and then, for good measure, this was sitting inbetween all the plain varieties (which i already have most of :-p )

OMG, how did you take a picture when your camera was on the other side of the table?

oh, i get it. photographic memory.

dave

Lol I was determined to just make it a quick post with a snapshot from the phone, no editing or sizing etc, turns out I ended up having to download the image from the phone anyways etc, so aye, shoulda used the 'big guns' and done a proper photo - my apologies :-p

truly, it is amazing the quality of pix we can get from fones these days. It's like my digital recorder. Where were these things 30 yrs ago when I was in radio? Coulda saved decades of lugging back pain.

dave

I have to admit I use the phone for convenience, not quality - whoever tells you the new phones will make SLRs obsolete, has clearly never been asked to do a 20"x30" print off an iPod image...

Anyhow, I've gone and done it, looked up the growers website and tried to match my violets with their inventory list... Looks like I have a (not) little Hopi girl, and a (not) Yellowstone (purple). Plus a few of my other ones found (not) names... It's a bit annoying to be almost sure and still have a noid.
Yet i am still tempted to go back and pick up one of each miniatures they had - would be fun to get the entire (not) series :-p maybe this weekend :-D

I try not to be too strict on avoiding NOIDs. Beauty is beauty and you've got some beauties!

Linda

Karin, They are gorgeous. NOIDs just means we don't personally know their names, that is all. They have names.
The grower just did not think to tell us.
As long as you are not showing them, it does not matter.
Are they in Optimara labelled pots?
I noticed that some growers also grow optima's but put their own labels on.
Hope your doggie feels better soon!
Joanne

Nah they aren't in optimara pots - i would think they just purchased the rights to grow them... their catalogue (woodhill greenhouses) uses the same name for the violets as optimara, just doesn't use the optimara name - i guess their target clientele doesn't exactly care ;-)

as for my violets, i figured i'd name them sporty and fluffy :-D there ya go.

Here is a link that might be useful: woodhill greenhouses

Karin,

I love your idea of naming violets!
All mine are noids (Optmaras, not matching anything on their website), one is called Julia's plant, my daughter picked it up and left it under my care!

Aggie

Hi Karin, Interesting info about there being wholesalers who are licensed to grow Optimaras.

Re: your AVs, if the top one is a mini, it might be Little Hopi Girl II. The second one, if full size, might be Loretta, although Loretta is a deeper color.

Lately, where phal orchids are being sold as house gifts. The advice given is to water them with two ice cubes. This is what Rocket Farms' Forum has to say about that (below).

"Watering an orchid with ice cubes is not the best idea. The cold can be a shock to the plant and orchids prefer to be watered thoroughly. Since we grow our orchids in sphagnum peat moss instead of bark, they are extremely low maintenance. They can go a very long time betweeen waterings and should only be watered when the moss is almost completely bone dry. When the moss is dry to the touch, thoroughly water the pot and simply wait up to a month depending on environmental conditions until the moss is dry again. A good way to tell if the pot is dry is to take the plastic pot out of the decorative pot and feel the moss through the hole in the bottom."

Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 21:54

I only ever water my outdoor plants with ice cubes, when there isn't enough snow to do the job. Well, I used to, now I have to find foster parents for my trees (wannabe bonsai, but I never did train them)...

As for orchids, I've killed two out of three - and the third is barely hanging in there - I guess I better stick with something else ;-)
IMO, and people will say that about violets too, orchids are the new, long lasting flower bouquet - noone expects you to hang on to them once they've stopped flowering. Sad really. One reason I quit buyin them.

Orchids, like violets, do not enjoy frigid roots. I always use warmish water.

Linda

Hi Linda
There seems to be a trend to water mini orchids with ice. cubes A local hardware store, that also has AVs, had a display with that advice. I will note the website the next time I am there. They had the AVs displayed next to the mini orchids, that was why I saw it. It was not the store, it was the orchid grower's instructions. People here who raise mini-orchids also raise AVs.
Joanne

I'm not sure how your 1st plant got into a local grocery store, but that's most certainly Hot Wire/(morphing into) Blackout. Those very large flowers and leaves are quite distinct - along with that color purple and flowers with fantasy.

