Yup ...

It's not very stable. I wasn't thrilled about mine.

I guess it's just living up to its name. :)

I never had one that stayed true to its description.

If you get lucky and see somebody showing PS with good
colors - try to get a starter from this person. Generally - this one needs to be propagated from suckers, not leaves - and if you put a leaf - keep all your babies to choose the best.

irina

Hello Irina,

May I know if playful spectrum is actually a class of av or a particular named av ?

Playful Spectrum is the name of a variety of African Violet. It is not a class.

Linda

Irina,
If I kept all my babies from a leaf to choose the best, is there a time period to wait to see if it will keep blooming true? The plant I have is a couple of years old and, at first, it bloomed as it should and then it went off on its own. Also, if I were to take a sucker from this plant, as it was originally blooming true, would it be likely to bloom true or revert?
Linda

Hi Linda,

Thank you :) that's so interesting. Does this mean the playful spectrum has many many spots then?

Ben

Ben,
Here is the official description of Play Spectrum: Playful Spectrum (P. Sorano) Single-semidouble white fluted star/blue fantasy, wide lavender-pink band. Medium green. Standard. The first picturebelow is what the plant should look like..
The second picture is the same plant in a different bloom cycle. See how some of the blooms have changed?
My P.S. is now blooming all pink. The plant is genetically unstable which is frustrating to some who want the plant to be exactly what it is supposed to be and very exciting for others.who enjoy the fun of waiting to see what color it will revert to this time!
If you google P.S. images, you will see many color variations of the same variety.

Linda

Note how some blooms are the original color and some have changed due to genetic instability. Growing conditions are an influence as well.

Ben,
Check this out.

Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: AVSE Forum

Wow !! Thanks Linda!!! It's soon amazing!!! How I wish I could have one of it hahhaaaa!! Amazing amazing!
I am now setting up some light stand using LED. Hope to start a three next month when I am ready

Ben

Linda - if your first -second blooms look right on a young plant - keep it. Usually the older tired plants - even matching the description in the very beginning - start sporting after a year year and half. If you see it is sporting- you can sometimes lop the sporting top - and the suckers undel will have a chance to come right - or take an older leaf which produced a flower that bloomed true - and put it down.
The changes in blossoms match to changes in a stem tissue - so if you manage to produce progeny form the older part of stem you will recover the true blooming plant material.

Thanks Irina. It sounds like a fun experiment: I might try removing the crown as well as taking a few older leaves and see what happens.
Linda

Irina,
Just a thought: if one wanted to have a Playful Spectrum which bloomed true in their collection at all times, you would have to continually take leaves (or suckers) and start them to ensure this? Is it just taken for granted that P.S. will always sport?
Linda

Suckers. I would take suckers all the time and root them - it is good plant to have and to share. Same is with Chimeras - I would never kill a sucker of it - I will wait until it is big enough to be rooted.

It is a good idea not to keep plants over 1.5-2 years old. You can top it and reroot the crown - or restart from a leaf. They just do not bloom that well and susceptible to rot, sporting and they look tired.

I.

All varieties or just Playful Spectrum?

Reviving this thread here, have you tried Amour Elite, a
similar patterned and colored Russian variety? Wonder
if that is more stable? I have had chimeras
revert to one or the other of the parent colors, as well
as fantasies having fewer speckles with successive
blooming cycles. Also, blossoms that were supposed to have hints of other colors revert to solids. And blooms
that were originally tightly curled and double revert
to flat, single stars. Most of these have come from the
same grower. But perhaps it can happen with any
hybrid from any grower. It just makes me think of genetics
when one never knows what or who one's human offspring
will resemble. When you think of all the
generations of violets that preceded the creation of
this complicated pattern, I suppose, "anything goes."
Maybe it should be called "Simply Shocking."
Joanne

Joanne,

I do think the instability is due to all the hybridizing that has occurred with this plant. When I started growing in the olden days, I never heard the word 'sport' in reference to AV's. Now they are popping up everywhere.

I have Amour Elite and have not had it revert or sport.

Linda

Is there any growing techniques that can minimize sporting? How do the commercial growers keep their collection true?
Wendy/sk

Probably chuck the sports the moment they see them.
The best way to prevent sports - is to maintain consistent good culture. Any kind of stress promotes sporting. Old age - promotes sporting. So - every so often you need to restart your plant from a leaf - or sucker - for chimeras - keep several of them until they bloom - and select the best most typical one. Every so often you get a super sport - worth keeping and naming - like the fantasy turns chimera. The ones that are not conforming - should become presents to "lay" people. I put them on a separate shelf, grow to good size - and they go to my Mom's friends in Senior apartments.

