It is like reading an old cooking book and thinking - they sure didn't spare lard...

Just kidding. It is very interesting.

The violets remaining in cultivation from the Montague Free photo: Blue Boy, Norseman, Viking, Amethyst. Based on what I know, most amazons and Supremes are no longer grown as they grew very large and were quite brittle. Someone may still be growing Lady Geneva since it was the first hybrid registered with the characteristic white edges. Moreover, I have an unnamed variety that looks quite similar to the "Bicolor" one. Example can be found in current AVM 71:2 page 28.

So much fun to read about what you have and share! I took both books out of the library decades ago. I don't even want to say how many decades. Eventually, I was gifted with HVPW.

Many of the species and "golden oldies" are more disease resistant than some modern hybrids. For PM resistance, try growing S. confusa, ionantha, grotei silvert, rupicola, orbicularis, pendula kizare, and magungensis. Shumensis is a little jewel but can contract some PM on the petal reverses and pedicels. Nitidia is not PM resistant, but has beautiful shiny leaves.

You are most impressive!!! Time for you to make a You Tube video!!! And Irina! The Montague Free book is available on the internet for under $4! From Thrift Books directly. Ebay also has several. I just ordered a copy to see if it will jog some memories for me. Alabama, were you collecting back in the 70's or 80's?

Terrilou, I think I am growing Admiral from you from the last RR in the fall. It is just starting to set its first round of buds after a very fraught winter. I didn't think it was going to make it for a bit! It is still uncertain enough that I'll probably disbud...pity because I'm excited to see its blooms.

If I can figure out how to message you I may do just that some time.

I started growing violets in the mid to late eighties. I only have one I propagated from a plant I had at that time from my Grandmother. It is an unnamed sporty white and purple Optimara. Back then, those were the only ones I could access. The African Violet Society was located in Nashville back then, but I was not a member yet.

Tiffu, I almost lost Admiral a few times too. It hasn't bloomed in years due to my neglect! It is starting to bloom now and I just repotted it, which is not the best combination of events. It survived my move to AL and is still becoming acclimated to the LED lights.

Tiffu, Click on my avatar & the message box should show on the right side. If not, follow me, I will follow you. Then we can exchange messages.

Terri

In the meantime ... Russian Blue Rose bidding is up in the stratosohere!

The Hype....If it rare and the seller says it is a sport of something Lagoon... it will be rare for a while... then somebody needs to have it desperately.... and the desire to get something rare is not always coincides with growing skills and common sense. The seller sends you this small starter that needs nurturing... oops...

There is a beautiful vintage hybrid called Lullaby that comes close to my ideal blue. One can view a photo of it in a Sunset African Violet paperback (also out of print). I believe I grew a leaf of it many years ago, but was not successful. It is worth a try if you can find a leaf and like blue.

Terri, which are your favorite Apache violets? I am growing Apache Campfire and admire its variegation. Although it is not mature enough to bloom yet. Will be worth the wait!

My best grower of the series is Apache Freedom. I have been keeping it going for a few years. Apache Sunburst has the most gorgeous foliage but I had a difficult time with it. It was a bear to propagate & I eventually let it go. I have also enjoyed Apache Midnight among others, (including Campfire,) and now have leaf plants of Apache Blanket.

Wrangler's are often mentioned in the same sentence as Apache's. These plants grow much better for me than Apache's. At present, I grow Wrangler's Dixie Celebration, Wrangler's Jealous Jewels, Wrangler's El Diablo, Wrangler's Spanish Cavalier; I have grown others in the past.

Terri

I have not had much luck with Winston Smith's hybrids. All the ones you listed are beautiful. Perhaps I will try another one again someday since I live in a new state. I could not keep Wrangler's Green Pastures or Lounge Lizard alive when I lived in KY. Moreover, I love the appearance of green edged flowers in general and their longevity. When I grew Irish Flirt, I marveled at how long the flowers lasted! I am growing Sassy Sister now and the pink flowers stay fresh very well (a sport of Irish Flirt).

I have my first Apache right now (Apache Gem) and boy it absolutely hates me. I don't think it's going to make the cut in what I do and don't keep.

Perhaps give it a bit more time. My Apaches were slow starters. It took me some time to get the right combo of light and a bit more fertilizer than others. Then they grew and bloomed. I grew all the pink or red LLG sells. About 4.

I love reading the lists of AVs from Alabama and Terri.

Irina, do you think perhaps the people willing to pay high prices for rare violets plan to propagate them?

I am trying to concentrate on growing Standards, Semis and a few minis with some trailers in the mix. Some of the larger varieties will need more space than I have available. I will try to search out some of the Standard Wranglers and Mavericks next time I go to a Violet show as I think they are worth growing. Regarding the high priced eBay plants, I would not pay more than $10-12 for a plant unless it is a chimera. Even then, it would have to be exceptional. Some of the modern hybrids have lovely flowers but lack vigor.

I agree. I first asked LLG when I got started. They recomended some of their oldest AVs, so that was what I at first year, and propagated and gave to others to try to get others interested.

Alabama,

Thanks for guideline on cost. That is about my range, also. I think the people buying high priced Russians are professionals who plan to propagate them to make them more available in coming years.

Thank you and everyone for sharing what you grow and the results. It fascinates me.

In the past, I sought out samples of known vintage hybridizers. I wanted to trace the horticultural development. That was how I learned because, I was selecting from internet reference resources only.

Joanne

Something that may help in propagating some of vintage variegates is to designate a plant to green up for that purpose. Since variegation is a genetic mutation in the chloroplasts, plants will look plainer, but it will still be there in the background when we want to get the plant to grow that way again. Using a higher nitrogen fertilizer might help, but especially alternating waterings with 1/8- 1/4 teaspoons Epsom salts per gallon. The variegation I struggle with is balancing crown or Champion type. I have a little plant if Rob's Oolong that is mostly dark green and on the flip side, Berry Spash that I am trying to get enough green for it to grow better. Seems I can get the plant to grow one or the other but not balanced. I find TL ( Tommie Lou) variegation much easier.

Hopefully people will successfully propagate Blue Rose and it will be available for everybody for a much more reasonable price. But IMHO people who pay this kind of money are more of a gamblers...

Got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. :-)

Hi Irina,

Well, you know more about these matters than I do. It will be interesting to see what happens. The bidding was neck and neck, so 2, possibly 3 people wanted it.

Alabama,

The Ethel Champion plants were sadly difficult for me.

Joanne

There should be some Champion hybrids that are not crown variegated. Have you tried to grow any of those? I would expect they would be more vigorous.

No, I did not. Thanks for the advice. The old Dave's Violets website has a photo of your "Lullabye." Dave has it mislabelled as "Louisianna Lullabye," which is a beautiful lavender plant. However, it appears to be your blue plant. That is my favorite shade of blue. One of Donna's hybrids comes close. Also a vintage Stork, Blue Barry.

I grew Ness Crinkle Blue and Lyon's Little Sweetheart. Both a little deeper than what I wanted. Wrangler Swinging Blues is probably the closest to what I want.

Champion green-leafed varieties from First Class:

Clover Blossom 1358 E. Champion Double dark pink two-tone. Supreme. Large
Green Valley Grin 3852 N. Butler/E. Champion Semidouble rose-pink/green frilled edge. Quilted, scalloped, ruffled. Large
Kelly Blue 702 E. Champion Double medium blue. Round, supreme. Large
Oneida Petticoats E. Champion Double pink ruffled/darker edge. Dark green, wavy. Standard
Palomino 1243 E. Champion Single dark blue frilled/white tips. Pointed, quilted, fluted. Standard
Surfside 1476 E. Champion Double medium blue. Round, quilted. Large
Sweet Clover 1063 E. Champion Double dark pink. Pointed, cupped, quilted. Large
Trinket White Caps 3214 E. Champion Single white/light blue edge. Pointed, quilted. Semiminiature

Alabama, Thank you for this research! I will keep it for reference. Joanne

Also you may want to consider Champion's mosaic variegated varieties. They should be easier to grow than the crown variegated ones and there is more stability. I have Trinket terrific which hasn't bloomed for years because I did not provide enough light. I moved it closer to the window a few months ago in hopes of correcting the problem. It may need stronger light than a Northern window, though.

Oh, do you use window light?

I boosted fertilization a few weeks ago. Many are coming into seasonal bloom.

Yes, I use both window and LED (different plant stands). Since TT was grown for years in low light, I thought the LEDs would burn the leaves. The beautiful photos are from the LED grown violets. The plants growing on the stand that is in front of the northern window don't bloom much (except for S. Ionantha and Chirita tamiana.)

