Nashville, TN.

The Company was founded in 1904, by Martin Dorrenbach in Isselburg, in the lower Rhein Valley of Germany. By the 1930's, the son-in-law and horticulturist, Hermann Holtkamp, Sr. started to breed his first Saintpaulias on only one square meter (10.76 square feet) of greenhouse space. After the war Hermann Holtkamp Sr. intensified his breeding efforts and by the early part of 1950's, the first real success gave the breeder hope for the plant's future. At the time, Mr. Holtkamp said that the African Violet would be the potted plant of the future. Our company grew many different crops, later to be replaced, one by one, by the African Violet.

One of the most exciting breakthroughs in the research and development of the African Violet was in the early 1960's, with the introduction of the first non-dropping variety called Elfriede. Today all of Optimara Varieties and most all other competitive varieties available on the market have this characteristic.

In 1961, the name of the company changed from Dorrenbach-Holtkamp Greenhouses to Hermann Holtkamp, KG. In 1977, Holtkamp Greenhouses was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Optimara brand name was introduced to the American consumer.

In 1981, Optiflora was started, a plant care product line which also sells its products under the Optimara brand name. In 1992, the company in the USA began growing miniature Poinsettias. Over the past few years, the company has added Elatior Begonias, Rex Begonias, many varieties of ferns and foliage plants to its product line.

Optimara is the world's largest grower of African Violets. With the largest selection of full-blooming varieties offered, Optimara continues to advance the industry through the development of new plant characteristics and innovative growing techniques that have been refined over years of research and development.

Backing up everything that Optimara grows is a uniquely energetic marketing and distribution program that makes Optimara Violets as easy to sell as they are to grow. In the design of all Optimara packaging and display materials, the focus is on minimizing set-up and maintenance, while maximizing selling power and attention-getting appeal.