I.

Hi Linda
Thanks for the tip on Amour Elite. There was a time
when I simply could not make up my mind which one
to choose. So you have answered my question!
I prefer the AVs to bloom as true as possible.

Irina, you crack me up, "lay people." Indeed!
We have all joined the brotherhood/sisterhood of
the Alchemical Chimericals! Because I seem to
prefer the more predictable, less fantastical varieties,
perhaps there is a subset of newer converts, the
Orthodox Violet Growers Sect.

Joanne

Joanne,

Perhaps the 'Hippy Dippy Violet Growers Sect" for those of us that like our violets a bit on the unpredictable side???

Linda ;)

hippy ... dippy ...doodle ... 'MOB'

or ... for Irina ... MOG.... mine was ... FOG ... in May ...

bwah ha ha!

dave (FOG)

I get it, Tie-dyed violets.
Doesn't Ionantha mean "fairy-like?"
I think I read that somewhere.
Joanne

Ionantha means 'violet like' hence the common name of African Violet.

Linda

Dave ...with your creative use of acronyms...you get me confused - and it is not TGIF yet.

MOB - Mail Order Bride
FOG - Frigging Opportunity for Growth
MOG - Messenger of God - is it you, Dave?

Irina, totally tie-dyed

MOB => Mother of Bride
MOG => Mother of Groom
FOG => Father of Groom
FOB => the thing one's pocket watch hangs from

and then there's the princess bride acronym

ROUS => rodents of unusual size ....

seems many of us are having or will have had experiences in this realm this year.

dave (in a perpetual state of fog ...not the groom type)

I really like the playful spectrum thread name

Please tell me MOG is not Dave. Please...

Linda, totally dazed and confused

Laffin' out loud, LOL or is it ROFL? truly!

Hey, Linda, have you done any hybridizing?!
Irina? Dave?

Joanne

I have a daughter. Does that count? heeheehee

Linda

yes, we breed for ... world domination

but it skips a generation

dave (a.k.a. 'skippy')

I believe that goes without saying....

Linda WDIT

Somebody hybridized this double blossomed triple charging lawyer of Dave...Sounds like an intergeneric cross.

or intergalactic curse ... as this conversation is over my
head! way over ...
Yes, Linda, daughters count, for sure!
We're empty nesters (ENs) here, not home enough
for dogs, developed allergy to cats (sad, I know), hence
the indulgence in violet frenzy.
Joanne

EN here, as well. Addicted to plants, dogs, travel and red sports cars.

Linda

Linda, enjoy photos of Playful Spectrum that I took at Cincinnati show this year. It's the best Playful Spectrum I've seen

{{gwi:359384}}

This post was edited by 1beautylover2012 on Sat, Oct 26, 13 at 22:55

1BL
LOVE IT! I will try to print a copy from my screen one
of these days. Changes my entire attitude towards
chimeras/fantasies.
I have one labelled "Kohleria HCY's Jardin de Monet 02/03/10 bf" from Violet Barn that is the same color
combination as the pic above and triple petals, but more speckled than swirls as in the photo. It is an AV, not a
kohleria (I think). I don't recall ordering it specifically,
but I must have.

There is an LLG called Bold Party Girl, I don't have it,
they are out of stock. However, if I recall, it has a similar color pattern.

Linda
Wow, red sports car!!! Life in the fun lane! My travel is more
prosaic, visiting the kids and grands. Guess I should check to weather in "Chicagoland" as Annie on the podcasts refers to it. It is probably brrrr!
Joanne

Lina,

Beautiful pictures! Your photography is awesome. That PS is very different from any I have seen. I wonder if it blooms this way every time. I missed the CIncy show this year as I was still recovering but I'm looking forward to next year.

Joanne,

Make that 2 red sports cars! ;)

Linda

Linda, Of course, one must always have a "spare,"
just like a back-up violet! One never knows when
one's red car might "sport!"

I saw in LLG on-line catalog an AV same color scheme as the PS above, called "Grandpa's Smile." That must be for FOG.

Joanne

Polina posted a gorgeous pic of Playful Spectrum SPORT.

Playful Spectrum (P. Sorano) Single-semidouble white fluted star/blue fantasy, wide lavender-pink band. Medium green.

I would move this plant to the sport category - and gave it the best.

Irina