I should have said I would trade for white violet leafs. toni

Hey Toni! You'll learn lots here, I did (still am)! There's an exchange section you can also try your luck in. I hope you find your white av!

Hi Toni!

I can't trade leaves across the border, but a few of my favourite whites are:
Optimara montana (variable blue showing up in warmer temperatures)
Optimara little crystal (grows like a trailer, but blooms like one too)
Alan's fallen angel (trailer)
Milky way trail (lots of blooms on this one as well)
And my new favourite, Senk's snowy egret (standard trailer, the blooms have some purple streaks or veining in them, so not solid white, but mostly.)

the optimaras you can probably find in garden centers etc, the others are probably a bit harder to find.

Good luck & have fun growing!

Karin

Toni
I see that you are in California, so am I. It seems that
white AVs are popular now here in California among
collectors. Both white blossoms with green leaves and
white blossoms with lots of white variegation on the
leaves. You might want to check for AV clubs in your
area and try to get to an AV club show and sale.
There is one coming up in San Francisco soon.
And there either was or will be one in Sacramento.
I don't know about SoCal.
Another possibility is to order some leaves of white
AVs from Lyndon Lyon's. I just did that a few weeks
ago. They also have white flowering plants.

In my experience, the white flowers are slower to
grow. If the plant has variegation, they are even slower.

If you look around at Trader Joe's or even Ace Hardware,
they often have Optimara's that are locally grown.
You might find a white one.

I have a few, but I had a problem with the water conditioner I was using for many months that stunted the growth on
many of my plants. So I am waiting for my plants to
recover and can't offer any leaves at this time.

Good luck and welcome. J

To the very nice folks that took the time to respond to my post, Thanks You very much! lots to learn and you have helped me on my way. I have concluded that the best thing for me is to order some white violets (thank you for some names) and then I might be able to exchange their leafs with other white violet growers. Atl least they might be more interested. :) I had a bit of a shock yesterday when I went to the Senior Center. A friend brought be at least 25 leafs as a surprise gift. Wonderful, Very kind, but I live in a small apartment. She said some were very old varieties I hope it is o.k. to put several leafs in each little container. I feel duty bound to try to make these babies grow. Somewhere I seem to remember that some people really like to grow the old violets. Hope I recognize them If I can keep them alive. :) Please keep those kind thoughts coming and drop me a hello if you have the time. Any further advice most welcome! toni

Hi Toni!

Welcome from me, too. That was a very nice thing that your friend did. You will soon find the perfect spot to have your violets, and it will be your favorite spot to sit & enjoy their progress. At least that's what happened to me. I have a noid white violet leaf that's been potted up for a few months, and if it ever has babies,
I'll be happy to send you one, when they're big enough to share.

Old avs are a treasure, so I hope you have great success with your leaves.

Sue

Hi Toni
The potting mix for leaves needs to be very light with at least fifty percent perlite which creates air pockets for the roots to breathe. Then add potting mix. I get the one labelled for AVs from Ace Hardware and Garden Center. Some people add some vermiculite which retains moisture in the mix. They should be placed in very small cups such as very small solo cups with small holes cut in the bottom for drainage. I use an Xacto knife also bought at Ace.
Sometimes I cut about a
3/4" around from the top of the cup if it seems too tall. It is better for no more than one or two per cup because when they grow, they need space. If you cannot do this all in one day, put the leaves in water with a pinch of sugar. You can find many photos on this forum for rooting leaves and samples of trays with clear plastic lids to put them in after putting them into each small cup. You can also find the trays with tall covers at Ace. Because you live in Calif you probably have an Ace near you.
The leaves will take nine months to grow to the small plant stage so they won't take up much space for a long time.
You will start to see many more white plants in stores. It can be hard to find pure white but I saw Optimara has a new one on their website also. Yes, some folks like older or vintage violets. Have fun. J

Hi Toni,

I too am new to the forum. Just starting to put together a collection after a 12 year hiatus (lost everything after a move).

But I too am collecting white AVs, and would trade leaves and plantlets with you. However everything is just a leaf in a solo cup at this point. Maybe in spring when things are hopefully in full swing.

Let me know.

Joe

Hi Joe! Welcome aboard. As you can see from the posting, I have had lots of wonderful people help and I have learned a lot. Yes, I would be very interested in keeping in touch and exchanging white violets. Hope to hear back, toni

Update on my 25 leaves!
Followed advice. Got good mix, found a throw away foil oblong casserole with plastic lid. All leaves prepared and planted in little paper cups with drainage holes in bottom. I punched two air holes in top of plastic lid. Hope I was supposed to do that, How much light do these little babies need? Window space is very limited. Can I grow them under an ordinary lamp with one of those new light bulbs in it? Help, help more advice needed Thx toni

Paper? Nope, has to be plastic! Or else, water them often and as the paper disintegrates, be prepared with your plastic Solo cups on hand. Solo is a brand name. You can
get look-alikes. They are not quite as good, a little too high and narrow. I cut them down, I take about 1/3" off with an Xacto knife and slice holes in the bottom. Then I label
the pot, put the leaf in the potting medium, then insert the
entire thing in an intact cup that has not been cut down
and does not have holes in the bottom. It acts as a saucer and a support and the label stays dry and is visible through the clear-ish cup.
It supports the leaf, and the bottom is not bumpy from being sliced up, so it does not topple over. I tend to keep them in smaller rectangular plastic containers such as that will hold about a dozen or less. They are easier to move around that way or pick up for watering.

You can also have someone collect Keurig coffee cups for
you. But they are messy, you have to cut out the little
sack of used coffee. I prefer the pseudo-solo cups.

You can get the cardboard seed trays from the gardening store, but they have to be watered all the time. Plastic is best. Or even small Styrofoam cups cut down. You can cut holes in the sides of those for drainage.

Joanne