That said, I'd keep it it on the NOID just because it did not come with an ID.

It was actually a garden center, but they carry the same ones as my grocery store...
I disbudded it because I was moving, but since our car broke down, I haven't been able to go back and see/get them.... DH said he watered my plants when he went back on Monday (off the tap), and I cringed, not sure what's worse, no water or straight, cold, tap water, on the top no less.

Funny, I thought it was little Hopi II... That's why it's a NOID. I still love it, no matter what name it has or doesn't have. It's brilliant, and the first sport I have come across...
Anyways, I just hope it survives this next week (car parts are due to arrive tomorrow - or so I hope - then i should be able to go get my plants this weekend.)
I am going back by train to check on things tomorrow - maybe I'll smuggle some AVs back in a cooler ;-)

Hi Karin

Plants are resilient, so a little top watering from the tap now and then is probably ok ⦠it has happened to me, also.

The reason I "guessed" Little Hopi Girl II is based on my experience with Optimara tending to send a lot of a few varieties they are presenting for retail sales in a season.
I got two minis in that color pattern a few months ago.
Of course, it is just a guess, and still is to be considered NOID.

I learned from Monique of Optimara when I placed an order that the company tends to produce only the easiest to grow varieties each season. So, if you see something you love, it is good to get it, as they might not have it next season.

Joanne

I have been seeing this 'ice-cube' method of watering touted lately as well. One more bit of misinformation to dispel. Sigh...

Linda

to me ... ice cubes ... are the lazy man's watering method ...

most growers ... I would think ... would want to take time with their plants ...

kind of like a self feeding pellet to feed fish. why not put your fish food in an ice cube and float it in the tank ...

dave

I LOVE your violet, named or not. It's beautiful!
My aunt and mother-in-law in Ohio water their orchids with the ice-cube method. Their orchids are very pretty. I was given an orchid as a gift a couple years ago and instructed to give it two ice cubes a week. Probably because of our low humidity here, but it wasn't enough water. The leaves remained soft until I finally WATERED it....problem solved. HA

Thanks :-) I am happy to report it is still alive. It seemed dull and floppy for a while there, just after the move, but it has grown in a bunch of new leaves. Now I am waiting for it to bloom again (I'll keep disbudding until it's back at a decent size first), just to see whether the flowers turn out as they should, or the plant has reverted to all purple...

Just my opinion but...I think whomever dreamed up the ice cube method of watering should be drawn and quartered. All that cold water on the roots! Like taking a bath in ice water.

And as far as 'two ice cubes a week'! AAAGGGHHHH! We all know you can't water on a schedule.

Linda

Meh, they probably expect 99% of sold orchids to die within a couple of months, so they probably think sabotaging the watering 'schedule' just lets them sell a new plant sooner...
Funny really, if I felt more confident growing them, I would buy more...

Karin

Karin,

That is exactly what I think is going on! People assume the grower is giving you instructions that are in your, and the plant's, best interest but I suspect they are thinking of their sale quotas. When an orchid dies, the purchaser assumes it was they who 'just can't grow orchids' since they followed the growers instructions.

Linda

Beautiful!! Especially like that double pink flower!

Absolutely love the dark 'tye-die' beauty, & I have the exact same 'Fluffy' as in your second pic.

Question, please...somewhat off-topic. You mentioned resizing photos for posting. What is the recommended size to upload here?

I am not honestly sure...
I usually just use iPhone or iPod, whichever I have on hand. And if you're not bothered about bandwidth or upload time, then you don't actually need to resize. Because, when you upload, it automatically resizes the image for you.

it looks like they end up at 640x480. So you might try one at that size and another at say 1000x1500 (or anything really) and see what turns out better...
Usually where it starts looking wonky is when the image you upload is close, but not quite at where it changes it to (if that makes any sense).

