New Optimaras

Just got these in for the shop.
Standards

mini's in self watering ceramic pots

Wow! Lovely! ....... What Shop???? I want to come shop in AR!!!

Oh, those Mini's are too cute! Do you have a business/shop where you sell these?

more mini's

Yup,I have a small perennial nursery.I have some ladies that can only do container and window seal gardening so I got these.

One of the little ceramic pots got broke in transit so I guess I'll have to keep this one for myself. What a shame.Nasty job...somebody's gotta do it*G*

P

I am sooooo drooling here! :)

Oh My Goodness ... and isn't it a shame ... the Most Beautiful one is the one that had to get broken! :) Do you know the name of that one? Wow! I Love that blossom! And the color!

Isn't that little pink and white dbl. tooooo cute?

P

No name. Optimara is no longer labeling their av's.

P

Nice P.Your ladies should be very pleased: ) That ruffled bloom on the pink one is gorgeous.I agree with Lin,What better one to have the pot break!

It's so hard with Identification! I go to the Optimara website to the Identification page and still can't tell by looking at pictures!

The Blossom looks sorta like Optimara Little Moonstone:Optimara Little Moonstone, but the leaves on Moonstone aren't serrated and I think Moonstone says it has a tinge of purple?

Drat ... I sure would like to know the name of that one so I could order it from somewhere. I love that little double bloom.

send optimara this picture..see if they will id it for you.

P

Good Idea ... someone told me that if you email them a photo they would ID it, but I've never tried that.

Maureen, I just googled and Rob's has these little pots:

http://www.robsviolet.com/supplies.htm


edited to say: The smallest of the white ones Allison sent me is 2 1/2"

This message was edited Apr 14, 2007 9:47 AM

bigred, I am coming to hunt you down to buy those babies!!!!!
I got ready to pot up the minis I found at a nursery and I actually got 5 plants from 2 plants. Please let me post the pics....it is way too exciting for me.....the wind is blowing like crazy today....about ready to give up all but indoor and front porch growing....my new addiction in life!!!!!
This picture and the next one were actually in the same 2" pot...didn't even know it until I took it out of the pot.....started washing soil off at the kitchen sink and realized I had a perfect place to slice in half!!!!

here is the other half....bigred....I keep going back and looking at the yummy double pink mini...

This plant gave me two other plants...

Gail: Please put down a leaf of that last one for me! Pretty, Pretty, Please! I just love it!

Lin

These are the baby plants from that mommy....I need a few months before I can start sharing.....the best part of all......
I also got in a my very first shipment of plants today from Bluebird....the top half of the box had many leaves broken because they were awfully large plants to be shipping out with only tight newspaper wrapped around them....wish that the leaves had broken with stems, but I am going to try and root anyway...
The bottom half of the box had some broken leaves but not many and all plants are beautiful plants....can't complain overall plus they gave me a free plant of Evergrace ??

Those are gorgeous, bigred.

gessie,
That one pretty little av. I love variegated leaves. Tyr,striking those leaves w/o stems. Sometimes it works. Nothing ventured...nothing gained.

I placed an order for av leaves and rooted stolons of episcia w/ Belisle's late last winter...haven't heard jack from them. Luckily,I didn't give them any cc info. Tried to place another order w/ Reed's Greenhouse but when I got to the part for pymt info,it wouldn't work. Emailed them/him,got no reply so I'm going back to Lyndon Lyons for more leaves.

P

better yet, I want to send you one of these plants the mother gave me....I need to be sure that it roots well before shipping it out.
Allison told me that it is good the leaves are green as when you propagate a variegated leafed AV, you stand a better chance of good variegation by putting down the greenest leaf you can find on the plant....
I still have 2/3 of the minis to pot up....too tired today....but I may get more double and triples.
Then later, when all get potted up, I am going to put down leaves.
Lin, I had 3 successful leaves from the annabelle you gave me...I am going to run in and take a picture for you right this minute. Look carefully for the babies down at the base of the mother leaf.

See, Lin, you did good!!!!!!!
bigred, if you go back on the Av forum, you will see a lot of posts I made of pictures recently of these minis in bloom....maybe we can trade some leaves.....only do it if you wish.....I am pretty laid back on this issue...trading is great but only if it meets the needs of both people....
gail

Great going Gail! I love Annabelle ... my first one still looks so strange for an AV .... growing tall and narrow. I guess I will probably one day end up butchering it, cutting the top off and re-rooting it to see if it stays like a normal AV and grows out and not up! I don't know why this one grows this way, I've never seen an AV do this. I know it's something with my care ( lack of proper care !) I've only had it @ 4 months and it looked normal when I purchased it and the other one still looks fine though it needs repotting.