Alabama, As soon as I sent the question I realized they were grown under lights due to their vibrancy. It also makes sense species want dim light like the forest wild violets they resemble.

Joan

Trinket Terrific is on a flimsy side... I like Midget Lilian - it is a single pink mosaic - it is a sturdy vibrant plant, good variegation, seems to be always in bloom.

Thanks, Irina. I just assumed it grew slowly due to my neglect (minimum light hours) when I had it in KY under a single 24" flourescent gro-lux tube. I will try to be on the lookout for Midget Lillan. I tend to favor bold, bright colored flowers or interesting bicolors, but mosaic variegation is appealing to me.

Trinket Terrific is more popular - probably because it is a double on a small semi-mini with a great mosaic. But the quality of the plant is just not there. Wobbly, long internodes...

While I love oldies... not all oldies were great plants - some of them were extremely important as a breakthrough with new features that were used in a future hybridizing to achieve amazing results. Period.

A sister AV club chose Ramblin' Amethyst as their project plant - and I happened to attend the meeting when they judged it. Sorry to say- but none of the project plants were worth the efforts, Even experienced growers came up with a blah. My take was - what an ugly plant with an ugly greyish foliage and why it is so hard to bloom??? I am sure with time and skill invested - you can grow a much better specimen - but it is still a grey plant... Berry Splash has some of this grey tint in the foliage - but not bad.

Is Tomorrow's Pink Ice a shy boomer for you? I have clones from two different sources and blooms are few and far between.

I am not familiar with this variety - but in my understanding Dr.Jeff Smith does a lot of hybridizing with Saintpaulia species. I grew several Yesterday's - his trailers - and they sure show some wild trends.

While we are not familiar with the parentage of Tomorrow's Pink Ice - if there is a species involved in a background - some of the species are shy bloomers - it can be the reason.

If you email him - his email is in AV magazine - he writes a Q/A on hybridizing - he will reply you in a couple of days.

The way how you describe it - it is probably "a feature" of this variety - and if there is a way to coax it into heavier blooming - he is the one to ask how.

I have Yesterday's Cherry Cola, which I believe is one of hybrids involving the species. It is still too young to bloom. I have seen photos of Tomorrows Pink Ice blooming,however, neither the leaves nor flowers display species traits.

I grew Tomorrow's Pink Ice a few years ago and it did very well in my conditions & was usually in bloom. I needed space so had to decided between it and Okie Easter Bunny which is a great variety. I chose the latter which has since departed my house. Recently, I obtained a leaf of Tomorrow's Pink Ice and I am hopeful that the new plant will be as fine a grower as the previous one.

Terri

Good luck with Tomorrow's pink Ice! Maybe I just didn't provide the right conditions for mine. The transition to LED light from natural is easier for some varieties than for others. I haven't given up on growing it yet! The thought of seeing the beautiful flowers one day keeps me motivated to keep experimenting with it. I have Okie Easter Bunny, but it is a young plant I grew from a leaf and it isn't ready to bloom yet.

African Violet Species photos:

S. confusa

S. ionantha

S. rupicola

S. pendula kizarae

S. ionantha (one of my favorites)

S. orbicularis (light blue form)

Loving all these beautiful (blue) purple flowers! Wondering whether these purple tones are typical of vintage and species.

Supercalifragilisticexpialadocius! Now THAT is a word I can say AND spell! Rosie

Lovely photos!

I am thinking the purple blue is the color that attracts pollinators...THRIPS??? Saintpaulia doesn't produce nectar - only an abundance of tasty pollen...so some pollen loving insects are nature little helpers...

Why the blossoms are droppers - after pollination happened - plants do not need to attract anything - so the petals are shed - to prevent the fungal infection that will start on decaying petals and move onto a seedpod.

How about yourself, Irina, are you like a pollinating Thripster .... er, I mean a Hipster

... er, I mean Hybridizer? Any "Irina_CO's" in the future?

Dr. Smith has patented "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow." Your line could be called Real Time Russian. Joanne the Curious

I believe Saintpaulias are "buzz pollinated" usually by flies in the wild.

Probably both... buzz and chomp-chomp ...

Nope - I like selfing gesneriad species...

Cool