Optimara Little Crystal blooming purple
I've grown Little Crystal for many years. It often has purple streaks, or occasionally a couple purple petals on one bloom. This is the first time I've had it put up mostly purple flowers.
Just thought I'd share! I used to hang around Gardenweb many years ago.
Comments (10)
intwilight z6a KS
last yearRelated Discussions
Got a new one, Optimara Maui
Comments (1)Remove the bloomstalks now. You need to preserve all the energy for the plant to adjust. Remove outer smallish leaves with bleached stems. You have a sucker - off-center shoot with small leaves - remove it too. You need to use tweesers and not leave the stubs behind, you can use your nail to scratch the remaining stubs off. The soil is too peaty - that's how they come from stores - eventually you need to repot it to the lighter soil. If you have some do it now, if not - you can probably let it be for some time. I would probably cover it with a baggie for some time. Regarding the watering - lift the pot - anbd if it feels light - water but do not drench the soil - it can go into very soggy mode and choke the roots - that's why this soil is good for transportation of violets from Canada to Florida and back, but it is not good for growing. Seems like a good healthy plant, provided you change the soil and let it recover for some time - you will enjoy it for many years to come. Irina...See MoreWell! What an Optimara Surprise
Comments (6)I do love the way your O. Montana looks! However, I don't think I'd have guessed it. I'm not familiar with O. Montana at all though. My old O. Dali looked exactly like the first photo on the AVSA photo gallery. This one doesn't look like that at the moment but who knows what will happen? It is a big star and I clearly am at a loss to explain the color. It certainly isn't as purplish as rob333's appears on my monitor. It is some pinkish tone. Right now it's disbudded and quarantined. Wait a minute = are those blossoms stars (5 pollen sacs/anthers) on your plant? I only see 4. Dali is a star. I know that sometimes my first blooms seem to have trouble "getting it together" though. Seurat is listed and shown as a pansy and that looks more like Seurat to me (if it's a pansy). I just looked at MyViolet trying to figure out some other ones. Diana This post was edited by quimoi on Thu, Jun 19, 14 at 11:53...See MoreWhy my purple daylilies don't bloom purple?
Comments (30)I could do several posts of just my purples! Yes, I am in the North (New Hampshire) and I have acidic soil. I do think that plays a role. Even my roses that other people call red or maroon are deep purple here, especially my gallicas. Charles de Mills rose is dark purple here but I see photos of it looking crimson. Even in the heat my purples are purple, but cool temps certainly intensify the deep tones. Also, my pinks are truly pink and not salmon. Here's a sampling of the dozens of purples I grow. BTW, none of my pictures are ever photoshopped and actually these are more purple in person...my camera has a hard time picking up what I see. I love purples and have far too many to show here but here's a sample. Celeste Thieving Magpie Lyrical Ballad Dream Sequence Jackie Canner Ring the Bells of HeavenLiberty Banner Heavenly Doppler Effect Indian Giver Freedom's Triumph Stargate Portal...See MoreOptimara Miniatures
Comments (34)I don't honestly know. I thought reverting would be a chimera losing its stripes for example.... they can't exactly revert into either of their seed parent plants - the genes are too jumbled for that, but if a variety was created through spontaneous mutation (sporting) then i guess it could revert back to (something that looks like) the plant it originally started out as. I am still questioning, if there is so much sporting, how much of the genetic material, that doesn't affect appearance, actually remains the same, and how genetically identical all the clones out there really are... (that just screams soap box, doesn't it?) now where the line is between birthmarking/sporting/reverting - you're going to have to ask someone else, because i never got a clear answer on it either.... Kairn...See Moreintwilight z6a KS
last yearI'm guessing you're pointing to the known sport information on the little crystal page.
I have been wondering if it is sporting - this plant has had some purple streaks here and there, or a purple petal on a bloom, but this is a LOT of purple.
Little Crystal was my first AV. I started growing it from a NOID watership plant in 1999. It was with me many years (surviving multiple moves, ice storms with power outages for days) but in an extremely bad health time I lost it. I had been fairly sure my plant was Little Crystal, confirmed it with more poking about the internet, and purchased a new one from Selective Gardener. Once I had that in hand, I knew it was the same.
If it stays purple I will keep it, but probably get another white in the future. Here is the same plant a year and a half ago.
alabamaav
last yearintwilight z6a KS
last yearAnother update - the plant's foliage has been slowly flushing darker. New leaves now have a partial purple/red reverse.
When I was posting months ago, I had forgotten I had a backup leaf down of Little Crystal. There's a healthy plant off of that leaf and it is about to bloom, looks like it's true to LC at the moment. Interested to grow them next to each other.
Rosie1949