I didn't know that about propagating variegated leaf plants, to use the greenest leaf you can find on the plant! I will try and remember that!

I can't talk without pictures!!!! My Annabelle is starting this tall growth....could it be both of us??? maybe a little genetic predisposition to this growth?

Lin and Gail,I am really beginning to wonder if the tallness isn't just a trait of all Isabelles and Annabelles?I noticed even the plantlets I started from leaves each and every one has the same height issue no matter how close or far they are grown from the lights..Also the adult ones I have are all nearly impossible to get the leaves to lay flat like alot of other av's.Wonder whats up with that?They all bloom great..just look like the leaves prefer to grow upward rather than flat.I wonder if anyone has a perfectly flat growing one they have to show us?

Gail, that plant looks wonderful ... puts mine to shame! Here's a pic of both of mine, bought at the same time, same light conditions, food and water schedule:

Here's another view, same size pot, same soil etc. Can't figure it out. But, the shorter one on the left looks as if it's beginning to elongate like the other one!

Ok....I will take a pic from the side and you will see it even more....thanks Nancy for the clue.....I have no idea what this noid blooms...just showing the comparison of growth..
because AV's were new to me this winter, I have forced them to bloom twice...they may all take a rest for awhile....I didn't read to take it easy on the fertilizer during the winter until AFTER I had made them bloom for me (tee hee)....They will have the last laugh on me.

This message was edited Apr 14, 2007 5:05 PM
good, we will be waiting to hear

This message was edited Apr 14, 2007 5:07 PM

Yep Gail ... it looks like it's growing the same way mine is. Anyone else out there with 'Annabelle' that has this growth? I need to email Allison, I bet she knows the answer as to why. She has two Annabelle's - one she grew from a purchased leaf and one I gave her. I am curious to see if the one I gave her is growing tall ... but knowing Allison, hers probably has the "Perfect" Rosette AV shape! I will let y'all know what she says.

Lin,The Annabelle you sent me isn't as near as leggy as the older one I have but it is starting to get there.Maybe they do just grow that way as they age.Unlike me,they grow taller and I grow wider with age.lol

ditto Nancy!!! still laffin'.....good one!!

Heee Heee ... I am laughing so hard at that comment Nancy! I keep saying I was ALWAYS 5' 5 1/2" tall and I think I've shrunk! And, I know I've grown MUCH wider with age! LOL. I will be waking up during the night laughing at that!

gessie,
be happy to do some trading once they've acclimated themselves and grown a bit.

P

Oh, bigred, you have made my day!!!!! Please send me a dmail just so I can keep up.....sorry these 'blonde and senior' moments happen more often than i care to think about!!! Better yet....I will dmail you...then it will be available to me to remember....thanks again....
gail

OH yes, I have CRS too...LOL

P

P & G -- your new arrivals are gorgeous! I had the same reaction as Lin... I want to shop in AR!

About the stem-less leaves, I think I've read that some people will take a single leaf and divide it into several wedges, all with a portion of the central vein of the leaf, for propagation... This is more if they want to maximize plantlets and have only one leaf to work with -- I'm not sure it's ideal, but it might work to split a stemless leaf and stick it with the center vein going into the mix. I've also heard that you can cut away little portions of the bottom of the leaf, leaving the center vein intact so it acts as a little "stem" for the leaf... I've tried that, and sometimes it has worked.

As far as variegated plants go, yes, you're more likely to have good results with a greener leaf... it has nothing to do with getting good variegation in the resulting plantlets though. It's just that a leaf with more green in it has more chlorophyll, and that means more food for the plantlets as they develop, so you'll get more and/or sturdier plantlets starting with a green leaf. Heavily variegated leaves often simply don't root for me at all.

Critter, i get mixed up with so many facts jumbling around in my brain....that is probably why Allison told me to use the greenest leaf I could find....she isn't even here to correct my quotes!!!

You must use a green leaf fro porgating an Av from variegation or chances are your baby won't have green in it and will die.
With your Annabell plants I bet your plants are over crowned on your stnads. They need room to grow and breath or they will reach up. I think the AVS Magazine had an article on this in it .