I have a whole bunch of no-ids too, and I've heard Optimara isn't great with responding to customers.

BUT, I take it as a blessing, because I can come up with as many names as I like (i.e.: Natalia, Luna, Andromeda, Helena, Tinkerbell... I just go for it). I named one Scorpio about a year ago and just learned this week that it's an Artist's Palette Dali--it was nice to find out, but I like the names I come up with on my own just as much. (And I found that Dali at Home Depot!)

Heather, my noids wound up as numbers, as yours might, which was not my original intent. I wanted to keep track of my heavy and quick bloomers (favorites I'll not give away lol) after repotting all of them. So they all got a number as each bloomed and now I can catalog them easily (with photos. Nice to know what they'll look like if not in bloom.) My numbers 1 and 2 actually starts another wave of blooms before the old bunch of blooms are spent! Optimaras! I don't thumb my nose at them as they give me a lot of satisfaction. As I acquire registered plants I'll eventually give most of my noids away. Ha I'm in training to become an AV snob! Though noids are not really to show, in my mind I think of a couple of them as winners anyway.

Im still in the addicted..need to get my hands on all the varieties..I get emails sent when they ship locally...and all summer i've been plucking from the collection..which isnt very big..as they never have minis or variegated leaves..but I wouldnt get rid of any of the noids. I've pruned a lot of them (with the exception of my last two trips) and i just could not get rid of the leaves..so i have them in dirt growing ears of their own..(and still trying to figure out what to do with them lol)

jeff..i thought one of your posts said that..which was why i couldnt believe no one wanted to help me

that is a pretty av! I'm not sure what lowes/home depot does to the av's they get..they are usually beat up..they usually are flowering but the buds are brown etc..I dont get to enjoy them long..its usually the next budding phase when I can enjoy what I've bought

Try to get there on the afternoon of the delivery day your email specifies. You'll get your pick of a fresh batch!

thats a little harder for me as i dont get the chance to get out of the house except on mondays..i'm not sure how many others raid their stock..they never have many and looks untouched..that is until i show up

Heather, I feel your pain. I made my peace w the Optimara situation and now just enjoy them for the healthy bullet proof plants they are. I have a lot of named Optimaras but I also have a bunch that even though I know what they are, I don't claim them as named plants.

I have not had occasion to contact the Holtkamps since the first time. I would like to think that they treat everybody like they treated me.

well..i have a named one from an ebay vendor..that is praised here..which i love them..but they havent responded to my email either because one of the av's they've sent me..i just feel ignored by all lol...

I looove Optimaras. Their blooms are in a bouquet shape. I got my email this week. Today I went to 5 different Lowes. I got Harlequin and Chico. Please help me to choose which Harlequin to keep in another thread. I also saw one space plant but I know they are large so I didn't buy. Don't want it to take up too much space.

i saw so many Ingrids. I am going to kill the leaf I put down.

Julie how do you recognize the names when they're not labeled? Curious

I won't ignore you Heather!

sorry julie i couldnt help you..when i went av shopping monday i picked up 3 new ones..but there was a 4th that i saw and couldnt choose between that and another of my trio..so i just got the 4th..because so far some of the varieties other than the usual purple violet isnt a guarantee to be there

awwww thank you jeff!

Dviolet100,

Some of the optimaras are easier than others to recognize. The bi-color ones are easy. Also the double-flower type. They are so few from Optimara you can easily recognize them. You can first narrow down by visiting myviolets.com to see what are the ones in current production. Then I basically just google the pictures and comparing them to my plants.

Fry me for an oyster... You know they do not have a name tag, you know that people at Holtkamp's won't help you - they probably sell millions and the do not have a dedicated stuff member to reply to these questions - and you still bring them home by a truckload - and then worry yourself silly guessing what it is... Just give them a number 072817A, B and C. At least it is your exact purchase date. We just had photos of 2 Optimara's Harlequins made by Julie - first is sporting, the second is blooming true.

So - if the plant sports- it still will go to the store - but you won't able to match it to the list of the varieties they sell this year. And naturally - you will look at the table - and say - I have this one, have that one- and this is something different - into the basket it goes...

Okay.. Sorry

What does sports/sporting mean in this context? Not blooming colors it should be?

