This was no time to be a shrinking violet.

But for the 4-inch-tall, light purple African violet named Pat Champagne, the shrinking violet stature didn’t hurt its chances of being named “Best in Show” at the First African Violet Society of Denton’s flower show on Saturday.

Pat Champagne, competing against much larger and ornate African violets, won the award by scoring 98.5 points — a number based on the symmetry of its leaves, its health, the quantity of its blossoms, bloom size and color-matching specifications.

DRC/David Minton

Growers choose their own names for the hybrids they create and can be as creative or offbeat as they wish, as shown during the African Violet Society of Denton’s annual show on Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Denton.

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For the 21 members of the club, the art of coaxing a violet to grow — and grow well — takes time and patience, said Janet Castiglione, an ambassador for African violets, and who has been nicknamed “Short Stuff” by other members of the group.

“African violets are an endangered species. They grow primarily in the rain forests that are being cut down,” Castiglione said. “The leaves can’t take direct sunlight … and in the house, people have to create the rain forest again.”

African violet enthusiasts crank the heat up in their homes to about 76 degrees, add humidity to the air and tweak their lighting to provide the conditions needed for the flowers to flourish, she said.

African violets are gaining popularity across the state, Castiglione said, with about 300 to 400 varieties of African violets in Texas that are hybridized to create anything from those with large rosettes to miniature plants in a variety of colors.

While African violets can be purple, there also are pink blooms, white blooms and every variation in between.

Even the leaves show variation, which is called variegated foliage, she said.

Education is an important component of the show, Castiglione said, and one she takes seriously as she teaches children how to grow African violets.

She hopes education can help African violets from becoming extinct, she said.

DRC/David Minton

The many hybrids of violets can generate striking colors or patterns much different from the standard purple that most people envision.

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Saturday’s show had other gesneriads — celebrated growers that have kept certain types of African violets alive for more than 25 years.

With names like Suicidal Squirrel, Rob’s Combustible Pigeon, and Kitten Caboodle, it can be easy to see the appeal of the violets, Castiglione said.

Ken Muzalewski, a member of the Denton and Dallas African violet clubs, said his interest grew from his knowledge of them as a child and hooked him later in life.

After spending time farming thousands of acres of land for the majority of his life, Muzalewski turned to growing African violets when he moved to Carrollton.

He now tends to several hundred African violets, putting them up in a spare bedroom and selling them when he can, he said.

“Basically, this is a self-supporting hobby,” he said. “Selling them makes it a wash.”

Muzalewski, who started growing the flowers about four years ago, sold several African violets at Saturday’s show and took home more than 25 awards.

For Muzalewski and other growers, the work of caring for their plants never stops.

Most growers isolate their plants after a show, Castiglione said, in case they picked up a bug or disease at the show that could attack other blossoms, leaves or roots.

Bugs can be deadly to an African violet, she said, like when she left a window open and soon noticed a white bug attacking one of her plants.

To get the flowers in top shape for a show, growers will change the soil every six months, build the root structure back up and break back the bottom row of leaves to form a round, rosette shape that drives judges wild, she said.

Most of the members of Denton’s club come from other parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but growing African violets is a bigger deal in Denton than other places, said Aron Johnston, a member who traveled from Arlington for the show.

Johnston also belongs to the Fort Worth African violet club, but says Denton has three times as many members than Fort Worth and there’s always something going on here.

“There are some heavy hitters in the African violet world that come here,” he said. “This is a great club, and you’re able to get involved in the wackiness that draws people in.”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.