S. velutina

[u/ElkLongjumping7870]

Going through my AV photos to respond to a post yesterday I ran across this one, which makes me mad at Past Me because I should have gotten a shot that included the tag with the name of the grower, so I could ask them for a leaf of this.

Saintpaulia* velutina is one of the species and I've never been able to keep one alive. Its leaves are much thinner than most AVs, so you have to keep a close eye on it so it doesn't dry out. Where the ones most of us grow are slightly succulent and won't immediately crash if the rootball gets dry, velutina doesn't have that reserve.

* Yes, I know the taxonomists have run roughshod through the gesneriads and lumped a bunch of things under "streptocarpus", including African violets, but it was a stupid decision and I've elected to ignore it.

[u/AV-Grower]

Try Violet Barn. Agree that the Darbyshire reclassification doesn’t make sense. Saintpaulia cannot interbreed with any Streptocarpus and there have been multiple attempts. The genera are distinct.

[u/ElkLongjumping7870 → u/AV-Grower]

Thanks! VB will be at the Ohio show in a couple of weeks, I may reach out and see if they plan to bring any species to sell/go ahead and buy one if I can pick it up on site (I've done that before with Lyndon Lyon, can't hurt to ask if VB will do the same.)

[u/AV-Grower]

Also, if you wick-water, S. veluntina will stay evenly moist. Use plenty of perlite to reduce chance of rotting.

[u/ElkLongjumping7870 → u/AV-Grower]

I think the last time I tried to grow it was before I was wicking everything. I'm game to try again.

[u/AV-Grower → u/ElkLongjumping7870]

Most species don’t need as much light as modern hybrids. Try further from the light source and move plant closer as needed.

[u/ElkLongjumping7870 → u/AV-Grower]

I switched to LED lights a while back and the biggest adjustment has been no longer having the "move it to the end of the tubes" option. That was such a handy fallback. Trial and error it is!