What is the difference between a Chimera and an African Violet. Thanks, Deb
Please Explain
Chimeras are African Violets. However, they are varieties (usually with unusual pinwheel bloom markings or something fabulous) that do not "come true" from a leaf cutting and must be propagated by suckers. Maybe they are vegetative sports rather than seed hybrids? I seem to remember a better explanation somewhere on Rob's site.
Chimera varieties are more expensive to buy because you can't propagate as many at one time from one plant. I think they get the mother plant to produce lots of suckers by intentionally damaging the crown. From all the suckers I got when the crown of my 'Ruffled Sheer Romance' was damaged (unintentionally!), I can vouch for the effectiveness of the method!
Maybe somebody else will know more.... I'll keep a watch on this thread for sure!
Chimeras: A very special breed of African violet. These plants can only be propagated by suckers. They cannot be propagated by leaves
What's a chimera? According to Webster's dictionary, a "chimera" is a "living structure or organism in which the tissues are of varied genetic origin". What does this mean? Unlike other violets which, when propagated by leaf cuttings, will typically produce plantlets ("babies"), identical in appearance to the "mother" plant, this cannot be done with chimeras (the babies will look different than the mother plant). Why? because the tissues are of "different genetic origin" for each leaf, or plant part.
Instead, propagation must be done by "suckers" or "crown cuttings", which are most likely to share the same genetic properties. This is why their price is higher--this is a more time consuming and less productive process than when done by leaf cuttings.
These African violets are quite unusual, known for their "pinwheel" striped blooms or, sometimes, uniquely variegated foliage. . Because of difficulty in propagation, chimeras are often in limited supply
http://www.robsviolet.com/standard_chimeras1.htm
PROPAGATING CHIMERA AFRICAN VIOLETS
"chimeras". These are plants that have developed plant tissues where the individual cells are genetically different. Because of this, plants produced from leaf cuttings frequently are not identical to the plant from which the cutting was taken.
Though a chimera is any plant having this genetic characteristic, in African violets, this term is typically used to describe the "pinwheel" blossomed varieties, which frequently don't propagate "true" to description from leaf cutting
http://www.robsviolet.com/chimera_violets.htm
A Guide To Chimera African Violet Propagation Using Keikigrow Plus
By Janet Strombo
http://www.geocities.com/rachelsreflections/keiki.htm
Chimera African Violet Propagation
http://www.rachelsreflections.com/chimera.htm
This message was edited Nov 11, 2005 12:00 AM
A Chimera (pronounced ki {long i}-meera) is an African violet that will not reproduce truly from a leaf cutting. The only way to get more chimeras is by suckering or planting the flower stalk. Because propagation takes longer than using regular leaf propagation, chimeras tend to be more expensive. The blossoms of the chimera have pinwheel strips, though some have had swirls. There is also a chimeral foliage where propagation by leaf cuttings produced true flower color, but will not produce the variegated foliage. The only way to produce both the true flower and variegation was by suckers.
Flower Stalk Propagation: The method of propagation using the flower stalk is quite similar to propagation from a leaf. Remove a flower stalk from the plant, be sure to leave at least an inch below the two small leaf ears. If you have several stalks to select from, choose the one with the largest leaf ears. Trim the flower stalk just above the leaf ears to remove any flower buds. Trim the bottom so it is about an inch long. Dip the leaf stalk in rooting powder and plant to just below the leaf ears in moistened potting mix. Place the pot in a plastic bag and leave it until you see new plants forming. The stalk will sucker at the point where the leaf ears connect to the stem.
Sucker Propagation: The second method of Chimera propagation is by suckering. Basically, forcing the plant to sucker by removing the crown. Before attempting this, let the plant get big enough that you have a couple rows of leaves to ensure the survival of the plant. Pinch the crown out (the newest growing leaves) or, if it is large enough, carefully remove it and pot it up. Within a few weeks, you should begin to see suckers forming. Remove them when they are big enough to pot up. By carefully removing the suckers and scraping away any scar tissue on the stem, new suckers should form in the same place.
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Chimera: Spontaneous mutation which creates a distinctive bloom pattern called pinwheel. This bloom characteristic is genetically unstable, though it can sometimes be reproduced from peduncle cuttings. Leaf cuttings will not reproduce a chimer
Mutation: Describes an African Violet or part of an African Violet which exhibits physical characteristics indicative of a genetic change in that variety. The genetic change may either be induced, as occurred during the Space Violet program, or it may be spontaneous, which simply means that the cause of the change is unknown. When propagating by leaf, approximately one out of every 100 leaves will produce a mutation. Also see Sport.
http://www.optimara.com/optimaraglossary/mis-mvl.html#anchor799164
Bloom Pattern: Sometimes called flower pattern or blossom pattern. Description of a bloom's color characteristics. Some common bloom patterns include bi-color, edged, pinwheel and two-tone.
