Chimera Mandy
A pinwheel patterend, chimeral plant by Humako in Holland.
Members' report pages:
None so far.
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The first experimental growing project of AV International was launched on 1 October 2001.
 Members are experimenting with Keiki Grow.
The Keiki Grow paste was bought from Hormones Canada. Coordinator is Nancy McD. If you signed up and paid for the project and haven't received your paste, or if you would like to find out if it is still possible to join in the project, please contact Nancy on her special email address for this project.
Because this project is a pure experimental project, there will be no show. Notes and pictures from the participants will be displayed here. If you are taking part in this project and would like to know how to get a report page on this site, please contact the webmaster as soon as possible.
What is Keiki Grow?
The word 'keiki' means 'baby' in Japanese, and Keiki Grow (or Keiki Grow Plus) is the name of a plant hormone paste which has been used by orchid growers for a good many years. If applied to a plant the hormones in the paste will stimulate growth of new shoots, and so this is an excellent way of producing new plants.
Keiki Grow and African violets
For African violet hobby growers, Keiki Grow is a popular choice to produce babies from chimeral plants. A chimeral plant is a plant that cannot be propagated by leaf and maintain the characteristics of the parent. Well known chimeral African violet plants are the ones with pinwheel patterned flowers - these are known as 'chimeras', and there is also a Dutch line of chimeral plants with 'Chimera' as part of the trademark name.
Commonly, chimeral African violets are reproduced by rooting side shoots or bloom stalks - or by cutting off the top of the plant and root the shoots that later grow from that point. This latter method is an excellent way to ruin a beautiful plant - which is why many African violet hobbyists welcome the use of Keiki Grow, which will not ruin the mother plant.
Because of the time frame (it takes quite a few months to produce plantlets by using Keiki Grow), commercial growers are not likely to use Keiki Grow to propagate chimeral plants. Because of the extra work involved in reproducing chimeral plants, these are commonly more expensive than leaf-propagated plants.
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