That. Is. Stunning. Have you ever sold leaf sets? ;)

Yes, I sold a few of these but they were miss labeled as 'Spring Cardinal' by mistake, as that was what my original baby plant was supposed to be. I have more leaves down now so I'll have leaf pots and babies available in the autumn. I'll be shutting down my shop's plant sales soon for the summer and my upcoming relocation anyway. I do not however sell leaves - only if they are already rooted and have babies up. Too much for me to keep track of whether they are available or not on my adult plants, on top of all the rest of the work and inventory tracking.

Instead of say, charging $3 for a pair of leaves, I'd much rather charge $4 or $5 for an already growing leaf pot with babies already in it. Then there's no risk that the leaves will rot on you and not give you plants - because the babies are already there getting ready to divide off of the mother leaf. ;)

oh thats very pretty!!! i need a variegated leaf av..thats one i dont have yet

Oh, you are in for a treat, Heather. There are many kinds of variegated AV's and they are no harder, IMO, to grow than any other AV. I have quite a few on my Etsy shop. So does Lyndon Lyons, the Violet Barn, Etsy, etc. So many choices! But be ware that they may loose their variegation in summer if temperatures get warm. If possible move them to higher shelves or an upper story floor in winter to keep more green on them and hopefully not go too white in the leaves. But in summer, do the opposite if they start to loose too much variegation and put them on a low shelf or down into a basement if you can and they'll keep better color.

You can see this one was mostly green until cooler months made the crown come in very well marked. Now I'll keep it as cool as I can, for as long as I can, to grow out more.

I need this one too. I'm lining up to get a baby from you. :D

the named varieties i have werent variegated...and the noids that are limited locally werent either..we rarely have them in stock here..I have been only able to see them twice..and purchased both times..at least i have two light green leaves..and that darker leafed ones..and the leaves that i purchased were really based on their name..and i spent too much then lol..but i could have kept going if i had a better income lol..one day though...

I totally feel you, Heather. While my husband was doing his PHD for the past 7 years things have been super tight on us financially. In a serious hard way because he was doing it full time and mostly not working so it was all on me to support the family as best I could.

Also, while I have grown African Violets for more than 40 years off and on, I only recently laid hands to my first variegated plants about three years ago! They simply were not available locally and I was wasn't really aware of them being available online from places like Ebay, etc. Nor was I aware that there were AVSA local clubs anywhere near to me! Once I started trekking into Atlanta to go to monthly meets I had people /giving/ me variegated AV's or leaves right and left. It's nearly a two hour drive for me each way if the traffic or construction is nasty but it's been well worth it.

So, if you are any good at growing from leaves, or willing to try and practice, you could get some nice variegated babies of your own going for quite cheap. Especially if you can get to a local AVSA club, even just once. There's a list of clubs per region on the AVSA.org website.

i checked into a local club..and its too far of a drive for me..my car no longer runs..so i'm pretty much home bound..which is okay i guess..my etsy shop tanked in the last two years...so i dont have any money to spend anyway..living in such a small state..i usually have to purchase things online as its not available around here..

i really thought about joining avsa but when i looked..it cost money..not something i have unfortunately

I understand. But it won't likely always be that way! There's also one other option if you ever want to try it. Some companies sell /seeds/ online for variegated hybrid AV's so if a friend doesn't happen to send you a plant or leaves, it's only a couple of dollars to order seeds and grow your own! I forget what the company is called but I can go look for a link.

Here they are: https://www.nadeausafricanvioletseeds.com/product/variegated/ A seed pack of 100 seeds runs about $10 plus $1.50 shipping. Still a little cheaper than buying a plant with Priority Mail and you can get a whole bunch of them going at once. They aren't hard to germinate or grow. Then you could easily sell or trade extras with friends. Funds may be too tight right now to even spare $10 but it's another option to keep in mind for later.

Yeah I don't think I've made 1k yet this year..that's how bad it is...that's why I bought leaves cause they were cheaper..it was the first time in 2 years I've spent money on myself...a month later im still regretting it..no friends either..it's been a rough 2.5 years

Patty,

You have so many good suggestions. I moved all my variegated plants to the basement., in front of the southern windows or the french door. Hopefully they will produce beautiful leaves now.

Hyn, why would cooler temps result in more variegation in the leaves?

Oh, oh, oh,,,Hyn I don't care what you finally call it that is beautiful!!!! Rosie

I hope it works well for you, Julie. Paul, I have no idea why it works but it does. The same is true of flower colors. Why is my strep Salmon Sunset pink in warm temperatures and coral in cooler? Why is it many Russian AV's turn white in winter and richly colored by summer? I'm afraid I can't answer the question but I'd be very happy to find a paper published in a scientific journal on it. My access to science journals however is rather limited since I'm no longer enrolled in a university system.

Hyn, thank you for the link! I've wondered where to find av seeds! :D I think I'll scrap my own hybridizing.

I don't want to discourage you from your own hybridizing! It can be very fun and rewarding - if you have the time and space required to dedicate to it.

A little early yet to be SURE but it looks like my hand pollination attempts with this plant are taking. The base of some of the pistols are fattening up and starting to turn green already. ;) I'll get a photo later when some of them are really fat and I'm more certain.