OTOH ... Optimara may be your best chance to get close to what you had before ...

Optimaras are typically available in your local grocers, big box hardware stores (I.e. LOWES, HOME DEPOT), ... or florists shops. Or ... if you could find a local nursery for house plants, they may have what you're looking for. I used to visit such a place on my trips to Chicago.

Finally, you can find a number of violet offerings at Optimara's online varieties page ...

http://www.myviolet.com/varieties

Most of these offerings will ONLY be available as LEAVES which you would have to propagate and grow into a mature plant, but it can be done.

There is a lot of information on the internet about propagating African Violets. It's not that hard to do if your conditions are right ... and you follow the given advice.

I have tried several I have seen at the grocery and big box stores. They don't seem to be a hardy as this one was. I grew it from a start from my grandmother, but we moved in January 300 miles and it was very cold that year and it didn't make it. Thanks, I will look for the Optimara brand.

Sherry, wow, Aegis gave great tips! Optimara is what is usually sold in big box stores or your local nursery as they "own" the retail markets. Anything else has to be Mail ordered. Rebecca that is posted above is close to royal blue. If you want more if a deep Violet purple, go to my violets and look at some of the darker ones, Texas and Wisconsin come to mind. But there are at least six in your color range. In the 1970s tap water was not treated with the same chemicals as today. You must use water that is free of chloramine. Many people use bottled spring water. Even if you have a water filter, the water is not good. If you buy from a BBS, allow the plant a few months and at least one more bloom cycle before evaluating it.

optimara is your best bet for trying to recapture that Violet of your memories. BBS almost always have Violet-purple plants because that is most popular. But for a selection, look at MyViolet on the optimara website then order a few assorted ones of your choice from Selective Gardener. Joanne

I saw the chloramine mentioned in another post. I bet that is why I have been having problems no matter what I do.I have a small fish tank and I treat the water with a chlorine and chloramine remover. Can that water be used for violets or should I buy the spring water? Of course in the mid 1970's it was straight out of the tap, which is what I have been doing now.

If you recycle your fish water on violets - you will have a tremendous success. As long as your aquarium is not a salt water one.

No, It is a 5 gal hexagon that I bought for a beta that I rescued. The beta is long dead and the only one left is a very ugly cory catfish. It is VERY healthy and will probably out live me! I hadn't thought of taking water out of the aquarium, just using the treated water that I use for filling the tank.

As far as I remember - you replace 1/3 of the water with fresh one every so often - do not dump it - use on your plants - it is a fantastic ready made fertilizer. Liquid gold catfish poop.

I did not have that experience. I used Kordon to neutralize the chemicals. It is used in fish tanks. It was ver bad for my violets, it caused them to stop growing. Same with a water filter. To be on the safe side, just use bottled spring water and fertilize now and then. I use Optimara brand fertilizer at half the suggested dose. Joanne

I grew violets a work - but when the water treatment was switched from chlorine to chloramine - they started dying. Probably because the water pipes downtown were old and leaky and they used too much of it to keep people safe. My understanding is that when they started using chloramine in CA - they were putting too much - in 2 weeks all aquarium fish was dead and lawns started dying. In residential area where I live - the amount of chloramine is very small and doesn't seem to affect the plants. I read that people are successfully treating their AV water with chemicals designed the fish alive - but you probably need to look into it - which are appropriate.

The only filter that works on removing chloramine - is a high level Reverse Osmosis filter. It produces the water very close to distilled water - so you will need to add calcium, magnesium and other micronutrients to the water besides fertilizer. If the collection of AVs is small - the advice that Joanne gave is the best. If the water is that bad- you probably need to buy water for drinking and cooking because high level of chloramine is poisonous to humans.

Life was much easier - when water was treated with chlorine - just leave it in a bucket for 24 hours - and it all evaporated.

Another option - collect rain and snow.

Rain I could do here, but snow that's kinda ifffy in North Alabama! I will go out in a day or two and look around again for one to try. Will probably just use spring water or rain water for now. Thanks everyone.

