There is one Optimara variety Rhapsodie Emilie

It is on AVSA Gallery

http://www.avsa.org/Rphotos?page=3

and it is blue. I looked at the First Class - and there are three 'Emily' there - by Marie Burns, Volkmann and Fisher - all pink or rose. And 9 more varieties with Emily as a part of the name.

So - it is not Optimara - unless it is blue.

Looks like you need to be patient - it is a good looking plant, it will bloom soon and you can post another pic. We will do more research then.

I.

Thanks for the input! A few do resemble this one, but Emily is just what I personally named the plant (oops). I know it's Optimara because the pot had a sticker on the side saying so. It's definitely gorgeous, I'm enjoying seeing it grow up! I will update this once it starts blooming, which I expect to happen relatively soon. Thanks again.

Hmm- if it is your own pink "something like Emily."..there are plenty pink Optimaras for you to try to identify. Make really good pics of the plant in bloom - both leaves and blossoms - some of them have very similar blossoms but different leaves... Holtkamp Greenhouses nowdays have very good pics of plants in recent production - they do rotate varieties they mass produce every year. There is absolutely no guarantee you will identify it correctly - but you will sure have fun looking at them.

http://www.myviolet.com/varieties?status=&color=4&size=&series=&search=TRUE

Irina has a super valid point! Too many similar violets are on the market from all over the world.

Just a caution. If you know it is an "Opt.", don't "invent" a name for it. Here is what I do. Since they don't come with tags, I put my own plant tag in labeled like this. Optimara __________ white single flower. (If I buy a clearance violet with no discernable bloom color I just leave that blank also. I fill in information as I get it.)

Under that I put the date & where I bought it as a point of reference. Once it reblooms I fill in the type of bloom and the name from Optimara if I can identify it.

Once it blooms I also take a pix of it, label the pix with Optimara (name from the label) and put it in a folder called My Identified Violets.

That way,,,if it isn't blooming and someone wants a leaf of, say, Trinidad ll, I know by the label which one is Trinidad! Label, label, label!!!!!

But you will eventually mess yourself up if you start giving them names you invent. If you feel you must do something,,,,give it a number. That way you won't confuse yourself down the road! Just my way of doin' things! Rosie

Rosie -

I agree with you on all points - but I need to remind myself every so often - that it is a free country, not the Soviet Union - so if the growers want to name their NOIDs for their own purposes - they sure can do it. We can just advise them not to distribute NOIDs under made up names. But if somebody has a plant inherited from Granny and it was always Granny's Pink - all the power to them to grow it for 50 more years.

I would really prefer to see every Optimara in a Big Box Store with a name tag... but for their valid reasons they stopped doing it... probably it saves them quite a lot of money not to run separate stickers.. But - again - it is my wishful thinking, I cannot demand it.

May be I am finally getting wiser... I know I am getting older.. Shoot!

i.

Yes,,,a free country. The reason I said it was not wise to name them ourselves is that I also did that! And boy did I get into trouble and what a mess to straighten out!!!! Geeze!

By all means call your violets whatever you want,,,,but I thought I could also do that. After a while I forgot which ones I named and which ones were valid names! Oye Vey!!! What a mess. It took me forever to straighten it out. I had such a headache by the time I was done (and it took a great deal of time and research) I thought I was going to have a stroke!

Once I got everything straightened out I came up with the system I outlined.

Yep. anyone can do as they please. Just giving my personal experience! And you are right Irina,,,,,,it made me wiser and I am for sure getting older! Rosie

Rosie -

getting older is mandatory, wiser - only if you are lucky ;-)).

I think if the growers have a manageable amount of plants - they remember that "Oy Vey" - needs some work on identification, but it is important to know what it is even when it is not in bloom. So - tags are good.

You know, there are a few I know what they are no matter what, they have some characteristic that stands out to me. And probably only to me. And then there are others that I can't remember what they are until they bloom. Blooms I know. Leaves not so much. And yes, I tag everything. If it doesn't have a tag when I buy it, it will have one soon after I get it home. Any type of plant, not just violets. After all, along with age comes senior moments. And I have a lot of them!!!! AND I take that pix,,,and I put that pix in a file called My Identified Plants!!!! More for my sanity than anyone elses!!!!! lol Rosie

Hear, hear...

I mostly can recognize them by the leaves, but I can have a brain f... ...sorry, senior moment ...and can imagine how it looks like, but the name comes later, much later...

I am preparing 20 plants for our Show in March...so no buds permitted...need to review them again and reduce the amount , not all shape up well enough - and I need space so they do not touch one another.

The variegated ones I can Identify. Unless the green leaves are unusual (ex. spooned etc) I am clueless. There has to be something that really sticks out for me to identify leaves. Trinidad ll, Modesty, Chanticleer, Athena (really old one) and lots others with outstanding markers.

And yes, senior moments prevail. Heck,,,we got a new puppy (9weeks old) before Christmas and there are times I can't remember his name! He is `12 weeks old now. I should remember,,,,but I guess the brain takes a sabbatical when it feels like it! lol

Good luck at the show. Post about it! Would love to know how it goes! Rosie

is a brain f*** worse than an ice cream headache, which is what I get every time I try to do something organizationally constructive. Too many passions that are compulsive, and not enough time/desire to organize.

You know Dave,,,they may be one and the same! Not really sure. But one thing I agree with,,,,,,,,,"too many passions that are compulsuve, and not enough time/desire to organize!" Love that sentence!!!!!