New Member needs African Violet ID

Hi, I'm new to DG in the last couple of weeks and have just been lurking and learning and enjoying everything! I just got into African Violets and stretocarpus this past winter. I needed something that would bloom and be cheerful during the long Idaho winters. They have done the trick for me and I am in love with both of them along with a few episcias and chirita's. I bought several plants all at once (eBay, Rob's Violet Barn and my favorite for streps and violets of good size Brennan's Orchids!) and I did my best to keep the name labels correct. So here is my problem, this African Violet has the name Guelph's Dynamite on it and when it began to bloom two days ago I indeed thought it was dynamite! it is just beautiful. But when I did an online search the African Violet that comes up as Guelph's Dynamite looks nothing like mine. Unfortunately my camera is not great at close ups or true true colors but here is a picture of my bloom. It has baby pink petals with true apple green lacey frilly trim. Any help would be much appreciated! ~Brenda

Here is a picture of the whole plant I thought was Guelph's Dynamite...~Brenda

And one more picture with a little different lighting. Anyone with an idea of what I have here? ~Brenda

Here is the picture I found online of Guelph's Dynamite and as you can see mine looks nothing the same. ....~Brenda

Let me go through the list........she is one wonderful bloom and foliage....i will trade with you any day!!!!!! Let me go take a look at Sassy Sister......she has a bloom like that but I don't know about the foliage....be back

The picture in the plant files has only the bloom and no foliage so I can't tell .......but the bloom looks exactly like 'Sassy Sister'.......it is a Sorano hybrid (is that how you say it?)
Now that you have the name at least to try looking for the foliage...unless someone else comes along that knows a whole lot more than me....

Our own Snowrose posted the picture....she describes the foliage on Sassy sister as wavy and the plant is a semi-miniature....??????
that is all I might know...

Hi & welcome to the forum!
Beautiful plant you have there.

Here's one thought...if you know the label is the one that came with the plant it is possible the Av has sported or changed...they do that sometimes.Maybe Snowrose will compare it to the pic in the av program she has...that will help. But you also have to match it to the official description too. Pic can sometimes be off a bit but not as much as yours are showing so I think it probable sported, if of course the label is not mixed up..

Just somethin to think about..
Again welcome to the forum!

MsC

edited for typos :(

This message was edited Jun 2, 2007 6:32 PM

Thank you for the welcome! I have enjoyed the last couple of weeks around here at DG so much! This is a standard size AV and although I can see the similarities to the Sassy Sister pics it's not the same. The apple green edges on mine are very very lacy. I have got to get a better picture! When I read the description of Guelph's Dynamite I could almost think this is it and it just does not have the dark fuchsia coloring (even though it is nothing like the picture I found, the written description sounds closer) so I'm wondering if MsCritterkeeper may be right and it changed a bit with my heavy well water and this long cold winter we are just coming out of. Especially since I thought I was very very careful with the names that came with the violets I bought. Ok, I went and took pictures in the dark and it shows the apple green lacy edge better. I would love to know if I have name right but regardless this is one of the prettiest violets I have grown and I'm very happy with it! And willing to share, maybe gessiegail in all her expertise would get the right colors out of it! ~Brenda

Ok I will quit boring you after one more shot of this plant taken after dark. My camera seems to pick up a bit more detail with the flash...~Brenda

Hiya,
I would suggest emailing your source. It's possible that the tags got switched and they'll ID it right away.

I second Key's suggestion...you can email the person you purchased it from & they should be able to help ID it .

If they acn't for some reason then you need to lable it as a NOID or Lookalike plant and enjoy it.. unidentifiable AV's happen sometimes.

It is a beauty & certainly a keeper for sure...I'd trade a leaf for it for sure...lol

Keep us posted.


MsC

I knew that if I started a post with "hiya", MsC would just have to agree :D

ROTFLMBO... I knew ya could be converted to a TEXAN...lol

Next it wil be HOWDY! :-)

Welcome to DG and the AV forum, Brenda! That sure is a beautiful AV, but I can't be a lick of help in IDing it. Love the ruffly green edges! And you could never post enough pictures to bore us! :o)

I'll agree with Key's suggestion to email your source for possible ID, too. Some of the pros can ID them from a mile away. (Is there something magic about the word "Hiya"? LOL Now, if I could just convert all of you to saying "y'all" my work here would be done. :oP)

"Hiya" is certainly magic. It's got a dollop of sunshine already in the word, don't you think?

97.5% of MsC's mail messages start with "hiya". (For the remaining 2.5%, it's already too sunny and we need some shade.) I *do* sometimes use "howdy" too.... but since I speak with mostly a brit accent, they are both words I've yet to actually say out loud :P

Oh come on, you're sitting there right now practicing saying them both in your best Southern drawl! ;o)

actually I am rolling "y'all" around and wondering how anyone does it. . . .

It's quite fluid, once you get used to it. ;o)
Now "you'uns" is one I can't seem to master, even though I was born and raised in the South.

I am almost positive that this plant came from some one on eBay called "Garden Angel" so I shall try and get in touch with her. I wish eBay still had a record of everything you'd purchased instead of only the last 90 days. I know, I know, I should have kept my own records : ) but I was new to this and didn't know it would be so addicting!! So now I'm playing catchup trying to get a record of each plant and it's name etc. A few will just have to be NOID for awhile but some day I'll get them all. And when I say "all" I am nowhere in the league most of you ladies are in. I have maybe 5 dozen plants between streps, AV's and a few episcias and chiritas. But they bring me a lot of enjoyment, to the point that my oldest DD says I have a problem as I talk about them like they are children. : )))
~Brenda

Hi Brenda,
I'm thinking your plant could be 'Aca's Megan' most likely which has the light pink blossoms and no fantasy markings.