At least you have rain! We very rarely do. I collect water from the airconditioner - and plants love it. I just need to make sure that I use proper fertilizer with this water - with microelements. But it is only in summer.

Irina

Was it a single crowned violet? In a hanging basket, I could imagine it might have been a trailer like pixie blue...

Irina, wish we could send some of the rain out west! A lot of the roads flooded again yesterday. Not real bad, but enough to be a lot of trouble for some. My house and street don't flood, but the yard gets really mushy!

Froeschli, Yes, but I don't remember it as a trailer. It would of been a very common pass around at that time. It was a start from my grandmother. The leaves were much larger than a lot I see today and they would root if you just waved them at dirt or a cup of water LOL! I need to see if I have a picture, but I doubt if I do.

I went looking for something to try the other day, but of course none of the stores of any kind have any violets now.

Sherry - the stores do not carry oldies, they carry the run of the mill mass produced commercial varieties. Which are healthy, durable and take trasportation really well - but miss the flavor. Think - home grown tomatoes...

There are several thousand people belonging to the African Violet Society of America - dedicated to this wonderful plant - and a lot of them love oldies. The season for shipping is over so pickings on ebay are sparse. But pjsviolets from FL are selling and they do pack for cold weather. Last time I checked - they have almost 400 plants for sale. Look for vintage.

Any standard AV - if not repotted often enough - will eventually grow a long stem like a palm tree - so I do not think your Grandmother's plant was a trailer - just an overgrown standard. It can be a total oldie - like a Blue Boy.

I found somebody's beautiful pic from a Show - Blue Boy is on the right -

http://s303.photobucket.com/user/Violetbabykitty/media/African%20Violet%20Club%20of%20Burlington%20County%202008%20Show/100_2933.jpg.html

This is what it looked like as well as I can remember. It didn't hang over the edge of the pot. I may have to wait until spring or try to order one.

It's cute ...

These Optimaras get delivered to your HomeDepot or Walmart on a regular basis - talk to the plant department people - and ask them when they are expecting their new order- so you can come there and have your pick of them fresh from the boxes.

Irina, So far no one here has anything except poinsettias!

Yep ... it is poinsettia season. Just saw my first a few days ago.

LOWES will usually have some African Violets coming in. But you need to try and get them while they're fresh ... before the thrips get to them.

Success! I found some at Lowes. They didn't look like they had been there too long. They had been watered from the top. It is a 6 inch violet Optimara from Nashville, TN. I only got the one purple. I want to see how I do with it before I try too many more or any of the fancier varieties. The color is off(at least on my computer). It is a purple like the outdoor violets in the spring. Thanks for everyone's help.

I'm glad you found what you were looking for.

Enjoy !!!

That is a lovely plant. As far as the one you are looking for,,,,,,if it was around the 70's (?) could it have been Rhapsodie Elfriede???? She kinda fits the description! She was a beauty. Rosie

Rosie, Who knows! My grandmother, who could grow anything, would not of kept the name, or if she did I didn't know it. I did not know about the chlorimine in the water, so I hope that is why the ones I have bought haven't made it. It was very wet when I got it. I took the plastic off the pot and set it on paper towels like I saw in another post. I checked a few hours ago and it was still damp. Who knows how old the violet she had was. I will look for the name you mentioned. I still have it in a kinda lower light location and will move it to a east window in a day or two.

That paper towel will soak up alot of excess water from the plant and the circulating air will dry it out further. That's good. When you get rid of most of the moisture,,,just when you may think about watering again,,,,THAT is when I woud try to gently shake off as much soil as you can and repot it with fresh soil. I would also make sure you lighten the soil with perlite. Sounds like you have a handle on it and you know where to go to ask more questions! Good luck! Let us know what happens! Rosie

Rosie, Aegis, and Irina, it is still very damp today. The only mixes available here are Miracle Gro, both African Violet and perlite. The Miracle Gro Violet mix already has fertilizer in it. I know a lot of people on here don't like Miracle Gro, but I have always had good luck, except for the one that has the water crystals. We get too much rain for that and I have most of my plants outside in the summer. (The violet wouldn't go out of course.) It is in a 6" plastic grower pot. Is that a good size to keep it in? The others I have tried, I put in a self watering pot and I don't want to use that. I don't think they work well. I want to use a either clay or plastic pot that I put into a pretty ceramic cache pot or if clay, I could use a clay saucer.

