Does somebody know the name of this flower

13 years ago

I love the flowers on this plant, but don't know the name. Does anyone happen to own one or recognize it?

Thanks!

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Comments (11)

Christine
13 years ago
I don't know its name, but I'd call it One Totally Gorgeous Plant!
quimoi
13 years ago
It looks like an Optimara or Rhapsodie... very pretty!

Not Millennia (I finally pegged that one, lol.)

Diana
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sunseeker53
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for your reply, Donna and Quimoi!
Quimoi, I didn't know even where to start looking until you told me a few names that I can look up (I love AVs but am not an experienced collector). So I looked up Optimara, Rhapsodie and Millenia, and guess what... mine has to be a Optimara Millenia!!! I saw a close up picture on Grownotes.com (which I can't add here because it says "copyright") and took a close up picture of mine (below), put them side by side, and they look strikingly the same! Well I'm so glad that I at least can call it by a name, as I hate calling all my AVs "NOID"s ("hey you, NOID1, hey you NOID2 :-) I seem to be able to spot really pretty ones at the stores, but there is never a name on the plant.
Thanks again for responding!
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quimoi
13 years ago
You're welcome! Those Optimaras can be a bit difficult to pin down. There is also an Optimara Rita and that appears to be a strong possibility also.

They can vary a bit by growing conditions so photos aren't always 100% accurate with the bicolors. Sometimes the foliage helps.

Mine was quite a puzzle and I finally decided on Millennia and then someone nearly convinced me it was Rita, which hadn't been an option before. Then I saw the photo on Woodhill Greenhouses.

Good luck with it. I like it but wish I could grow it better.

Diana
quimoi
13 years ago
Since I can't edit...

The "girl" named Holtkamps such as Cora, Dolly, etc. are usually Rhapsodies and the others like the places, Texas, Pennsylvania, Manitoba, artist series, Degas, etc., are Optimaras.

Apparently Holtkamp decided to mess with us when they named Rita :)

My Optimara bicolors will go solid when it gets hot but return to bicolors in the fall. It's all right - like having 2 plants. I either have Millennia, Cora and something similar or 4 Coras.

Diana
sunseeker53
Original Author
13 years ago
Diana, you just gave me a few more names to look up! (You've taught me a few things about AVs too! I knew nothing of Optimaras or Rhapsodies!! Thank you!)
I don't think mine is Cora, because Cora has more purple in it. Rita is very close, even the leaves, so maybe mine is a Rita? Here is a picture with the leaves, what do you think?
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quimoi
13 years ago
Based in a large part on the foliage, I'd guess it's O. Rita. If someone with more knowledge differs, I wouldn't argue.

I apologize for being misleading. I only meant that Cora was a bicolor. It's somewhat similar, but blue-violet/white or purple/white, depending on how you see it, I guess. We both think mine looks dark blue. The Optimara site says purple but sometimes you find some odd things on there.

Diana
sunseeker53
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Diana! I'm so glad 1 of my plant has a name! Now to the next one!
This one I have posted in another thread on this forum, but for easier reference I'd like to post it in this thread as I would also like to find out if anybody can recognize this flower below. I have to mention that this flower is quite a bit bigger than the average AV. The flowers are 2.5 - 3" wide, and the leaves are huge, the outer ones are 4" wide. The leaf shape is roundish.
I'd appreciate any suggestions as to the name. Thanks!
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fred_hill
13 years ago
MAYBE THIS WILL HELP.

Here is a link that might be useful: OPTIMARA POSTER
quimoi
13 years ago
Violetshowcase.com has a good photo of O. Rita's bloom and a description of the color. Maybe that will help.

I don't see the blue/white one anywhere. Since it's just a plain old noid, you can send it here ;-).

Some of the photos on the poster are good but others...I wouldn't buy Manitoba, would you? I grow it though because it doesn't really look sick like that one.

Diana
sunseeker53
Original Author
13 years ago
Fred, thank you for the link to the Optimara poster! I bookmarked it for reference as it does have a lot of flowers on it, some of them very beautiful. I couldn't find my white/blue one there though :-(
Diana, I agree I wouldn't buy Manitoba if I were to pick one from the poster!
Would you like to trade some leaves with me for the while/blue leaves? I don't care if it's a named or NoId, I just like the ones that have 2 different colors (as you can tell from the 2 I posted here!).