Karin

Hi Karin, I saw an update to this thread, which prompted me to read through it again.
You had written "Nah they aren't in optimara pots - i would think they just purchased the rights to grow them... their catalogue (woodhill greenhouses) uses the same name for the violets as optimara, just doesn't use the optimara name - i guess their target clientele doesn't exactly care ;-)"

You can safely assume that your violets are Optimara because of what I learned since last Nov when you first posted this. Local growers purchase the rights to grow Optimara violets and also to name them the same names because they are registered violets, and sometimes patented. However, because Optimara, the company, or I should say, Holtkamp, stopped labeling their plants, the local growers do not feel compelled to. They don't always use the Optimara brand label but, at least in the U.S., they use the same type of Optimara thin 4" pot and the same type of peat. I learned this from research. All local growers are not the same, so do be sure to isolate for a very long time any new plants you bring it to make sure you don't bring in hitchhikers. I looked at the Woodhill website you linked, they do have named Optimara varieties, so that is a good sign. It looks like a nice nursery.

Since we are catching up on old topics, in reading through some of the older threads on this forum, I learned that the grower of AV seeds is Nadeau who provides them to other sellers. There is another seller (that I posted about once) who called the seeds "Fantasy." However, that is the brand name, the seeds are NOT fantasy, but singles in one color.
The other seller also gets the seeds from Nadeau.

I know you are not in the market for seeds, but just wanted to follow up on my "fact-finding mission."
Encyclopedia Joanne, Private Detective

Thank you Karin, I didn't realize pics were resized automatically when uploaded. I've been only an occasional poster in various forums here at GW, & was concerned about posting too many pics, or too large. But then I saw the repotting tutorial & was relieved. Great photo essay, I learned & enjoyed!

Private Detective!

I like that!!!

Linda

Wow, Joanne, you sure do your research ;-)

That is one thing that amazed me at the local av society meeting - the accumulation of knowledge there. Like one person brought in a violet to show, and it had a woman's name. Turns out that the treasurer of the society actually knew her (the hybridizer the plant was named for) and told us her life's story. (Now I've got to look up the name)...

The cool thing about a group of plant nerds all together in one room, (kind of like here), is that everyone has a different area of expertise. If one person doesn't know the answer, there will be someone else who does. It's fun to just sit back and soak up the knowledge!

Linda

And hear the fascinating stories about the personalities behind the hybrids! That is one thing I enjoy about watching some of the archived You Tube vids, especially of people who have passed on to Violet Heaven. People get into this hobby for all sorts of reasons and interests. I like the human interest angle and would love to write up some of the bios one day! Some people get into this hobby "fast and furious" and go "whole hog." Only to suddenly drop it and pursue another hobby with equal vigor. Others make a career or even a national company out of it. And others leave a legacy, passing it along from generation to generation. I have been having fun growing a few of the older vintage varieties. Not just for the artistic, subtle beauty of some of the older varieties, but also because it is a walk back through history. It is all part of the learning process, for me.
And more lively and fun to collect something living than just "stuff."
Joanne

Joanne,

I, too, have been collecting some of the older varieties. I think they need to be preserved for their historical value as it shows the how far we have come in the evolution of this plant. Some vintage violets are hard to come by, So far I only have 'Blue Boy' which just bloomed and 'Neptune' which is still a leaf.

Linda

Hi Linda,
Wow, quite a find to have those two. However, with a collection your size, and your background, it makes sense that you would seek those out.
Two older ones I got last summer from Fancy Bloomers that have now grown to a good size, nice rosettes, and have bloomed are:
Wisteria (2056) 01/08/1970 F. Tinari Double Lavender
Chanticleer (1386) 08/05/1963 ( Eyerdom) Double light pink.
When I first got them, they were quite leggy. You advised "patience." I managed to acquire lots and lots of patience,
and when they bloomed, they bloomed fully. I am very glad for Donna, a young woman grower in NJ who keeps alive some of these older varieties. I would recommend both of these plants, they are quite charming. (I will be posting photos soon.) They both remained somewhat leggy, but they look ok, because so symmetrical.
Joanne

Joanne,

I've only seen pictures of 'Wisteria'. It's very pretty. Your legginess may resolve itself as the longer petioled leaves die off.

