Hmmm, maybe it is rare, because you won't find it anywhere else by that name ;-)
I could do that once my little NOID hybrids grow up... "Rare, I guarantee you won't find them anywhere else!"

Ah well, they already sold 3.

Karin

Apparently that's the name her MIL called it. That makes it rare, right?

Linda

Oh I am so glad you posted that "rare" find! That is exactly the unnamed violet I bought at Lowe's (Monroe, Mi) this spring!

Have been trying to find the name ever since! I could never get my pics to show it that nicely though.

Someone on this forum did identify mine as O.Cora and I finally was able to give it a tag. Thanks to that person!!

Actually mine came multi crowned and I took the babies off of her and hope they will survive. Am rooting some leaves also.

Hope to trade my "rare" Optimara Cora babies as soon as I am sure the little ones are living.!!!~~Rosie1949

I saw that when I first went back on eBay this spring. I got a laugh out of it, although it is a nice Cora. Well, for folks who don't want us to identify those Lowe's plants, there you go!

I had no idea it was still going on though! Cora is quite distinctive.

Diana

LMAO!! Wow, I can make money off of all my NOIDs. Why would I ever want a named variety, if I can name them myself?

After many years of playing by the "rules," I decided it was nobody's business what name was on the pot in my house and I decided to quit writing "b/w mini noid" on my one and name the danged thing something.

I'm not selling it on eBay though. Send the Violet Police after me. It's been 40+ years and I've never jumped up one morning and entered a misidentified NOID in a violet show yet. (This seems to be a recurring nightmare for some people.)

It's just about impossible to get an name for an Anthoflores. I even emailed them about the one they show on their webpage which I bought at the grocery store and they didn't answer. I wasn't surprised. I don't think I'll keep it but I called it County Market Cerise. Both of the reds I had from them have been small. OTOH, I'd like to find A. Rose again (double pink, compact girl leaved plant).

My MIL would probably have named them. Her dog was a Maltese (he did look like one). The breeder said he was half Shih-Tzu and half poodle, but my MIL had a Maltese :).

Diana

Diana, do you have an image of that girl leafed anthoflores? i think i may just have bought one not too long ago - girl leafed for sure, and a pale pink if i remember right. disbudded & re-rooted the crown (new protocol so i don't have to deal with that icky soil they have them in) if it ever reblooms, i'll post a pic.
I was so tempted to get the single pink variegated one i saw yesterday, but decided no more noids for me - i have been buying plants to try and hybridize, so there is no point in getting noids....

as for mislabeled - i just realized i have two versions of little azurite, a labeled leaf i bought and a plant i id'd from the store - the one from the store looks a lot more like it than the leaf i have rooting - it is plain, pointed and absolutely flat. that just screams 'off' to me, but then, can't tell from the mouse ears what it will be yet...

Karin

There's a sucker born every day!

Just imagine someone bought this for you because he/she knew you collect named African violets. And then you wouldn't be able to keep your face straight as you look at that rare find :-D

Like DH surprised me with pepper plants and a basil that he put on my grow shelf for me to find (I just don't have the heart to tell him he brought thrips and white flies into the house)

Adding 'organic' is a nice touch. I sent her an email also on it. Told her I like the name she picked for an Optimara that can be found at Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart, etc..

I would bet she's gotten a lot of messages since I first saw that listing several months ago. That probably wasn't the first time she'd done it either. You could do worse than get a nice R. Cora, not that I'm condoning selling misnamed plants, mind you. However a nice Cora isn't always easy to find.

Someone claimed there were two versions of Azurite, one that kept its white edge better (they said nothing about the leaves). If this is true, I have the one that doesn't keep the edge. I'm moving it where it's not so hot though in case that's the issue.

Karin, I have no photo of A. Rose but remember it as a double (maybe semidouble) light pink compact plant with neat girl leaves. Here is a photo on Gardenweb that seems to fit my memory reasonably well:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/afrviolet/msg0213320823949.html?3

It wasn't the most exciting plant in the world but it grew well in my window, didn't take up an enormous amount of space and girl leave standards are somewhat scarce. I never get to the supermarket that had Anthoflores so I don't know if they ever get more unusual ones or if it's the blue and red edged ones, peach one, and the purple and blue ones.

There was a Rose-Lea too and I had it but didn't like it quite as well after I tracked it down. Things most certainly can vanish fast, don't ever think they can't. The problem is you can't predict what it's going to be. Could be R. Cora ;) Well, I guess that is no joke the way Optimara "improves" them and poof! the old one vanishes.

Diana

Interesting. I DID hear back from her. I told her that, if she doesn't know it's actual name, to make that clear in her auction. She could say something like "I'm not sure of it's actual name, but my mother-in-law always called it . . . .". I also told her that, to many buyers, it won't make a different, but there are those of us who are looking for named AVs and to sell a noid as a named plant is not just.

My Optimara Cora is growing slowly. The center was very tight when I got it, and it has only just started to loosen up a bit. I have to keep it on the outer edge of the light. I am going to adjust my lights today because a few of my AVs seem to be asking for less. The leaves lay very flat, and even curl under a little.

Has anybody found that Cora likes a little less light than a lot of other AVs? It seems so to me.

This post was edited by Lauraeli on Tue, Jul 8, 14 at 15:49

Yes, Karin, Agreed. Nearly had similar experience.
Vivey and Diana, Glad you called the EBay seller on this. It seems that the plant sold for $5, so that is ok, an average price. The EBay photo is probably not the seller's actual photo, only the smaller ones of suckers being removed. fortunately, Optimara seems to be keeping this one going.
One that I bought directly from Optimara bloomed mostly white with a little purple, a very full head of bloom and did not sucker. Every bloom was consistent. Now in its second blooming, it is very dark purple with just a touch of white on the blooms. Laura, I had the same issue with another plant of Cora and moved it to a window with less light. It has developed suckers and a second crown. Perhaps it was stressed. It is really messy looking.
Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Thu, Jul 17, 14 at 0:54

The Dancing Lady is back ...

Ebay Dancing-Lady-On-Ice-Purple-And-White-Organic offering

The photo of it on EBay is lovely. If it looks like that, it is worth the $10 it was being sold for. Joanne

I love Cora! Is she a Rhapsodie or just Optimara? Thanks....Rosie

Gosh, I don't really know the difference. I guess I thought all Optimaras were Rhapsody unless they are space violets or some of the newer ones from the past couple of years. Maybe look it up if you have time? On the MyViolet website?

Yeah, I will try to find out. I never thought of it until I read somewhere a reference to Cora being a Rhapsodie.

Back in the day (1950s+) they did "invent" violets called Rhapsodies. The word Optimara was not used. A violet either had a name (like Top Dollar, Athena, Chanticleer) or it could be in a series (Rhapsodie and Ballet are two of the oldies that come to mind.) I think Optimara has a My Space series, Victorian Charm series and a few others. These are the modern ones.

Something I will have to look in to. Rosie

I remember when the Rhapsodie name began to appear on violets, but I thought it was in the 1970's because I did not start growing violets until the mid-1970's. So i thought it was something new back then. So I looked for violets that had the name Rhapsodie or Rhapsody on the pot. They were very full with blooms and stayed compact with the leaves and grew na circle, so at the time I thought they were wonderful. I did not know too much about violets. I think it was many years later that the company came up with the name Optimara as the overall brand name. So Rhapsodie was a series name of a type of violet. If Diana sees this, she is the expert. She has commented on this on the Forum. I recall her expelling it to us. Or there is probably a lot of info on the Optimara website as they keep adding more info.

I also dimly recall many years ago, in the 1970's, I read that people sent for color catalogues and belonged to AV clubs. Also that the AV club people liked the Lyon's plants but felt the Holtkamp's were too commercial. But at the time, joining an AV club for me would have been like going to the moon (with or without violets), quite out of reach. It was way too rich and exotic a past time for me, busy raising a very young family. So I stuck it in the back of my mind for "someday, maybe." Joanne

You started violets about 10 years after me. The name Rhapsodie was all about a series I think. All I do know is that the word Optimara was NOT in the vocabulary yet. At least not in my neck of the woods!

Yes I still have a couple of my color catalogs. I still look at them. My favorite was and still is Buell's.

I just got done going thru my AVSA mags from early 1970's. Oh the pretty plants in color! And I love to read the ads.

That was a very expensive mag for me to have at the time, but I didn't get anything else and was very frugal so bless his heart he ordered it for me.

There were no groups to join. And like you I had a young family,,,,two little girls. One in 1969 and one in 1971, so I was pretty busy also. Boy life gets in the way sometimes. I do someday/maybe/never. Rosie

Hi, It must be fun to have the old catalogues. Maybe when you go to Ann Arbor, you will find some copies of the AV magazine. You would probably enjoy it. Do you watch the All About African Violet podcasts? They can be fun to watch if you watch just once a week. They are about 35 minutes long.

I started with a few, mostly purple and a few pink. Someone gave me an Easter basket, that was what got me going. But then we moved into a house in a dark, rainy town where there was not enough natural light. We lived there for a long time. So I did not grow violets again until maybe 2006 to 2008, then another one year break. During that time, mostly Optimaras. So I am relatively new. But I gardened before that and understood basic plant care. During that time, the Optimara website has become more and more sophisticated. All of the on-line resources make the hobby easier and more appealing than just going to the dime store (which no longer exists) and hoping there is $3 left to spare for a sorry-looking, limp, dried out violet in need of TLC! Joanne

I have read about these podcasts but have never seen one. Maybe I should try. Where do I find one?

Wow you think they will have old mags at the Ann Arbor show? I am so excited to go!!!!!

Gotta tell you when I was going to the "dime store" (geeze I miss them!) those violets were anything but limp! They looked good, had tags and let me tell you I was there once a week almost to see what came in next. And the price???? $1.00 each plus 4% tax !!!!! WOW!

You are right though,,,,the online resources make it so easy. I spend a lot of time looking things up. I never go to the library anymore. Well, another reason is it is no longer a quiet place. Kids run around, classes are being taught in every corner and people talk out loud. I used to go just to have solitude. No longer.

Anyway,,,,,I am just amazed at the hybridization that has been going on since I have been "sleeping" , so much eye candy!!!!! Rosie

They might if it is sponsored by an African Violet club. Our club does that. But each one is a little different. Maybe call ahead and ask if they can bring you some. You knew to go to the dime store sooner that I did! For me, it was an "afterthought." Glad to know about the good old days!!! AllAboutAfricanViolets.com I think is her web page, or else, just google it.

My first dozen violets were all purple!!! I did not know any better!!! This was all at the same time and on the dining room table. In hindsight, it is just as well the addiction did not kick in then because once we moved to a dark house in a rainy suburb, they all died. I would not have had a minute to take care of indoor plants at the time. So they were just waiting for me many years later. They say addictions grow, even if ignored. So maybe that is true for all and why there are 16,000 + varieties. Plus whatever people are cooking up in their home garden rooms! Cheers! Joanne

hahahahahahaha Joanne, you are absolutely correct! Ahhh addictions,,,I have many! (oh all legal of course!) lol Violets are but one of many!!! Rosie