I am not familiar with that variety, but the leaf variegation is awesome!

It's a Russian; the name means "fiery flower" and its supposed to be red. I grew it from leaves, planting them over a year ago, and it finally bloomed........PINK !

I'd like to see pictures of this one that others have to see if mine is unusual. I've been told that Russians are often pretty unstable, and maybe this is my problem....if indeed it is a problem.

That would be super disappointing! :(

I don't have that variety, but I know how disappointing it is to invest so much time and then they don't bloom true. I have a Kostina Fantasy (Russian) that has just bloomed and it is not true either, but blooming dark solid purple.

Aegis is right unfortunately, Leon. Here is the description: LE-Ognennyi Tsvetok (E. Lebetskaia) Very large velvet dark red semi-double and double stars with pleated edges of the petals. Dark green slightly wavy leaves.

Can you contact the seller? Perhaps they'll replace it or give you credit towards another order if it is so obviously not the right variety. That said, it sure is pretty in my opinion...just too bad we don't know what it is.

I can totally understand your disappointment with its not being the color you wanted. On the plus side, I really like how the white picottee of the leaves is echoed by that on the flowers. Don't recall seeing that before.

Awww, darn. That is a shame to anticipate for so long and then,,,,. But Leon, even though for now it is a noid, it is a most beautiful noid. I love the flower and the soft variegation. Hope you keep her and get to love her! Rosie

Leon, I saw a picture of another Russian variety called LE Karusel (Carousel). It looks just like your plant, perhaps the person you got this from mislabeled the plant. You might try sending this picture to the person you got it from and see if they recognize it.

I'm sure now that Aegis is right, and I got the wrong one when I bought those leaves. Yes, Aegis, if you could send me a leaf or a starter, I'd really be grateful. I'll pay your shipping, of course.

I didn't keep a record of the buy, and so I don't remember from whom I bought it.

That's life !

Wow- that's a really cool violet! Reminds me of ric-rac used in sewing. Even though it's not the one you wanted, it's so distinct from others, enjoy!

Wow - if your violet is LE Karusel, ... you've got a nice one.

I'll message you ...

I'll try to get a photo of that LW Karusel and then I'll know.

LE Karusel

Thanks for that photo. Yes, mine strongly resembles the LE Karusel (Carousel) as shown here. However, mine is far less dark red; it is essentially pink. Otherwise there's no difference. I wonder, perhaps the Karusel color varies......

The color may darken after more blooming.

But you've raised a healthy pup ... ;^)

The picture I saw of LE Karusel was on another forum, and the person was posting the plants first bloom and it was the color of yours, Leon, and also had the notched tips on the petals. It is likely that since the person you got leaves from had Russian varieties it was simply mislabeled. I think your plant is great and will probably turn out to be stunning.

Thanks for that info. Although I can't remember who the seller was, I remember he/she was selling Russians, so its probable that the AV's mislabeled.

I think I'll label it LE Karusel and watch to see how it does.

There was also this photo of a younger plant ...

I did more research and found pictures of this plant in various shades of the color, there was even one blooming white. To me the key thing is the notched tips of the petals that is so identical to yours. Here is the photo I saw, it is not my picture.

The notches are distinctive ...

You are sure finding out a lot about this violet. She sure is pretty!! Rosie

Thank you, everyone. I'm sure now that the culprit is the LE Karusel . In fact, when I checked it this morning I saw it was darkening, as predicted by aegis. Its distinctive notches on the petals make it a great addition to the shelf of AV's that are now sunning themselves.

Yay! What a happy ending to this mix up! :D

I second that! Rosie

Hope it does well for you Leon.

I only just found this post. Leon, be patient. The Russians in particular are VERY temperature sensitive. You will find the flowers likely to be extremely variable in how intense the colors are, how much color you get, how much white, etc depending on your culture at the time of flowering. In summer your blooms may be entirely deep red with barely any white. In winter you may get mostly white flowers. This is perfectly normal.

Fore example, here is my RS Rosinka in wool weather when the flowers are not only mostly white but fully double.

In spring or autumn, the blooms are either single or double but also thumb printed, showing both purple and white.

And in summer, the huge flowers become singles with nearly fused petals and almost entirely purple.

All of those photos and more are of the exact same plant over the course of my growing year, and it's perfectly normal. This is also very common with many of the Russians, but also a number of our American hybrids too, if they have bicolored flowers with white (but only some of them, others are more stable). Of course my temperatures vary more in my art studio (hotter and colder) than many growing spaces.

Frosty Cherry does the exact same thing and so does my LE Karusel. Here's Frosty Cherry in summer, all deep burgundy red with barely any trace of white and throwing single layered flowers.

Here is the same hybrid flowering in cooler growing conditions up north (I'm in the Deep South) around the same time of year - but her growing conditions are much cooler than mine.

As said, this is perfectly normal. So be patient and see how your plant performs for you over the course of the coming year and several bloom cycles before you decide if you love it or hate it. I happen to love how changeable some of my Russians are. Yet others of my Russians like Snow Edelweiss are more stable, though how much white the blooms have is still somewhat variable with temperature. Here it shows lots of white in cool months and lots of purple.

In my summer heat it blooms about the same but often has less white and more fantasy in the upper parts of the flower. Sometimes a bit more pink and less purple too, but it changes much less dramatically than my others.

Like the others it looks more like LE Karusel to me as well. A nice find and a good thread.

Great photography, great information, and a beautiful description of the Russians.

I've got a Lyon's Red Rocket that's really a burgundy red also. It also took a very long time to bloom.

I will wait to throw away any Russians I grow in the future, thanks for the photo lesson.

That is a very pretty violet Leon! Rosie