TAVS Twice Monthly Meetings

At the July 19 daytime meeting   

Sandi (center) gave a very informative program on the original violets in Tanzania and Kenya. We now call these the "species" African violets. All African violets genetically came from one of the species. These plants are currently grown for their diversity of form and historical significance. All have simple flowers that are usually blue and fall off unlike today's violets that have sticktite flowers. Some of the species are trailers, and some form rosettes in their leaf pattern. The species mainly require less light and cooler temperatures for growing than the violets cultivated today. These species are not trimmed to conform like current varieties. There is a strong interest in the species as seen in special classes in AVSA shows.