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African Violets

Rambling violent

9 years ago

I ordered this little rambling amethyst (sp) violet from CBFM and it is so precious. Now I'm needing care instructions from all you experts out there. Do they eventually get much bigger as I sure hope so since it is so dainty.

Any advise will be helpful and appreciated.

Thank you,
Susan in Virginia

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Comments (22)

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Whitelacey
9 years ago
Susan,

Your violet will get bigger. Do a search here and look for trailing violets. They are handled a bit differently than other violets although the basic care is the same.

Do you have any experience with violets?

Linda
susancarol
Original Author
9 years ago
I've had bigger violets in the past. I even successfully managed to root a leaf. This is the first violet I've had in a few years. I'll take your advice.

Thank you.
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fortyseven_gw
9 years ago
Hi, If you happen to have an AV club near you, they would
offer advice in person and might have back copies of the AVSA magazine, which also covers this topic. Recently,
there was sharing on this topic on this forum. Using the Search feature and typing in trailing violets or trailers,
you might find the older threads.
In my experience, they are strong survivors. Of the few I have had, each one is a little different in its behavior.
They tend to be smaller but they are still very strong.
J
lauraeli_
9 years ago
lol! "Rambling violent". Is that like a traveling serial killer?

Could be a good name for a trailer AV though. A really crazy, fast growing one.
susancarol
Original Author
9 years ago
Laureli: I went back and proofed my post and now I see why you remarked about my thread. LOL!

The little darling couldn't be more non-violent.
quimoi
9 years ago
I was wondering if the AVSA would register "Ramblin' Violent." I kind of liked it :)

I'm trying Ramblin' Amethyst from leaves. I had Ramblin' Dots and liked it. It was a toss-up between getting it again and trying R. Amethyst.

Diana
susancarol
Original Author
9 years ago
This is the first time with such a tiny plant. It just seems so delicate.

I really would like to find some standards. I believe I have seen some large ones in Lowe's elsewhere but not near me.
quimoi
9 years ago
Ramblin' Amethyst is a standard trailer so it should not be a tiny plant, at least not when it grows a little. Trailers are categorized by their leaf size though, not so much the size they may be when grown since some people can grow very large pots of miniature and semi-miniature trailers. They do vary quite a bit.

I'll hunt up my leaf of Ramblin' Amethyst and see how big it is.

Most Lowe's seem to have Optimaras so if you watch, you can get a nice standard. They have a lot of varieties and many are easy to grow. I have other plants but I enjoy O. Texas and O. Chico, which are usually fairly easy to find. O. Tennessee II is another nice one. There are plenty of other ones but those are just a few. It's nice to have one that isn't fussy :) I have two Rhapsodie Micheles at the moment which is one I never tried it before. If you see it, I like Optimara Modesty which is blue with variegated leaves. O. Romance is pink with variegated leaves and worth trying but seems to be a little fussier for some folks. Maybe you can get your "fix" at Lowes ;)

Diana
Karin
9 years ago
I only have one trailer: pixie runaround sport. It may be classified a miniature, but I assure you it's intention is to take over the world... Nothing fragile about it.
So, I guess what I mean to say is: if you find a plant suited to your conditions, it will do well. The ones that just 'hang in there' - well, I still have to learn to let them go...

Karin

Ps, this and the rooted crowns are about to come into bloom, so I'll finally know if it blooms true :-)
And I still don't know if I should bother 'grooming' them and how...
susancarol
Original Author
9 years ago
Cute as a button, Karin.
paul_
9 years ago
Ã¢ÂÂ¢Posted by Lauraeli
lol! "Rambling violent". Is that like a traveling serial killer?

I had a very similar reaction to the thread title! Figured it must be one mean plant!
quimoi
9 years ago
If you do a search (I used Google) on african violet "Ramblin' Amethyst" you will get some photos. The colors are all over the place, but the description is:

Ramblin' Amethyst (6187) 03/29/1986 (E. Champion) Double lavender/variable fantasy. Crown variegated medium green and yellow, plain. Standard trailer

The leaves I have are about the size of a half dollar. I had a heck of a time finding them and panicked for a bit, thinking I hadn't ordered it! However there are plantlets. I needed to water some leaves anyway so it was a good thing I looked.

I hope that helps.

Diana
lauraeli_
9 years ago
Paul- Do you suppose it could hold its own against that weight-lifting tarantula?

More of a passing thought. An eight pound barbell is likely to be too much for even the meanest of violets...
PRO
Whitelacey
9 years ago
Paul,

You have a weight-lifting tarantula? Pictures!!!

Linda
paul_
9 years ago
Not I, Linda. My Ts aren't that "buff".

Laura is referring to a post on the Houseplants forum regarding spiders. A post left by one person did read funny. Goes to show why attention to grammar does matter. hehe

Here is a link that might be useful: Spiders
PRO
Whitelacey
9 years ago
Paul,

You're right about grammar. I had to read that three times before I figured out what she meant. It was a funny visual, though!

Linda
Rosie1949
9 years ago
Oh I really enjoyed reading about your trailing violet. It has been many years since I have had one. Maybe someday.......

But here is my dilemma. I shop Lowe's plant department all the time. At least once a week, inside and outside plants. That (to me) is what Lowe's is for! lol I get my "fix" and then go grocery shopping!

Here is my question though~~ How can you identify the various AV's from Lowe's? All they have is a generic tag in them. Every other plant has the proper tag with name and growing info, but those violets do not.

I even tried to scan the little square on a smart phone (my husband's--I have a dumb phone) and it told me absolutely nothing.

I am glad to know that they sell Optimara's, but I sure would like to know the name of each violet I buy from there. AND yes, I have asked the people in the plant department. They weren't really concerned! Any help would be very appreciated! Thanks~~Rosie
Karin
9 years ago
Rosie,
I typically look up if the grower has a website listing their varieties, and then I head over to myviolet.com and try to identify by size and color. To double check you can also look at the optimara field guide (it isn't as visually pleasing, but lists way more varieties with different photos than myviolet)....

On another note - I may be getting myself some more trailers soon - and I have buds popping up on pixie runaround sport - now they aren't open yet, but I am seeing white and purple, so I am expecting true chimera blooms :-)

Karin
PRO
Whitelacey
9 years ago
Rosie,

Most Lowe's violets are Optimaras. Go to the Optimara web-site and ID from there. Usually, the ones at the store are the newer varieties so that would help ID them on the web-site.

Optimara no longer ID's their violets. They expect you to go the web site and do it yourself.

Stupid idea if you ask me but then, nobody did.

Linda
quimoi
9 years ago
Optimara started a new Facebook group yesterday. The description is:

"African Violet ID Group. A central place for helping everyone identify common varieties found in retail stores and nurseries. 1000's of varieties exist, hundreds are in wide circulation, so we need to see specific details of your plant."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1433840903547669/

Facebook isn't exactly my "thing" either but Optimara is really trying hard to help. I have some plants that I will probably ask about when they "settle down" and I can get a good photo of them. They all come from Lowe's and they came with the Optimara label.

You can try going to MyViolet.com and some of them are fairly easy to pick out on there, others are iffier. I try to at least make a tentative identification so I can label them before I disbud, repot and quarantine them which I do ASAP.

I get my "fix" at Lowe's too and I'm glad I can. If they weren't there, I'd have to order, wait a month, pay express shipping and then get subs (this really happened this spring from a very well known place).

Isn't it interesting to think that at one time most people probably didn't give a thought to african violets having names and some people still don't? The worker at my Lowe's said her sister grew them and I didn't ask but I don't think she knew they were named.

Diana
Karin
9 years ago
I never knew they were named until I came here trying to find out why they weren't blooming.... I've learned a lot since then :-D

Karin
quimoi
9 years ago
It didn't change them much once they were named, did it? :D Same plant.

Diana

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