http://www.optimara.com/optimaraglossary/b-blu.html#anchor411223
Pinwheel: Bloom pattern. Also called striped. Describes an African Violet flower which has bi-color rays which emanate from the center of the flower and continue to the edge of the petals. The effect gives the flower a pinwheel appearance. The pinwheel bloom pattern is most often associated with chimeras
http://www.optimara.com/optimaraglossary/pic-por.html#anchor478162
Peduncle Cutting: A bloom stalk used to reproduce African Violets. This form of propagation involves removing a bloom stalk with about 1/2 to 1 inch of the peduncle from a parent plant. This cutting is placed into potting soil or some other rooting medium, stem first, up to the point where pedicels connect to the peduncle. For most growers, this is the only reliable method for reproducing chimeras. African Violets may also be propagated by seed, division (or separation), leaf cutting or by rooting a sucker
http://www.optimara.com/optimaraglossary/p-phy.html#anchor804960
Wow...I knew all of you would come through for me. Wonderful information, I had no idea.
Thanks, Deb
I fount it here :")) Deb I think Fancy Lady was a name on your wish list ? It is a beautiful Chimera . Cheapest place I could find it was $ 17.50 . I drooled when I saw it and put it on my wish list too :))
Allison
Wow!!! I just checked out the photo of Fancy Lady on AVSA and that is one gorgeous plant. Allison, Can you say where you saw it for sale? I've never heard of it. I saw on another thread that you bought a chimera trailer for $53 off of ebay. Was it a pretty large plant? Were you happy with it? I'm a little scared to order off of ebay although there have been quite a few streps that I would really like to have. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by the bidding process and very, very few plants have a "buy it now" feature.
Stephanie
Stephanie,
I have bought from seller on EBay. There are some great sellers ,and there are some I would never buy from again.
Good Luck,
Patti
Hi
I saw Fancy Lady here ;
http://www.lyndonlyon.com/Violet%20List%20Chim.html
LYNDON lYON'S gREENHOUSE FOR $17.50 IT'S A REAL BEAUTY
no my Chimera was not big. I know the grower and she was experience even a judge thought it would be packed good. I bought it in the summer and she sugested to ship it in September when it was cooler for me. I bought a lot more stuff. She was a horrilbe packer. The Chimera was out of pot, covered with dirt , stuck, like glew on foliage, All the leaves except 4 were broken off :((. II put the roots in lunch baggie took me like an hour to wash the leaves in the sink of warm running water. I potted it up had hardly any roots :((. This was just mid-Sept. It now has over 50 leaves, many crowns, all blooming. Has been in heavy bloom non-stop for over a month. Big bouquets !!
It has at least three basket babies growing on bloom stalks !!
If it ever stops blooming , " lol " I will take a couple of the crowns and pot them in their own pots, and of course pot and root the basket babies :)).Then I will grow it in a Pan POt for my special enjoyment. I was really lucky :)) I never thought it would live. I have never seen it for sale any where again. It's Sunray Trail. Allison
Patti,
Have you found that the ebay vendors that you wouldn't order from again have a good or negative rating? I'm just curious since someone from another forum once told me that many buyers are afraid to leave negative feedback due to fear that the seller will then leave negative feedback for them.
The only plant order that I ever made was about 4 years ago for about 30 Silverglades leaves. The seller was so wonderful and a very nice person. I wouldn't hesitate from ordering from her again, but she passed away.
Stephanie
Patti
Have you bought African violets from Ebay ? There are a lot of good sellers, But prices bid real high sometimes. Most seller have to charge $6.00-9.00 for one plant to ship. I have fount Ebay is good for rare hard to find. But the Vendors have a great selection, low prices, low shipping, and large plants. Violet Gallery and Bluebirds greenhouse both have become my favorites to order from. It's easy to order from them one plant or 20 :)) Low prices large plants , always freebies, low shipping and great customer service :)) Allison
Hi Allison,
Yes, I have bought on Ebay. I have never bought from Violet Gallery or Bluebird, but I have heard only good things about them. Have you bought from Thegardenangel before? I have and never again. My statement is based on opinion and my experience with this person.
Patti
This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 12:01 AM
Patti I don't like to say negative about any seller . Just say I share your
feelings and opinion Allison
Allison,
I went to Lyndon Lyon's website to check out Fancy Lady. I must say the photo they have available does NOT do that plant justice! To be honest, I probably would never have ordered that plant based upon the photo on their website. But, WOW, the photo on AVSA has caused me to add Fancy Lady to my wish list!
Yes I saw the picture on AVSA also and it is breath taking. I'd love to have her :)) I don't think Deb knew it was a Chimera when she put it on her wish list ? I don't think Vendors will start shipping until mid April and some don't ship until May as May is still cold in a lot of areas. When my oldest son turned 2 some 28 years ago. Iremeber his Birthday is May 21st. We lived in R I. and bought hims a real nice swing set, sand box, and big wheel. Well guess what May 20th, 21 st. it snowed like crazy.
That's why I am wondering is you don't have insulation and heat packs some parts of the Country in Mid April is still really cold that's why someVendors don't ship until May.
Rob ships but only guarantees if you pay for Express mail. *** Allison
Yep...you are right...I didn't know it was a Chimera. Oops.
Well Deb I'd keep wishing for it. It is beautiful :)) Allison