A Batch Seedlings

This is what they looked like after I moved them out into their own cups and assigned each their number. This was done around December 2007.
I had a more extensive description of some of my keepers on another place on the Internet. I hope to add that info here, but for now this will do.

What happened to the numbers not listed? they may have been rather plain and I didn't think to capture a photo. Some of them I gave away to friends and some I gave to my grandma's church to help raise funds. Or the African violet may have died without being able to get a photo. Or it could very well be alive and thriving, but hasn't bloomed or I haven't captured a photo and thought to get it's label with the photo shoot. If it is not listed, you can assume one of those things happened.

Objective for this batch:
- see what I can get if I can actually do it. (This was my first successful batch) I wasn't looking for anything special or even worth keeping.
- both "parents" were solid color blooms. One was light blue-lavender and the other white. 2012 Optimara Violets confirmed the parantage. The white violet is Montana II and the purple one is Stephanie I.

- "Mother" (Possibly Rhapsodie Stephanie, 1995 version) is a carrier for pink.
- Father was white. (Optimara Montana II) It's a recessive color. Flower shape was a double/semi-double, but like many Optimara's this is misleading. (I see them switch a bit between bloom cycles.) I don't know if white is separate from other color genes (a masking gene like with cat and dog genetics) or not. If I were to guess I think it may be a "masking gene" being recessive to all color, but I am not sure. Or maybe it simpily dilutes any color, and 100% diluted color may be kind of rare. I suspect that may be very possible. The results seem to hint at that possiblity.

- Results:
Color:
A range of medium blue (purple) to very pale blue (lavender), pink to pale pink. All flowers so far prove to be solid colored.

Flower shape: "Pansy" for most offspring, recessive star-shaped blooms with about a fourth of the offspring. The sticktites (non droppers) seem to range from double to single.
About 1/4th would be single droppers. (single dropping is recessive)

Leaves:
- some were ruffled and some were relativly plain. Colors ranged from dark green to light or medium green. Plain smooth edges seem to be recessive. I would guess the father's wide round leaf shape was also recessive. Most have a red reverse (Dominant trait). You can see the photos and compare them to this refrence.

Size: All offspring are standard size.

Comments: I'd consider this a small batch. I didn't plant the entire pod. Out of about 20 that sprouted, 14 of them grew.

Bolded are my favorites and my keepers out of the batch.

From the A batch we have:

A1



This one was given away. I loved it, but it was a single dropper. (flowers fell off whenever the plant felt like it). It was also kind of plain. I don't regret giving it up, even though I got a lovely photo.

A3



This one I have, but it died back severly over the winter and spring. I had some serious problems with the lower leaves turning yellow. I still haven't quite figured out why that is even after trying various things. It could be something to do with a change in our water or the temperature.

A4





It's a dropper and kind of a plain flower. The foliage is really nice though. Even so, I'm not planning to keep it.

A6





This one I don't plan to keep, if I haven't already given it away already. It's a bit too plain.

A9





It had a number of interesting traits, but I doubt I kept it for whatever reasons. Single dropper. Color: Very Pale pink, almost white.

A10





I'm keeping it for the time being. It's a heavy bloomer, and probably most like "Father". So far the color seems to be white, but I want to see it bloom more times before I call it white. This variety has dealt with some set-backs. I'm hoping it will survive.

A11





Given away. Like A1 I felt it was a bit plain. Plus I had others with a similar shape from the B batch that had more color. I didn't keep it long enough to see if it was a dropper or not. It looked like one.

A12 "Porcelain Butterfly Wings"





It's a keeper. I love serrated leaves. They come to kind of a soft point. The flower shape is ideal for this crossing. Flowers range from single to double. Pale pink.

A13





Hard to see, but the veins have a slight darker outline. Color: Pale blue (lavender), in some areas it could almost be 2-toned. I'm keeping this one.

A14





I may have given this away. Color: very pale blue(lavender). Single dropper.