Frequently Asked Questions
HOW DO VIOLET ALERTS WORK?
By connecting our shipping info to an email alert system
we've now made it EASY to find fresh violets any time they are in stock, in any local store, as soon as they arrive!
Simply sign up with an Email Address, Zip Code and select a distance range of 5, 10, 15, 25 or 45 miles for rural areas.
We tally our weekly shipping data ad when violets are sent to any store in that Zip and Distance Range we send a Fresh Violet Alert containing: Store Name(s), Store Location(s), Ship Date, ETA, and Type of Violet in Shipment (2" mini, 4" standard, 6" large, or EverFloris Space Violets)
Each email contains an Unsubscribe Link so you can turn them off any time with one click.
Whenever you'd like NEW African Violets simply log-in to myViolet and re-select "Notifications"
DO YOU SELL DIRECT?
Optimara distributes the African Violets featured on myViolet directly to retailers such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, True Value, Safeway, Kroger, Armstrong, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Fresh Market, Pike Nursery, Calloway's Nursery, and many local nurseries, garden centers and florists.
FINDING AFRICAN VIOLETS
To make it easier to find African Violets we have a Retail Finder here. http://www.myviolet.com/retail
We've also created Fresh Violet Alerts - just an email + zip code and we will alert you the week we ship and list the exact store locations and estimated arrival date. Get the first pick with Violet Alerts! http://www.myviolet.com/freshviolets.php
WHERE CAN I BUY ONLINE?
Optimara distributes online exclusively through SelectiveGardener.com
You can purchase many vintage Optimara varieties by leaf, and Space Violets by plug, leaf or plant.
STOREFINDER
We also have a Storefinder Tool at myViolet.com/retail which you can search by city or zip code.
It's not as up-to-date as Fresh Violet Alerts but will list all local stores who have ordered from Optimara in the past 12 months.
The next upgrade is Store Notes on which are seasonal, year-round or periodic.
HOW DO I IDENTIFY MY VIOLETS?
It Is Now Easier to ID Plants with ability to Sort By Any Combination Of:
-Production Status (all violets, currently in production, vintage, available by leaf),
-Bloom Color, -Plant Size (2", 4". 6") or-Series
All Active & Recent Varieties
We've also been taking new photos of all our varieties and improving the descriptive data for the listed offerings, soon to include alternate photos, video clips, notes on which violets are extra-hardy and which bloom well under indoor lamps or low-light conditions.
IS MY VIOLET AN OPTIMARA?
If they don't have an Optimara label, there is still a high chance they are Optimara varieties - we supply leaf and plug stock to many other growers around the country. You can post photos to www.facebook.com/africanvioletid and often other users will identify them before we even see the post! If they are from a different hybridizer then someone may recognize the variety or refer you to other violet groups on facebook.
I FOUND VIOLETS AT THE STORE, BUT RECEIVED NO NOTIFICATION
Optimara produces about 60% of the retail violets here at the Nashville facility. Presently we can only send alerts based on our shipping database. There are 2 possibilities:
1) The store in your area might not get direct shipments, but gets them from a "regional distribution center" for the retail store. In those cases we only know the zip code of the Distribution Center but not what stores the plants will be routed to.
2) The store may get violets from other commercial growers that we supply with leaf stock. This wouldn't set off a notification and wouldn't show in the storefinder. We work with other retail growers such as Woodhill Greenhouses or Plant Source Inc, who produce the other 40% of Optimara violets in circulation.
TIPS FOR MORE HITS
No Alerts?
1. Check if Alerts are on, log-in and make 100% sure they are set to "Y"
2. Increase your RANGE to the widest option (45 mi).
Zip code areas are a patchwork of iregular shapes, so the math in determining distances may be rounded off because of the Geometry between yours and surrounding zip code areas.
Other Considerations:
3. Are you located in the extreme North-East or North-West?
If so you local violets may be from Canada or a closer-by grower. We are centrally located in Nashville, and also provide stock cuttings and young plants to many greenhouses and nurseries acros the US and Canada. These are genuine Optimara varieties but aren't (yet) trackable by alerts.
4. Has the weather been near or Below Freezing?
Shipping fresh violets during very cold wether often results in loss of the plants. Violets in sustained temps of 45 or 50F will be damaged, so if there is cold, freezing weather between you and Nashville then we are unable to ship live plants.
MY SIGN-UP CONFIRMATION MESSAGE DID NOT ARRIVE
This can happen due to spam filters, first check your junk mail. If it's not there, then it could have been filtered by your service provider, it's not common but can happen to any automated message. All sign-ups not confirmed after 7 days are checked for being spam, and then approved manually. So if it's been a few days, try logging in and it may have been approved.
If still not able to log-in, try clicking to reset password(on the log-in page), or try making an account with a different email address.
Looking at our logs it appears about 95% of the sign-ups confirm their profiles within one day, so we know it's working.
CAN I POST IN THE USER IMAGE GALLERY?
You may create a separate photo gallery for each violet. Individual photos can be marked as "Public" or "Private"(default)
Each month we will feature the best Optimara photos from myViolet users which have been listed as public.
Want to see your favorite plant featured?
Just sign-up and load your photos as either public or private, it's that simple!
VIOLETS IN BAD CONDITION AT STORE
We do include care information for retailers, but conditions vary at every store. We can't control this, as the violets have already left our greenhouse. These problems are more frequent during the spring when we first start shipping and the stores aren't accustomed to maintaining them. They look great when we ship them out, but they may have had trouble in transit, been placed in direct sun, overwatered, exposed to pests, etc. That's among the reasons for creating Fresh Violet Alerts - so you can get your pick of the freshest and best selection.
: Selecting a Healthy Violet -
