Great job with those two. R.B. can be fussy. Congrats! Joanne

Thank you, Aegis and Joanne. So far so good.

Joanne, when you say "fussy" what do you mean? I wouldn't want to make any faux pas and lose it.

My goal for this AV right now is to get it to grow bigger as it is still very small in foliage.

As a standard, I would have expected it to grow more by now.

I could not grow it well. The foliage was very, very slow for me. You did a great job. J

Maybe RB is just a slow grower small standard. I don't mind as long as she keeps producing these amazing blooms.

It is an oldie.

The first two are especially beautiful! I actually prefer semi-minis because I can fit in more plants. :) Re your standards not growing fast enough, what size is the pot? Smaller pots will effectively keep the plant smaller.

Party,

RB is still in the 2.5-3 inch square pot in which it came. I did not change it because the plant is hardly three times the diameter, so I don't think it is the pot that's limiting it. Besides, others arrived in the same pot and grew large than 3 times the diameter.

Tiger was sent in a tiny cup, with leaves way larger than 3 times the diameter...and it will soon a new container.

RB just stays small. But like I said, if it offers the quality bloom it offered me, I am good even with small foliage.

Rose Bouquet is a small standard, so if it less than 12" across... you only repot to refresh the soil.

Great Job!

I am bringing this thread back to add an Ode to Optimara Stephanie, even though I am not even 100% sure it's her and not some other variety; but I think it is.

She is blooming like a fool again, very soon after the previous bloom I posted above. She's a wonderful, prolific classic and as close to the coveted 'true blue' color as I've seen an AV get.

I also wanted to add I still have Ness' blooms above.

They've lasted for almost two months, maybe more. It's an incredible plant with extremely long-lasting blooms. A jewel of the AV world, I would say. Would not be caught without it these days.

I am rooting a leaf but I need to get a few more going, just in case.

My Rose Bouquet came in a 4" pot from pjsviolets on EBay. She grew quickly and is one of my favorites. She's about 9" in diameter. I put her into a 3 1/2" Oyama pot and she will stay there, although I think she's get bigger if I put her into a 4" pot. She seems to like my conditions. I have a baby Crinkle Blue that a grew from a leaf exchange last spring. It's growing frustratingly slowly, but seems healthy.

Wow Judy! That's amazing. For me, conditions it's exactly the other way around. Rose Bouquet stays very small and has barely grown at all - but has produced the nice blooms above, though nowhere as beautiful as yours.

Ness has grown much larger. Goes to show what different conditons can do to the same plant.

I only hope my Crinkle Blue can look as good as yours.

Those top two are gorgeous!

Last year I paid for Rose Bouquet, but a seller sent me Rebel's Rose Bud. Very disappointed.