Unfortunately, AVs just don't come in true red. Dead meat red, yes. Purpley or magenta-y/pinky "reds", yes. But no real nice clean bright red.

I love Optimara Pennsylvania and I call it red. Rosie

Rosie, since I know you grow (as I do) windowsill, I will abide by your color judgement. It looks nice to me, in fact, I might try to acquire it.

I think you will like it! It is just a beautiful rich color! A true crayola crayon red? No,,,,,but a rich deep dark red?,,,,Yes! Let me know how it works for you. Rosie

Lets just buy some Roma tomatoes....

and make a pot of spaghetti sauce, irina ? :) Lol.

I just wish Optimara violets were actually orderable from Optimara.

They are orderable from a Selective Gardener - which is part of Optimara... But why???

Yeah, I can find leaves..which means 6-9 months wait till a blossom (I'm impatient). However, I mean Arkansas does look awfully good (lol).

I think you are obliged to grow Optimara Arkansas. I grew Optimara Colorado for years - and it is a purplish red - very pretty. Not dead meat.

Great discussion, Joanne. One red I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is Lyon's Zoe. The flowers grow into large pom-poms and have very heavy substance - almost orchid-like. They do tend to turn more burgundy color as they age.

Wow!

I know that everybody migrates towards LEDs nowadays... but if you still use the fluorescents - there was a combination of cool white and gro-lux wide spectrum (there were several options as far as I remember) that made reds pop-up and show the best. All of them - coral reds and raspberry reds and plum reds...And yes - Stork's varieties are just all around good solid plants, very worthy.

I have a new red Russian just budding now for the second time: EK Boi Bykov (EK Bullfight.) Its single first bloom was super impressive, both in size and color - under my florescents, it was a deep satiny red. I could kick myself that I was so busy with the lead up to the holidays that I didn't take a photo. I promise to grab a shot of these new blooms when they open and add them to this thread.

Joanne - good to see a post from you!

Hey Joanne! Where ya been????? Good to hear from you! Rosie

Don't care for corals or ruby reds. Tis unfortunate there are no vibrant true reds. Of those I have seen, the dark reds are usually very drab.

EK-Boy Bykov (Bullfight) is a very decent all aroung plant - and it is not very dark. Good choice for the red.

Rosie - we only need to grow the colors that suit us. Dress me in ruby red... I will go into hiding.... permanently...

Irina,

You are cool, despite not wanting to wear red. Two votes for Russian EK -Bullfight! I will get it come spring.

I am growing Arcturus because it's vintage. I wanted to see what it looks like. It has a "vintage look." That is, "organic" or "natural" rather than today's more "refined" AVs grown for aesthetic appeal.

I do like to be surrounded by red anything. It's like sunshine. Joanne

I would argue that "ruby red" is not a "true red". heh

Ruby is blue-red, a cool tone. Joanne

Annececilia,

A few years ago, I grew nearly every red that LLG carried of their own plus vintage of other hybridizers. I wanted to compare and decide on a couple of favorites. Powder Keg by LLG grew large

It was the same shade of red as Bob Serbin but Bob's Geneva edge and flower shape made it outstanding. If you have Zoe, you don't need Bob.

I grew Mac's Mesmerizing Meteor, a semi. That was the closest to a sparkling jewel tone that I've had. It shaped well. I gave it as a gift to a red lover. It makes a nice gift because it is small.

Redoubled was also a good LLG performer. They still offer all that I noted. Someone recently gave me a Russian NOID that is similar to Redoubled. I still have it but it is not in bloom now.

There were other reds I missed out on that are harder to find. Joanne

We had a presentation on Saintpaulia species last Saturday at our Council meeting - and what I heard was interesting - the Saintpaulias became so popular in the beginning - because there were practically no blues in indoor culture. Now we enjoy all the shades - white with blue shades - to sky blue to midnight very dark blue -yeah, some purple is always there... But - fickle people - we now want the whole rainbow...

We are talking about some excellent plants there - and Arcturus stands its own - not because it is vintage - but because it is a really good plant too. Well grown Powder Keg is totally magestic - if you have space for a foot and half baby.

And I agree with Joanne - a couple of Mac's semi-minis have probably the best tomato red.

HMMM, may be we all have a subconscious desire for a red silk underwear...tsk-tsk...

Sounds like an informative presentation. That is exactly why I liked violets. They looked like the elusive and endearing wood violets that would appear briefly in dappled forests in the Northeast each spring.

