I think got them may be 15 years ago... tried... good growers, good bloomers, kinda large... but I wouldn't say that they are the the best of all ... play with them - and try something else,..

Oh I know, and you are absolutely right but there is much behind me wanting one of these. My partner and I are huge science nerds. My love is biology, theirs is space. I know these are not the most spectacular violet out there (I only want one for that reason), just that the LDEF project was incredibly exciting to both of us. My partner also edited most of the articles published around this, and good portions of the writing is their work. Also, they did all the photo editing for this project, and most if not all of the photo editing from the shuttle trips from 1988 to 1995. Some of my love's works are in textbooks and Astronomy Today. These plants are special to us... not for how they look, but for the way they combine our passions. For these reasons, there will always be a place in my collection for one of these overgrown funky violets. :)

Heheheh, that I am. :)

I will find one, part of the fun is the hunt sometimes too.

I agree with Anne - I often keep the plants for sentimental reasons, because of the special story behind it. For me - noname - even a pretty one - just doesn't connect. I want to know who is the hybridizer, when it was introduced... the more the better - like Space Violets - they have history.

My first violet to live is just a plain jane dime a dozen lavender blue NOID, but I will always love it for sentimental reasons. I have one other NOID, that gets the honor of being the first leaf propagation I managed to pull off. Time will tell if that one stays or not, but at this point I really want to focus on named violets myself. I like knowing their story. Oh, and I will probably have to add a Saintpaulia species specimen or three to my collection at some point, because I value the natural history as much of not more than the cultivated history. Seems like a great way to round out my collection doesn't it? From wild types, to cultivars, to violets mutated by zero gravity. I am such a nerd... :P

There are some gorgeous species of Saintpaulia, I love S.orbicularis var.purpurea

Wow... those are stunning. I need to find myself some.

I think they are wonderful in their own right. Yes - this is history - and there is a preservation from extintion... but they are beautiful... resilient..and unusual .. all 64 different species, clones and varieties.

Kim,,,nice backstory! Congrats! And Irina,,,now you know I am a sucker for a color pix! Nice violets!!!!! Rosie