Does Donna sell the vintage ones?

Linda

Not sure what you mean by vintage ... probably, she does. She is very friendly and will offer to get something for you if she doesn't have it. Take a look at her website when you have a minute.
Joanne

Joanne,

I'll check out her web-site. Vintage is just the term for the older varieties. I don't think there is a specific age the variety has to be to be considered vintage but maybe someone else knows.

Linda

Karin,

I have been looking at that first photo for two months now. I have tried to contain myself but I can't any longer. I want a leaf (or two) from that plant, NOID or no NOID.

Linda

P.S. Resistance is futile...

Gosh, Linda, I think we decided it is Little Hopi Girl II. I have it in a mini. (Karin, you will have to let us know if yours is a mini.) Mine is a mini trailer, I just divided one up that was three crowns and sent the three separate pots off to my local club. I have one more of it that is three crowns. I will be more than happy to send you one. However, mine is much smaller than Karin's looks in the photo. She may have taken a close up. I originally got two of the plant, so i have another left. I was planning to divide it. So if I do that soon, by the time the snow melts where you are and the temperature thaws, it should be ready to ship to you. Mine never flowered after that first time I brought it home because I repotted it, so it happily trailed instead of blooming
Joanne

Linda,
it actually went through a bit of a rough patch during the move, pretty much everything you see in the photo is gone now and it is down to about 2" in diameter. There's a photo of it in my other thread, with its new leaves and a few flower buds. (I am soooo curious as to what the new set of blooms will look like!)
I think I rooted a sucker, but didn't label anything seen as I technically don't have any named varieties anyways, just a few probable id's.
I'd be happy to give you a few leaves (once it grows out a bit more again), but not sure if it would be ok to ship them internationally. I can look into that. Or if you ever take a trip to Toronto or nearby, just let me know :-)

Karin

This post was edited by froeschli on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 8:43

Well, it sounds as though I'll get my wish one way or the other! I have been thinking seriously about coming to the Toronto show. Is there a site somewhere that has information about it?

Linda

I believe it coincides with the other show you're going to... April 26th.

Here is a link that might be useful: AVSC 2014 convention

I think you're right.

Linda

Hi Karin & Linda,
This looks like a great convention. Karin, because you like photography, you will probably really enjoy this.
Doris Browlie is the wife of a hybridizer and Winston Goretsky is the main photographer for the African Violet Magazine
Ruth Coulson is an Autrailian author of a book on African Violets that I used to own and give as a gift. I liked her book.
Here are a couple of brief write ups -- there is an interview with Winston G. on one of the Annie podcasts.

âÂÂPeople love African violets because they are easy to grow and despite the weather outside, we can have flowers all through the year,â says Doris Brownlie of the Toronto African Violet Society. Doris and her husband John run a hobby business, AcaâÂÂs Violet Tree. In fact, John Brownlie, a hybridizer, recently had one of his hybrids, âÂÂAcaâÂÂs Red EmberâÂÂ, make the top 100 list of favourite African violet varieties of the African Violet Society of America.

- See more at: http://torontobotanicalgarden.ca/get-gardening/houseplants/all-about-african-violets/#sthash.C1wkMJaP.dpuf

Welcome to Episode 22 of All About African Violets! In this episode there is a discussion of pH, and of consistency of care. In addition, there is an interview with Winston Goretsky, Second Vice President of the AVSA and the photographer responsible for so many of the amazing photos you see in every edition ofAfrican Violet Magazine.

Joanne

If I had my 'druthers, I know where I'druther go!