doing my own - the anticipation of my own "hybrid" is great :-)

Karin

Karin, Ive tired self pollinating the plants I had, but it never ended up successful for me. Ive always liked the thought of producing new flower color combinations and growing my own seeds. There's nothing more exciting than seeing what color your flower ends up being.

This is my first time planting African violet seeds. Should get them in the next few days :)

Contacted Rob at Violet Barn and he said he can send plants where Im at now. They'll send me a plant crown without soil and roots. Now picking which one I want....