References:
Basic Violet Care 
Blossoms and Foliage
Dividing a Leaf Clump - Rooting Leaf Cuttings & Cross Breeding
FAQ Subject & Topic Reference
Photographs of Growing Problems
Photographs of Leaf Types
Plant Stand Alternatives
Problems, Pests and Treatment
Repotting My Violets
Starting an African violet from a leaf
Why Won't My Violets Bloom?
Using two-part ceramic violet pots
       Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) portion of the website. This area is for questions regarding AVSA or the culture of African violets. Please read the current questions and answers to make certain that your question has not already been addressed. If your question cannot be resolved using the posted FAQs, or references (on the left), you may submit a question by clicking the link below. We use volunteer experts to post responses, so please be patient in waiting for your answer.
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Question: My question is about growing habits of Blue Boy which I believe is one of the original 10? I am considering entering it at MAAVS in November but wonder if judging factors are different for this plant because of its growing habits or if the look of the plant is due to my growing practices. First I will describe the condition of the plant: Leaves are large and have a long penduncle. They (for lack of wording) drape over each other and (as much as I believe they can) put the plant in symmetry having a leaf span of 15". Leaf color is good and they have a slight tiny red veining. Blossom color is good and each blossom stem stands up (looks like a crescent moon) and produces 3 blossoms per stem. Questions: 1) Crown-I have difficulty keeping this plant's crown growing straight! I have put it in the center as well as the edge of my lights, turn it regularly and have even tried to repot it in a deeper pot with the neck standing straight at the soil line. It will not grow with a straight crown. 2) Is blossom count as critical for this plant as is in judging other violets? If so, could you recommend anything I could do to decrease blossom drop if I decide to enter it to show? I took a sucker from this parent which is now about 5" and so far it doesn't seem to have the same crown problem. Also, please explain what the original 10 means, if Blue Boy is included, and are they species? Could you also tell me who the other 9 are?
Answer: While the scale of points used to judge vintage violets is the same as those used for judging all violets, judges do have the ability to be forgiving about some faults. Blue Boy is a particularly historical plant since it developed from the earliest work in Germany, while all but one of the other original ten were bred in England. While judges may not have grown the plant personally, it would be rare for a judge not to be pleased just to see the plant being grown. The expectation for bloom count is always much less for singles that drop their flowers. A Blue Boy with a leaf span of 15" would probably get nearly the full 25 points if you have 15 open flowers. Blue Boy should be able to grow straight. When I'm repotting a plant with a crooked stem, I find it is best to put the stem straight down into the soil even if the crown is tipped. Normally the crown will straighten out and grow better than if I pot it with the crown straight but the stem at an angle in the soil. I typically use the technique described at http://www.avsa.org/AVMFiles/Repoting%20to%20Bury%20a%20Neck.pdf . Repotting now would correct your problem, but the plant would not be ready for show at MAAVS this year. I would enter it with the crookedness and just accept that it will lose a few points because of that. Traveling with a single that drops can be very challenging. Tucking a small wad of toilet paper under the peduncles (be sure to remove them before entering the plant) to support them when the box is bumped or bounced will help. The original ten were selected from about a thousand seedlings that were imported by Walter Armacost whose firm, Armacost and Royston, was in California in 1927. He obtained the seed from Ernst Benary in Germany and Sutton's in England. In 1936 he introduced a group of ten superior plants. They were Blue Boy, Sailor Boy, Admiral, Amethyst, Norseman, Neptune, Viking, Commodore, No. 32, and Mermaid. These are all hybrids. The species were the plants found in Africa, and sent to Germany for research, which were used in the crosses that ultimately produced the original ten. If you are anxious to learn more about judging or growing to show, I would recommend that you seek out the AVSA Handbook for Judges and Pauline Bartholomew's book "Growing to Show". Both are available at http://avsa.org/Store/AVSAStore.html . Happy Growing! Joyce Stork
Question: What is a crown and what is a wasp?
Answer: A crown is a center of growth and all the leaves that originated from that center of growth. When a violet is grown as a 'single-crown', all of the leaves on the plant will radiate from a center where small new leaves are just developing. This is considered the ideal form for a standard African violet. Sometimes suckers (side shoot growth) will form on the main stem of a violet between the leaves- this is also a crown since it is a center of growth. If the sucker is allowed to grow and develop, it will soon become very similar in size to the original crown. This is not very desirable, as violets rarely bloom well and cannot grow neatly when there are two or more crowns in the pot. The exception to this is a type of violets known as trailers. Trailers naturally have multiple crowns that bloom freely, and they have longer leaf axils (the space between leaves) that allow trailers to develop a lovely mounded form. A 'wasp' is a rare blossom form in which the lobes of the flowers are narrowed into what look like separate petals, each with a narrow base that broadens at the tip. The effect is like that of a wasp's body shape. For example, see the photo of Calico Wasp: http://www.avsa.org/Photographs/CalicoWaspLrg.jpg#http://../Photographs/CalicoWaspLrg.jpg# Two breeders, Jimmy Dates and David Senk, have worked extensively to develop this unusual blossom trait. More examples of violets with wasp blossoms can be found in the AVSA software program called First Class, available for sale at http://www.avsa.org/Store/Books.html#First%20Class%20MVL%20Program . This searchable data base lists all of the African violets in the AVSA registry and is a great tool. Happy Growing! Joyce Stork
Question: This is a question about the 'hybrid' status of most of the African violets available today? Are the African violet hybrids today just hybrids of the species Saintpaulia ionantha or have other species been used to add to the modern day hybrids? Are they hybrids between the same species or of different species?
Answer: Many of the current hybrids originated from crosses made with Saintpaulia ionantha and with S. confusa (now considered to be a subspecies of S. ionantha). Recently DNA studies established that many species previously identified as separate species were in fact all variations of S. ionantha. Three years ago we claimed 20-30 species and today we claim just nine. There are several hybridizers, most notably Jeff Smith of Indiana, who continues to make a large number of crosses using the species. If you are interested in the species and early development of violet hybrids, you might find a new DVD program called "Understanding the African Violet Species" useful. It is a two-disk set available from the AVSA office in Beaumont TX ( 409-839-4725) which was just released last week. I believe the price is $29.95, and it is well worth it.Happy Growing! Joyce Stork
Question: What happened to the "Apollo"?
Answer: I checked First Class and there are two violets containing the name "Apollo". They are "Apollo Dream" and "Apollo Pink". Perhaps you only have the first part of the name and not the last (second word of the name)? If that is not the case then the plant you have may not have been registered by the hybridizer and has faded into oblivion. Good Growing Jim Owens Webmaster