I’ve been asked a few times what it means if an African violet is a “dropper”.

Some African violets with single flowers have a genetic trait that makes them drop blossoms before they even get a chance to wilt. It’s not a great trait.

While a dropper can still be very-very beautiful, it can be disappointing to watch a flower stalk take a long time to grow only to lose the flower within a few days due to a small shake. So in my hybridising journey I tend not to keep them, unless they are unique enough to consider doing further work with (ie crossing with non-droppers in the hope of achieving a similar looking plant that is not a dropper).

Anyway, since a picture is worth a thousand words (and a video is surely worth even more), here’s a super-short video showing a dropper: