Are AV babies ALWAYS identical to parents?

Ok, this is probably a very dumb question, but I have a mysterious AV that I think I grew from a leaf (or was it a sucker?) of another plant that looks completely different.

In the photo, the parent plant is on the left. It is a Shimmering Sunshine that I purchased last year from a local nursery. The nursery’s AVs are supplied by Old Dominion AV Society. I potted up a sucker and also grew a few baby plants from a leaf. “Identical AV baby plants could be grown from leaves” was all I knew (only heard about it) about AVs. LOL .

I didn’t label any of them because I just thought I would recognize them when they started to bloom. I had only 2 AVs at the time and didn’t think there would be any confusion.

As you can see, the baby plant looks very much like the parent plant except for the flowers. The Shimmering Sunshine has semi-double bright fuchsia flowers with white edges, but the baby plant has very large white flowers with beautiful soft-green edges. If you look closely, you can see a hint of fuchsia at the center of the flowers. There are 6 flowers now, 3 single and 3 semi-double.

You are all experienced AV growers. Can you please tell me if it is possible for an AV baby to look different from the parent plant when propagated from leaves/suckers? I will post a few close-up pics.

Thank you very much.

Here is the parent plant, Shimmering Sunshine.

A close-up of a single flower on the baby plant.

A close-up of a semi-double flower on the baby plant.

Here is another baby plant. It does look like the parent plant.

The simple answer is no. If the parent plant is a Chimera, for example, then you will end up with different looking babies. Similar things can happen with some rhizomatous genera as well. Some Kohlerias won't come true from rhizomes for some reason but will come true from rhizome scales.

Shimmering Sunshine isn't a chimera, so leaf propagation should be true.

Some AVs with usually green leaf undersides sometimes sport leaves with purple underside. This type of sprting usually has an influence on the color of the flowers that is carried on into the plantlets when propagated by leaf. Could that be the case?

In general, babies grown from leaf cuttings should bloom true to the parent plant.

However . . . it is possible for surprises to happen. I know of someone who started a leaf from a green plant - Playmate . . . and one of the babies has chimera leaves. We are waiting for it to bloom, to see if the bloom is the same, or if that changed as well.

Thank you all. At least I didn't plant/buy a new AV without me knowing it. LOL. I thought I was going crazy.

This mysterious AV is actually very lovely. The flowers are striking. The green edges are soft and pretty.

That's great! Well, quite a few Gesneriad cultivars have started as sports of something else... :)

Olaf

If you buy a AV that is registered with the AVSA your chances that the babies will be the same are 98 percent, this is because the rules, in order to register, say that the plant has to be grown for 3 or 5 generations (not sure) and this prevents changing. Growers adhere to this because they pay $ for registering their AV.
Optimara is one known not to pay too much attention to this.

Some unregistered will not revert because the hybridizer adheres to this rule anyhow but doesn't want to spend $ for registering. The russian EK is a good example of this.
Also others. my 5 cents

3 generations

Helene, you are so right. I've had some Optimara's not bloom true, for sure!

OMG but those opti minis to die for.
Came home from the Phily/cherry hill convention I have never seen anything like it.
Would you believe I pack this tiny littel thing of a camera. the battery charger for it to make sure I have it for all my events here that are important.?
I forgot it have way there.
Just such an event in my life. I now know why i survived cancer.... to experience living again.

Were u able to get any pictures? I'd love to here all about the convention and see pics. Maybe u can start a convention thread for those of us who couldn't go and we can live vicariously through it.

Glad it was as fun as you thought it'd be. I (for one, I"m sure) would love to hear about it!

I want to go next year, so badly. Hopefully the time will work for me. It sounds like the internet dinner was widely attended. It would be so much fun to meet everyone.

I'm shooting for Austin in 2013 . . .