If you compare from photos the varieties of violets offered to gardeners today and the plants once discovered in the wild, it is difficult to imagine that, in fact, these are closest relatives. Varietal Saintpaulias have become so bright and original that they have never ceased to delight lovers of indoor plants for many years. Look at the tulip tree photo!
Varieties: list with brief description
Today “Optimara” includes more than 15 series of standard violets and the “Mini” series, within which there are subseries. Optimara brings more than 1,000 varieties to the market, many of which were developed in the 1950s–1980s. Every year the variety base is replenished with new specimens.
Did you know? The famous French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte declared violets to be his flower and often put a violet flower instead of a signature.
Main series of standard and semi-miniature varieties:
- "US States";
- "Iceland Series";
- "Indian Summer";
- "Southern Beauty";
- "Victorian charm";
- "World Travel";
- "My Violets";
- "Canadian provinces";
- "National Park";
- "Rhapsody" and others.
The most prominent representatives of the “US States” are:
- "Alaska" — its matte white flowers with a blue border resemble northern ice on a cloudy day;
- "Arkansas" — these incredibly bright red flowers will attract attention in any interior, because there are at least 20 flowers in the header;
- "Colorado" - an amazing combination of dark purple flowers and bright green leaves;
- pink flowers "Louisiana" they look as if they were tanned by the sun and none of them are like the other;
- thin white fringed border on purple flowers of the variety "Hawaii" immediately reminds of the fiery dances of the south;
- unique shade of ultramarine "Texas" complemented by an almost cowboy carved border.
The Icelandic series is represented by two-color violets, where the main color is complemented by a small border along the edge of the flower:
- purple-white "Barbados";
- red and white "Jamaica";
- bluish-white "Dominica";
- bright pink and white flowers "Puerto Rico".
The very large violets in the World Travels series are named after major cities.
You will definitely love the hot pink stars of “Paris” or the double blue and burgundy flowers of “Los Angeles”. The series “My Violets” (myViolet) was presented to the general public in 2009. It combines beautiful flowers with a bright inner part of the flower and a white outer edge. Each flower seems to be divided into 2 different parts.
- "My love" — owner of a fuchsia core;
- "My charm" - these are flowers in ultramarine shades;
- "My desire" They present deep pink flowers among a rosette of dark green leaves.
One of the oldest is the Rhapsody series. It was presented at the exhibition in 1956 and includes more than a hundred varieties.
All violets in this series are named after women:
- "Juliana" - the owner of two-color purple-white flowers and heart-shaped leaves;
- "Ingrid" presented in 2 variants, an older variety with solid pink flowers and its updated dark blue variation;
- "Irene" - its oval dark green leaves are decorated with a cap of two-color white flowers with a purple edge;
- "Rita" - two-color beauty: pink inner part of the flower and white outer part, complemented by a ribbed border.
In 1984, a unique series of space violets was created. Its backbone consisted of seeds that were in low-Earth orbit along with the American Shuttles. The goal of the program was to study the effect of cosmic radiation on seeds. The resulting flowers became the beginning of the new “EverFloris” series, and today there are 11 different varieties.
Among them:
- purple "EverLove";
- soft pink "EverGlory";
- white with blue tint "Ever Praise".
But you may not pay attention to the color of the variety in the picture. Cosmic radiation not only made the flowers much larger, but also affected their shades: in two pots you will get 2 Saintpaulias with different color intensities.
The series of miniature violets is represented by 30 varieties. They are designed to be grown in miniature pots, about 3–6 cm high. Miniature violets bloom much longer than regular violets. They are also distinguished by the fact that during flowering their flowers almost cover the leaf rosette. The Mini series is divided into several subgroups. "Little Gems" are super mini violets for 1" pots. "Little Indians" are also minis, but larger in size for 2-inch pots.
The main representatives of the “Little Jewels” series:
- "Little Amethyst" - this is a plant with semi-double flowers of purple-red color with a white border;
- "Little Apatite" - a small violet with purple flowers;
- "Little Azurite" - owner of blue flowers with a white border;
- "Little Coral" is a miniature violet with double pink flowers and medium green leaves.
The main representatives of the “Little Indians” series:
- "Little Apache Girl" - a variety with double pink flowers and terry convex leaves of moderate green color;
- "Little Aztec Girl" - violet with red flowers, sometimes with a white center and oval dark green leaves;
- "Little Comanche Girl" - a variety with purple flowers, convex shiny leaves;
- "Little Greek" - violet with incredibly delicate pink flowers of a darker shade in the center of the flower.
New to the 2022 catalog is the “Little Trio” with lilac-white-green flowers. The uniqueness of the variety is that the color of each flower is unique. You will not find 2 identical ones in one plant.