Heather - please accept my apologies on rolling on too strong. I went through the stage of AV treasure hunts too - 20 years ago. Was sneaking them in so my husband wouldn't see them and say Not Another Violet... As my collection and my AV knowledge grew - I decided to keep only named varieties. I grow several Optimaras too.

Nothing wrong with having unnamed plants, getting their names guesstimated back - just won't be accurate.

Regarding sports. AVs are variable,. When starting them from leaves - the more colors are in their blossoms- the more chances of getting a solid color instead of bi-color, no edge instead of white edge blossom. If it is a solid color plant - less chances it will change... But happens too. Optimaras are relatively stable, but they still sport.

Mmmmmm. Oysters!

Julie, when you went to Lowes how did you recognize it was a space plant. Was it labeled as such?

The leaves are like to the space plants. They are the ugly kind.

So, Julie, I take it that you do not like ruffled leaves ...

DV- A sport is a violet that does not bloom as it should. A leaf propagated from a mother plant should bloom exactly as the plant it came from. A few things will affect this-growing conditions, etc., but, basically, it will be the same plant as it is an asexual propagation: a clone. Sometimes, the genes mutate and an entirely new bloom will appear although it usually has a resemblance to the original. This is called a sport. It is usually called by the original plant's name followed by the word sport as in Winter's Gem Sport.

Heather, if you don't want a NOID plant don't buy a NOID plant! Why buy a nameless plant and then take so much of your time and energy to figure out the name! I do not buy any plant without a name but I show them and they must be named correctly. If you are buying them for your own pleasure, just name them yourself. Personally, I wouldn't buy from any company who won't make the effort to stick a tag in a pot but that's just me.

Linda

i think you misunderstood..i love noids..I have no issues with them..not everyone can be in the popular crowd..I dont discriminate from the unwanted crowd. They have names though..and i do like the idea of a plant having its own name..(i guess i'm just weird like that)...Even if I did get the names of them..they are still my noids.

..and most importantly ..i'm addicted..so any chance i can get my hands on more..i'm all for it

It is nice to know the name and I know some growers who will toss a NOID but not me. If it's pretty and I like it, I keep it but I never buy an unnamed plant. But, I have to be a bit discriminating as they must be correctly named for the show table and a NOID takes as much care and space as a named plant. But, violets worth is in their beauty, I think, so that counts for a lot.

Linda

I'm considering the purchase of my noids as practice for when I'm ready to care for more expensive named plants. I'm in learning mode and don't mind losing a couple in the process. Yet if they all make it and become large and healthy and strong, all the better. Then I have gifts, plenty of gifts for all as I start replacing them. Right now they're all so pretty that I'll surely have a very hard time with that. Not to mention experiencing the separation anxiety of having them leave what I know has been a good home. It's like letting a mama's boy go. It can be a cruel, wild world out there for some poor, innocent violets.

aegis1000,

Yes, now you know I don't like ruffled leaves. I prefer the smooth, well behaved kind. But the main reason I didn't buy the space plant is its size. Large scares me. Space is my concern.

Yup - because everything grows large for you. In your hands even a well behaved small standard wants to grow to rhubarb size.

You probably add some fairy dust in your soil... Or plant angels droppings...

Heather, I had in person interview with Mr. Holtkamp Jr. three years ago and asked him why all plants in the stores don't have a tag with names. He said they did put it before, but stopped because of the confusions - it could be an honest mistake made by the person who prepared plants for shipping to the store and they could not let it happened. So, if you'll buy directly from Optimara you'll get the names, but not from Home Depot etc. And I would not ask them to identify the plant because it's impossible. On the Russian AV website this question, ID the plant, is prohibited. We had many discussions and arguments over it, but it is now - no ID for plants. And I think this is right. I would not sell the plant if I lost the tag, but "think it is this type". I would put it as NOID. So, enjoy your plants and don't get upset about no names :-)

Irina,

i actually plan to repot mine in smaller pots like 3 inch to minimize the plant sizes. Absolutely no rhubarb size allowed. I will trim the heck out of it.

with a name or not..i still classify them as noids..i dont plan on selling them either.

Julie - I limit mine to 3.5" pots.

Polina,

I think your Russian site has the right idea. Identifying violets is so difficult because the same variety can look very different depending on growing practices, conditions, age of the plant. There are so many variables it's just about impossible to be sure. There are a few varieties that can be identified easily but not many.

Linda