Grocery Store Violets
Many violet growers would not have even gotten started in violets if they had never bought that first grocery store violet. I call them grocery store violets but I mean the kind you get in the big box stores too, even hardware stores sell them. Most of the time they are marked Optimara and if they have that grower label you can go to MyViolet.com and identify them. There is no way you can identify a violet if you don't know the grower.
I got this beauty at Lowes. Personally, I don't do shows, don't even have a club in my city or near me. I probably won't ever get into all that. I'm just happy to grow them and share the beauty. I do occasionally trade and maybe someday I'll want to sell some, who knows when I'll reach mass capacity and have to thin out the herd?
You will run into some violets that have no identification (No ID) name on them. Some violet people don't like Optimara or other varieties because they do not put a variety name on each one, even though Optimara does provide a way for you to identify your violet online. If the grower identifies it, then it is no longer a NoID! There are some violet enthusiasts who scream, "noid, noid, noid" every time they see a violet without a name tag. And who cares??? Unless you hybridize, propagate and sell, or show them for ribbons, who cares?
Here's the truth. If you can identify your violet by the grower, then it has been identified. It is no longer a No ID violet. Optimaras are listed so you can identify them yourself on MyViolet.com or you can ask the grower directly to identify it. There are also help groups who will help you. Honestly, some of them are not that hard to figure out!
But even if you don't identify them, growing them can teach you a lot about violets. You can learn how to propagate them and keep them alive. You can make this a very nice, affordable hobby on a budget. There's no better feeling than seeing baby leaves growing on a leaf you stuck in water. You can expand and grow lots of violets by propagation on the cheap. You can water your violets in cheap metal trays with clear domes from a dollar store and put them in natural light and be perfectly happy with that. Social media will teach you everything you need to know to be successful.
I got this one at Lowes too. It always blooms like a champ.
Or, this can get expensive. It's up to you. If you are successful, you might want to expand with more shelving, lighting, bug sprays and soil mixes. You can keep it simple with bottom watering in trays (with or without gravel), or as expensive as fancy pots and hydroponic do-dads that practically grow them for you. You can join a club (if you have one locally) or travel around to conventions. It's up to you how expensive or how involved you want to get.
I have to say that I love the cheap grocery store Optimara violets! They are affordable and somewhat easy to find. Put them on a gravel tray and keep them going for months or years very cheaply if you have a knack. They make it easy for the novice to collect and grow beautiful violets year round. I also love the hybridized fancy ones you order from a seller online where there is a lot of variety to choose from. I am not a snob. I love all kinds of violets even though I have my favorites.
One of my favorites. I got this one at Lowes too! I identified it on Optimara's site because it had an Optimara tag on it. It's one of my best bloomers.
Many fancy hybridizers and sellers started out with grocery store violets. I'd venture to say most every violet enthusiast has bought one or two of them. Just about everyone has a few NoIDs in their collection that can't be identified but if you can identify them in a way that's provided by the grower, then why not?
No reason I can think of.
I got this beauty at Lowes. Personally, I don't do shows, don't even have a club in my city or near me. I probably won't ever get into all that. I'm just happy to grow them and share the beauty. I do occasionally trade and maybe someday I'll want to sell some, who knows when I'll reach mass capacity and have to thin out the herd?
You will run into some violets that have no identification (No ID) name on them. Some violet people don't like Optimara or other varieties because they do not put a variety name on each one, even though Optimara does provide a way for you to identify your violet online. If the grower identifies it, then it is no longer a NoID! There are some violet enthusiasts who scream, "noid, noid, noid" every time they see a violet without a name tag. And who cares??? Unless you hybridize, propagate and sell, or show them for ribbons, who cares?
Here's the truth. If you can identify your violet by the grower, then it has been identified. It is no longer a No ID violet. Optimaras are listed so you can identify them yourself on MyViolet.com or you can ask the grower directly to identify it. There are also help groups who will help you. Honestly, some of them are not that hard to figure out!
But even if you don't identify them, growing them can teach you a lot about violets. You can learn how to propagate them and keep them alive. You can make this a very nice, affordable hobby on a budget. There's no better feeling than seeing baby leaves growing on a leaf you stuck in water. You can expand and grow lots of violets by propagation on the cheap. You can water your violets in cheap metal trays with clear domes from a dollar store and put them in natural light and be perfectly happy with that. Social media will teach you everything you need to know to be successful.
I got this one at Lowes too. It always blooms like a champ.
Or, this can get expensive. It's up to you. If you are successful, you might want to expand with more shelving, lighting, bug sprays and soil mixes. You can keep it simple with bottom watering in trays (with or without gravel), or as expensive as fancy pots and hydroponic do-dads that practically grow them for you. You can join a club (if you have one locally) or travel around to conventions. It's up to you how expensive or how involved you want to get.
I have to say that I love the cheap grocery store Optimara violets! They are affordable and somewhat easy to find. Put them on a gravel tray and keep them going for months or years very cheaply if you have a knack. They make it easy for the novice to collect and grow beautiful violets year round. I also love the hybridized fancy ones you order from a seller online where there is a lot of variety to choose from. I am not a snob. I love all kinds of violets even though I have my favorites.
One of my favorites. I got this one at Lowes too! I identified it on Optimara's site because it had an Optimara tag on it. It's one of my best bloomers.
Many fancy hybridizers and sellers started out with grocery store violets. I'd venture to say most every violet enthusiast has bought one or two of them. Just about everyone has a few NoIDs in their collection that can't be identified but if you can identify them in a way that's provided by the grower, then why not?
No reason I can think of.
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