Optimara Growing Tips
Start to Finish
6
• Inside Shading
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For inside shading, we recommend to install a fabric with a shading of
55-65%. A double shading system is superior over a simple shading system as it provides the
fine tuning for optimal light condition. The use of a double shading system might make the
outside shading superfluous. Otherwise, the glass should be sprayed with additional shading
color during the summer months. In order to maintain the optimum light level within your
greenhouse, you will be required to remove some or all of the shading during the winter months.
Shading should be monitored all year round.
6 INCH AFRICAN VIOLETS
Growing Bigger Pot Sizes
• General
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Violets are very popular in bigger pot sizes. One can grow a violet in a 5" or even
6" pot. In order to develop a high-quality plant and to utilize the available greenhouse space as
efficiently as possible, we recommend to start your bigger pot size crop in a 4" pot. After about 8
weeks, remove all flowers and visible buds from the plant. Then transplant the violet into a bigger
pot size. The 6" violet should be ready for sale in about 6 more weeks after transplanting. You
should allocate about 1 sq.ft. spacing for the final development of your 6" violet. Although bigger
pot sizes are quite popular, please note that they take up a lot of valuable production space.
Optimara provideds very vigerous and large growing varieties. These plants already have the
large growing characteristics and do not require any special handling. They are very fast growing
plants is able to finish into a 5 1/2" to 6" plant within 12 to 14 weeks from a starter. These
varieties reduce the growing time by 2 to 4 weeks.
Growing the EverFloris
• Growing
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Growing the EverFloris to a beautiful large 6 inch finished plant requires very
little additional steps. We recommend that you first transplant the large 6 inch plug into a 4 inch
pot. Follow the general 4 inch growing procedures for about 6 to 7 weeks. Space these pots once
after 2 to 3 weeks of growing time to keep them from stretching. After 6 to7 weeks of growing in
a spaced 4 inch pot, transplant the 4 inch EverFloris into a 6 inch pot.
(You can also plant the large plug straight into the final 6 inch pot; however, we have found that
this method requires up to 2 extra weeks to finish. If you have the time and extra space available,
this is a good way to save labor rather than needing to transplant.)