If I would use a Miracle Grow soil - I would split it in half with perlite, if you find somewhere a larger size perlite - it would be nicer than a regular small to dust. AT least get rid of the dust - take it out, load it in a colander and rinse the dust out. Better for your lungs and better for the plant. It is not hurting the plant - but it just do not create air pockets for roots to breath. ANd I would put a 1/2 inch perlite on the bottom of the pot - adds the air. If your collection is not huge - nothing wrong with hand watering.

No Water Crystals - this is specifically for outside hanging baskets with annuals. We do not want soggy soil.

And do not fertilize for a month or two.

There is a rule - diameter of the pot should be about 1/3 of the diameter of the foliage. Since your AV is not 18", 6" pot is too large. Probably 4" is OK - that's the size they usually sell AVs in a store. and their cheap plastic pot is not bad - you can always stick it in a cachepot or mug - just do not let water stand on a bottom.

Nothing wrong with MG. I use it as my "base". I always mix it 1/2 MG & 1/2 Perlite. I have never rinsed mine. Never thought to. Adding 1/2inch in the bottom of the pot also sounds like a good idea.

I also don't fertilize right away. I let a new violet get used to my conditions before I "feed" it anything beside water. Usually about a month or two.

Irina gave you great advice,,,,,I just added my 2 cents so you would know that others also do things that way. AND it works. This is the mix I plant violets in when I put them on wick watering. Saves me time for watering. AND I feel they do better, at least for me.

As far as going outside in the summer,,,,yes I do put them out. On my deck. They are shaded, get light but no sun and I just take them off their reservoirs and set them out there. I may have to water occasionally, but for the most part they do remarkably well! Orchids go out also. In fact ALL of my plants do.

I also never plant in a container that doesn't have a hole in it. If it has no hole I make one. Or more!

Good luck and let us know how it works for you. Rosie

Don't use clay unless it is glazed. It is bad for violets. It has an edge that cuts leaf stems. It soaks water and stays cold. It collects salts and gets ugly. It dries out too fast. It's heavy. It ruins tabletops. Plastic on the other hand does or is none of the above. Violets vote "yes!" for plastic. Joanne

Cheaper too!

Yay for plastic pots!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well said Joanne!!!!! Rosie

It's doing great so far. I haven't repotted yet, but the blooms have really stood up and clustered in the center of the plant. I have given it a couple of small sips of bottled water. I guess it is a "him"? Aren't the smooth (not ruffled) leaves considered "boys"? I did lose one bloom cluster, it had got pinched or bent and did not make it.

No, violets don't have a gender. As for your grandmother's plant, look for very old varieties or vintage varieties. They have not been overly hybridized and are more likely to have the very large leaves that root easily. The Optimara website has a tutorial with pictures of various styles of leaves. Joanne

I know that they don't have a "real" gender, but I have seen the ones with ruffled leaves called girls and the smooth leaves like the one I bought called boys in the names. The one I bought didn't have a name.

They do not call AVs boys or girls. They call leaves - boy leaf, girl leaf, longifolia, bustle etc. Probably 98% of the AVs have boy type leaves - so it is not even mentioned in the description. Girl Leaf - can be flat or ruffled - but it is a rounded leaf with significantly scalloped edge with an expressed central vein and a light spot at the base of the leaf. First girl leaf plants had very wavy leaves - so it was impossible to grow a flat rosette. Nowdays there are plants with modified girl leaf - leaves are not wavy and they put a very nice flat show quality rosette.

I wouldn't say that all newer varieties are harder to root. Some of them root and give babies super fast. I think Hortense Pittman hybrids - Jolly something's - root like weeds. Usually the variegated leaves are the ones that give you trouble.