John Brownlie registered 3 sports of 'Mister Sun' the description following..

Mister Sun (8596) 04/25/1997 (J. Swift) Semidouble-double fuchsia large frilled star/wide white edge. Medium green, quilted, wavy/red back. Standard

Here are the 3 sports he registered:

Guelph's Dynamite (9121) 04/20/2002 (J. Brownlie/Guelph University) Semidouble-double pink ruffled star/variable fuchsia fantasy markings; thin white-green edge. Light green, quilted, glossy, wavy, serrated. Large

Guelph's Christmas (9120) 04/20/2002 (J. Brownlie/Guelph University) Semidouble-double fuchsia large frilled star/thin white-green edge. Medium green, quilted, glossy, wavy, serrated/red back. Large

Aca's Megan (9118) 04/20/2002 (J.Brownlie/Guelph University) Semidouble - double light pink ruffled star/thin white green edge. Light green, quilted, glossy, wavy, serrated.

All registered at the same time just different colorations of Mister Sun. See?

Your plant is lovely with all the ruffles. I've noticed that plants with ruffled leaves (wavy) usually have ruffled blossoms to go along with it. Very pretty.

I just knew that Snowrose or Keyring would eventually come along...............amazing what they both know!!!!!

What an education I'm getting Thank you Snowrose! That description is a good match and since they are all closely related anyway who knows what could be going on with mine. I have several more blooms that will open on this plant so it will be interesting to see if they all have the same coloring. I will enjoy it no matter what.

Looks like this photo at the AVSA website of 'Sassy Sister' :

http://www.avsa.org/Photographs/SassySisterLrg.jpg#http://../Photographs/SassySisterLrg.jpg%23

Hi plantladylin, that picture does look close and it is a very pretty violet, maybe one for my wish list now as I really like the semi mini's as I can fit more of them into my house : ) But this one I have is a standard sized violet. The bloom has opened flatter and bigger. Here's a new picture. I am still in love with it!

And the whole plant again, notice the new blooms popping up and there are even more forming that you can't see. If several start blooming at once it's going to really be a beauty.

I am going to go play around on ebay at Garden Angel to see what they are offering....

Gail please check you Dmail first...

MsC

I went looking for Garden Angle again to ask a question about this plant and noticed she is selling lots of leaves. I bought 24 leaves from her in December of 2006. The careful packing and labeling was amazing. I had never put an African Violet leave down before and jumped in with both feet. I put them in little cups and then put them on a cookie sheet on top of my desk in a south facing window in the dead of winter. It seemed to take an extra long time (I wonder why, fluctuating temps, gray snowy days, no humidity to speak of...) but eventually 18 of those leaves put up babies, lots of babies. I had to beg people to take baby plants from me this spring : ) Wish I would have found DG sooner, I would have loved to have given them away to anyone that wanted them. I now have 16 babies left and I am looking forward to growing them bigger and seeing them bloom for the first time. Here's a picture I snapped a couple of weeks ago of them.

Those look wonderful! You'll have some really pretty bloomers before long! ;o)

And I didn't even realize there was one named 'Firehouse'! That is one I simply must find...I hope it's pretty! LOL I'm going to see if I can find it. :o)

Leaves are one of the safetest ways to increase or grow a collection...good safe choice>

Firehouse looks a lot like Bob Serbin...jmho

MsC

Leaves are one of the safetest ways to increase or grow a collection...good safe choice :)
Winter leaves are supposedly slower than leaves we put down in spring & summer,but it takes an average of about 2 months to get babies from most & about a year to grow them to blooming size.


Firehouse looks a lot like Bob Serbin...jmho

MsC

I found it and it is pretty! It does look a lot like Bob Serbin, which is one I like, too. Yay! Because I would have gotten it and grown it even if it was the ugliest AV ever grown. LOL

I just watched the slideshow from the convention and I think yours could be Kermit. Ck it out.

Sandi

Very nice plantlets Bmedel! Great Growing!

This is quite a coincidence....the other day I was just browsing through pics on line and saw the Kermit....meant to tell Brenda and forgot!!

So I've been online looking at every violet I could find with green in them and or on their edges and I still have not found this one. Although I have not been able to find a Aca's Megan photo which I would love to see. Kermit is pink and green but does not have the deeply ruffled edges. I do appreciate you keeping my violet and question in mind and trying to help me out some more!
I took some new pictures today of the original bloom opened up even more and then a new bloom opening with a couple more that are behind it. Might as well post them as i am still in love with this violet, It gets prettier everyday!
~Brenda

New bloom beginning to open...

Whole plant with blooms in various stages....

You're right it is a beauty!

Brenda, Here's another suggestion...if you think you purchased it on ebay, and if you use Paypal...go into your Paypal account & check your history with the sellers you know you bought AV's from. Paypal itemizes your invoices from the sellers and it does go back at least a year if not further.The pics won't show but the names of plants you purchased will...even if you sent your payment by cash. That might help you narrow the names more exactly . The process of elimination...:)

Nice pics!

MsC