HI PR
In doing my early research on AVs, I soon learned that many hybridizers will develop their version of what another hybridizer is also growing. As an example, for a while, I was growing reds, so I learned that the Storks developed a lot of reds, so did George MacDonald, and Lyon's. Optimara has a ton of reds, probably more than anyone else.

Same with pinks, etc., So, sticking with the name brands that you can get at HD will eventually give you a big cross section of all the different styles and varieties.

I have much enjoyed your enthusiasm, a JC gal!
I don't reuse O pots so I don't confuse myself. Unless it is for an O plant that I separated.
Your photos are great.

The name game is just plain fun, that's all! It seems to keep this Forum alive when people jump in and try to guess or help someone figure out what they have.

We had a lot of fun with our ABC stories!
In playing that game, I got motivated to place an order, because I was looking at the on-line catalogue!

More fun to have charming names for plants rather than the U.S. Patent Numbers as in the "good old days" when AV were first being developed as a business. Your photos are amazing.

I have found some Russian clubs on You Tube that have some amazing plants, and videos. They have taken AV growing to a whole new dimension. If you like to look around on the internet, you might find some of these fun videos.

I will probably never get to own any of those Russian plants, aside from those available in the U.S. And they do take up more space. However, I totally enjoy watching some of the glamorous and very exciting videos and displays I have seen on the internet. And with their short growing season, I don't know how they do it!

It is always fun for me when experts in other types of AVs chime in and join the conversation. I have learned so much
from this forum and also from reading a lot of the old archives.

Some of my plants have developed a specific problem that i think is due to the water conditioner. I need to get that figured out and focus on a lot of repotting for an upcoming club sale.

And now am working full time and a half and we have
three new babies born in our family this summer, so I will be
fading into the background in read only mode for a while.

You are a great new member, and add a lot, so I hope you hang in there with your great enthusiasm ! Joanne47

This post was edited by fortyseven on Tue, Aug 12, 14 at 12:19

This is very pretty! I don't know the id, but am quite certain it is not Ever Harmony. Space violets have quite ruffled leaves. Around here, only Lowes carries the space violets and usually always in a six inch pot. Optimara claims they supply Home Depot, but I wouldn't know because our HD never has violets.

If it is an Optimara, I don't know which. Its possible this is an Anthoflores variety. If you buy one of those brick pots with the Optimara sticker then you know which company; but I have also seen Anthoflores in the same type pot with an Anthoflores label. . . the same name in plants of different colors! Crazy.

Terri

joanne, big thank you!
i have an interest in photography since i was 12? i LOVE taking pics of everything...everything...everywhere..everywhere...
finally getting a digital sony was great to keep up with my 'green-house'. i snap almost every day and i don't have to develop 'bad pics' either - what a relief! but even so close-ups and lighting is tricky.
yeh, i know it's not everHarmony. but the coloration comes close at least.
i also thought 'royal child' color was close, but that's a double and mine is single.

I've had this one before ... I'll take a look and see if I can find something ...

Maybe Optimara Mississippi ???

There is now an Optimara ID facebook group. It's mostly Optimara. That is a beautiful plant.

Sometimes I wonder if the Canadian ones might be other varieties instead of just Anthoflores and Optimara though. They just say "Grown in Canada" and there's no reason the grower couldn't have something else. Often we can pick out the Optimaras and Anthoflores but once in awhile...I wonder.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/africanvioletid/

African Violet ID (Optimara and More)

It was set up just to help identify "box store" plants.

Diana

i vote for 'mississipi'! there is mississipi II - that one is listed with red undersides. but not the original. and mine is plain underside.
while poking around images i found a beautiful UK site with stunning photos, many russian varieties too.
i am not on facebook, so cannot view avid group above, but this seems to be public - check it out!
seems to be uk seller

Here is a link that might be useful: see also bottom yearly collections

PR
You can probably view it --the link D posted -- without yourself having to be on FB.

Thanks for the link, I will enjoy looking later on
J

and as bonus it popped on this site - this is a russian site with a very long thread for NOID's with good pics.
if you right click mouse on the blue area at the top - and select 'translate' - it gives some text that can be roughly understood. except some posts are in ukranian and that's just a latin transliteration.
however most of the time they actually use english names spelled in english.
just a curiosity, of course, but they get a lot of their plants from flea markets, local sales, friends, most not commercially.
so you can see what they actually get and grow as NOID's. there might be some interesting russian/ukranian varieties that are not sold here at all.
it's a big and very busy forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: russian forum NOIDs

lots of facebook pages are public and can be viewed by anybody.
many times when i view image thru google image search i can get facebook public pages like this one below - it has mississipi on it.
anyhow, this particular AVID group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/africanvioletid/) is not for public viewing, clearly. so i'll have to pass it.

Here is a link that might be useful: optimara on facebook - good pics

This post was edited by petrushka on Tue, Aug 12, 14 at 21:42

ok, now #2. quite mystified about that one too - can't find anything even close.
it is sporting, 1st with pinwheels and now with margin or almost a thumbprint.

The Optimara ID Group is indeed a public group if that is the one you are talking about.

Diana

sorry for confusion.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/africanvioletid/ - you need to join to view. of course it's a public group - anybody can join, who is on facebook. i am not on facebook, so i cannot view the pages, they are private to members.
some groups allow viewing the pages even for non-members. this particular one does not.
the optimara link that i posted seems to be official optimara group that can be viewed by anybody even without facebook account.
so the first one is 'private viewing' whereas the latter is 'public viewing'.

Could the blue and white one be O Maine ? I bought one at a plant sale and it looked a lot like that one. It had a name tag on it O Maine . Just a guess. You people are great . I am learning a lot. Thanks. Jessie

Ah, I see. I "joined" Facebook just enough to see the pages, I believe. You don't have to answer all their questions. Of course they keep trying to connect me with total strangers and one of my 40 some cousins. I believe she knows exactly where I am if we had anything to say to each other.

Diana

opti maine does look similar to the very last pic, though not quite. but that is the ONLY flower like that. that is a mutation.
most flowers on sev plants have just a small blue eye in the center.
any more ideas?

The last picture looks like Chico but this would have to be one way out version of the plant. I don't think there is any AV in the Optimara world that looks like your first two pictures. It is one gorgeous plant!

so then we are onto canadian side?
i searched for 'blue' and read all descriptions on grownotes for anthoflores varieties related to blue and nothing comes close either.
so then i did a few image searches and found a couple of miniatures that at least have similar blue eye, but no frilled edges.
that would be rob's lucky penny and penny ante.
so i guess i should sit content that i can't find any similar standards.
and then finally i saw a standard - it turns out to be an oldie .
i spotted smth very similar to mine in the corner of the pic and then went thru the list below and it matched
with 'favorite child' by cox/johnson:
Favorite Child (7676) 02/28/1992 (G. Cox/B. Johnson) Semidouble white ruffled pansy/medium blue eye, rays, edge. Medium green, plain, quilted. Standard
FAVORITE CHILD was released 2/28/1992 by G.Cox
i am not saying that's what it is, but it's the closest - i am just having fun looking around : it focuses me.
if i just looked by myself i'll give up much faster ;).
had to attach the bigger pic.

Here is a link that might be useful: bottom right on the pic

This post was edited by petrushka on Wed, Aug 13, 14 at 19:50

my new NOID produced it's 1st flowers in my care. quite different from orig - much brighter. also the new leaves have red reverse.
i think it looks pretty close to lyon's 'high school sweetheart'.

It's amazing to me how different these things look once they're under good care! These are lovely!