The blue pigment is named "Maldave" or something like that, per Jeff Smith. It is a horticultural name. For years, the only color I grew was purple or violet. I had a row or two on a shelf. All the same color but different shapes. Maybe it is purple we are hooked on? The species are popular again. The All About African Violets website currently has reposted 3 interviews with Jeff Smith. Part 2 shows his species collection where he talks about them. Joanne

Thanks for posting that photo of EK-Boy Bykov, Irina. That is exactly the shade of red I saw in my first bloom and the petals looked like smooth satin. Beautiful!

Joanne, I will have to keep an eye out for Mac's Mesmerizing Meteor. It sounds good and I've had luck growing Mac's semi's in the past. Redoubled, OTOH, is an AV I keep trying to get started and I always lose to some catastrophe or other. I seem fated not to have that one, sigh.

Lyon's is where I bought minis including Mac'z

Optimara Red. I looked on their website and searched for bloom color "red." "California" is no. 5. Introduced in 1977. It is U.S. patented and AVSA registered. Joanne

a little bit of raspberry there...

I don't mind raspberry at all! But I was looking at all the reds currently offered on Ebay - esp. those offered by Jack's Violets who has quite a few. It is easy to see as you scroll from photo to photo that there certainly is quite the spectrum of RED, or what is referred to as "red." Not all were appealing to my eye and I did see some that could be classed as something from the butcher shop window, LOL. I think Tomahawk and Lyon's Red Rocket were the brightest reds. Anyway, I have quite a list of recommendations from this thread and will have to be on the watch - come spring. Too cold in my neck of the woods to receive shipments - even with heat packs!

AnneCecelia!!!! Step away from the computer!!!!!! I know what happens when you start "looking" on EBAY!!!!! Boxes may show up on your doorstep when weather is suitable!!!!

Again,,,,,,,STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rosie

I am growing Arcturus because it's vintage. I wanted to see what it looks like. It has a "vintage look." That is, "organic" or "natural" rather than today's more "refined" AVs grown for aesthetic appeal.

I do like to be surrounded by red anything. It's like sunshine. Joanne

Arcturus is great ...

AnnCecelia - Rosie is right - step away from ebay - it is winter, you have to pay winter shipping and stilll worry about frozen plants. If you are desperate for a violet fix - bloominjungle - Linda Rowe - is probably the one most reputable on ebay right now. Her winter packaging is excellent.

HAHAHAHAHA! No worries Irina,,,,she would NEVER order for winter shipping, BUT,,,,if she is shopping in anticipation of spring shipping, well, we are only about 10 to 12 weeks away from that! And that is 10 to 12 weeks of window shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rosie

Oh, worry not, I am NOT ordering, LOL. No, I was just recreationally taking a look, most specifically to look at reds. I would not trust winter shipping - nor was this a vendor I usually follow. (I have a select list I've learned it's safe to buy from - I'm so done with taking chances, that's certain.) But thanks for your concern!

hmmmm,,,,Sure you are just looking. And won't order. Time will tell !!!! Rosie

Aaa... just looking at Violet Pornography...

Yes Irina! Exactly right! Well said!!!!! lol Rosie

The northeast vendors will not ship now. So no worries.

Thank Goodness for small favors!!! lol Rosie

Three to compare today, left to right: Firehouse, EK Bullfight and LE Karosel. Under my lights by my eye, the three reds look very, very similar. No matter how I tried to photograph them, Firehouse comes out pinker or lightest in color, EK Bullfight looks a lot like that "dead meat" we discussed and LE Karosel looks just like the little jewel it is. What do you think?

Anne

Oh Beautiful!!!!!! BTW,,,,I love dead meat,,,it is called STEAK!!!!! Rosie

I have tomahawk and heinz sentimental. Tomahawk in bloom presently.

Woo-Hoo - one great looking plant!!!!

It is, that's for sure. Window sill grown? I had Tomahawk some years ago and lost it - I really should get another as I remember it as a very nice plant. Thanks for posting!

I had to share this photo of Lyon's Red Rocket - bought it at a local AV show last November. It's window grown, as are all my plants. It shapes beautifully, and even though the flowers are large with multiple blooms on each stem, they hold their heads up high. This one is fast becoming one of my very favorites.

That is a beautiful plant. My "Red Rocket" descendants have lost the white edging. I am inspired to replace it by your photo.

When I bought it, the white edge on the few flowers it had was much less prominent, and I was concerned it would disappear. But this is what happened in the second bloom cycle. Here's hoping it stays that way.

It sure is impressive! That's a beautiful one to add to my wish list - thanks, Judy!

Tomahawk and Red Rocket photos are lovely. I grew Tomahawk. A great little plant. Dark reds are hard to tell apart. The human eye does not have as many color perceptors for red as it does for blue or green. That might be why dark reds tend to look muddy. Joanne

This is one of my redest It’s name is Firehouse and thisnis the first bloom