Question
Hi Will,

Looking over past answers of all the houseplant experts you seem to be the most knowledgeable and I hope you can answer my question.

I've had great success growing African violets for about 10 years now and have a large collection in a wide array of lovely colors, most of them solids. I know how to propagate violets from stem cuttings, however, being clones the new plants are the same color as the parent. My question is how to propagate new plants that will have color variations from the parent plant? And how do I control the color combinations outcome?

Thanks for your help,
Kelly

Answer
Hi Kelly,

Rarely, a plant will produce a genetic anomaly called a "sport" that has a different characteristic than the parent plant. So it is possible for an AV to one day produce a flower of a different color, but that is rare.

You are correct that cuttings or clones retain the same characteristics as the parent plant. To get different colors, you would have to hybridize your AV's by cross-pollinating plants of different colors. This is a complicated process because it involves producing and harvesting and germinating very tiny seeds. To complicate matters, many hybrids produce sterile seeds. You would have to get information from an AV hybridizer, if you seriously want to try this.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC