Silvia,

You can do either one. If you like the way it looks you can leave it although it will eventually get bunchy. (My Mother-in-law LOVES this look.) You can also divide it and get more plants if you like.

If you got this from a big box store or a grocery, it is probably an Optimara. You can look at their web-site to see if you can ID it.

I would also re-pot it into a light soil mix and don't over-pot. The soil these are grown in is too heavy for growing in the home.

Linda

Hi I am a newby here bt iwould remove a least one of the suckers for insurance just in case something happens to the mother plant. But I love it like that. :)

I would also try to get a back up plant by rooting a crown. If it is an Optimara it looks like Yellowstone or Trinidad II.

I had one n my office. I had no idea at the time that
multiple crowns were a "no-no" until an office friend
became the AV police and informed me of the AV law.

This post was edited by fortyseven on Thu, Mar 27, 14 at 2:25

47:

Did the AV police give you an AV fine and you go to AV jail?

Was ya sentenced to running out of room for all yer other AVs? Or did they punish you and tell you to fertilize only with high urea fertilizers ... and all you could do is sit back and watch them go through a slow, agonizing torturous demise?

sound like a steven king novel ...

ÃÂ.ÃÂ --~

dave

Hahaha. Dave you seem to be the dramatic one here. LOL.

Dave,
47 was sentenced to community service-combing the neighborhood and dividing everyone's multiple-crowned AV's. It took months...

Linda

multiple crowns ... divided royalties ...

uh-huh

dave

Ha, ha, you are not far from wrong, both of you!
I am the "plant doc" of the multiple crown neighbors, stealthily
wielding imy scapel.
My loyalties have shifted from the Germans
crowns (Opties)
to the Russians ... been watching some astounding
videos lately of Russian hybrids from Russia.
No such thing as a "shrinking violet" amongst them.
joanne (47)

Dave and I have been having a competition to see who can grow the most Russians. I think I am winning but he would probably say differently. :)

Linda

Hi Linda,
Wow, that is exciting news! Which Russians do you
have and which do you like best? I have just Beauty
Goddess, Gentle May and Ian Madame. I was looking
for pink varieties at the time I ordered them. A friend
wanted Gentle May for her birthday, I gave it to her.
Then it went out of stock at Lyon's. I just got a new
one from Fancy Bloomers.
I am really happy with the ones I got a few years ago,
they
are very strong, and well-behaved (they don't develop
multiple crowns or long necks.) I don't mind
that these grew big because the blooms are terrific.
Do you have a special place where you buy your
Russians, or do you go to various growers?
I wonder how the Russians got the plants to be
so huge and healthy. They are like AVs on steroids.
Popeye violets.
Joanne 47

Yes, it is very difficult to find plant food that contains spinach (popeye food).

Most of the varieties (at least I have found) I can almost pronounce and almost deduce an English translation, but not always.

For example, some names:

... Polina Viardo
... Astreia
... Anzhela Davis
... Rubin Mogolov
... Gortensia
... Matushka Metelitsa
... Ofelia
... Pigmalion
... Prints Persii
... Tainyi Znak (Tiny Tim)
... Rechka Tarusa
... Pridvornyi Shut

fun stuff. The names are almost exotic as the blooms I yearn for.

dave

Joanne,

I have about 75 varieties of Russians. (Many more than Dave :P).
I get them from E Bay. I have a couple excellent vendors and Dave and I have one we absolutely love. We have to be careful not to bid against each other!

From what I have read, the Russians were bred solely for their flowers with little or no attention paid to the leaf. This is the standard for their shows-nice flower, leaves a definite after-thought.

In my experience, this seems to be true. I have a few plants that have great foliage but a few of them have the goofiest growth patterns I have ever seen. Cabbage-like, twisted, misshapen leaves, awesome flowers. Very different from the Western varieties!

Linda

Hi Dave and Linda,

Great-souding list of names, Dave. Their names,
when translated, sound quite creative.
Linda, impressive quantity!
After reading your educational post, I went to
investigate the "twisted" foliage on one of
my Beauty Goddesses. Only to discover it
had developed a second crown. Well, "it is a
woman's prerogative to change her mind" or
develop an additional mind.
Guess I won't be entering her in the Atlantic
City Miss America Pageant. Er, Ms. Russian
Pageant.