Welcome!! Noid means no ID. A plant from the big box stores has no name and can be shared with others but not named by you and traded. I ran into a woman who bought all kinds of noids and gave them cute names. This is the wrong thing to do because AV's are to be registered and named by the hybridizer only. There are over 14,000 registered varieties, so you can imagine the confusion naming a noid could cause. I number my noids and do trade them to others, some hobbists won't trade them at all. Visit the African Violet Society and check out the photos if you aren't familiar with it, you'll be amazed how fantastic the varieties are. www.avsa.org is the addy.

Wendy, You are not annoying. This is how we all learn. I'm still learning after well over 50 years of growing plants of all kinds. Continue to ask questions so we can all learn or be reminded of old tips we have long forgotten. Ron

It's a Begonia, definitely... and it looks most likely to be Dragon Wing, or similar.

Gack, we hit 104 the last two days and my thermometer read 106 yesterday. Records falling left and right. Laura, thanks! Can't wait to see your Black Tiger pics! I've read that it has super-thick petals. The Maverick is cool with the velvety stem but I wonder if it's also a slow grower. Mine is kinda "sleepy" while the others I picked up at the show are putting out a lot of new growth. Hope to see blooms next year. The cream color is getting better with age, thankfully, because the first blooms were pretty "meh." The smell is vanilla and lemon. It's gonna be a tall tree, too. Yikes. My Intense Rainbow split, too, and I'm now trying to air-layer since it's unsightly and not looking like it will heal over completely. Maybe your GS split is from all the recent rain? Jennifer, the cattleyas are outside and the person I got them from also kept them outside in the hot Texas summers, under shade trees. I lucked out with blooms this year; they were such a happy surprise! They are much more tolerant of our conditions outdoors here and seem to need more light than the phalaenopsis do. My phala. stay indoors and bloom well in a north/east facing window only. I'm also looking forward to seeing your UH Orange bloom! Sun, thank you--I feel very fortunate to have that stunning red. I wonder if under cooler conditions it will be dark pink or dark orange instead of red. You know how I feel about orange!