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bttrflii

Where to get micro-mini or super-mini plants or leaves?

bttrflii
10 years ago

=== EDIT ===
Answer: Sellers generally don't specify that a plant is micro (* Rob's Violet Barn
* Lyndon Lyon Greenhouse (call before ordering to check availability)

====== ORIGINAL POST ======
Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction for buying some micro or super-mini african violet leaves or plants? I unfortunately have nothing this size to trade, and I have to start somewhere. Also unfortunately, I have been 100% unable to find anyone that has smaller than regular miniatures for sale, and I've been everywhere I can think of, including the African Violet Society of America's links page.

I've searched this site, and almost everything I've found is very outdated. The recent post I found only looks for names, not where to get them from (and even at that, nobody who replied was able to give any true super-mini names).

Any help is appreciated. :) Thank you!

== Where I've looked on these forums ==

Super Mini African Violets (2013) has the names of two miniatures, but no super-mini, and no place to buy them.

Micro mini violets (2009) has people who have micro-minis and who list a few along with one very nice picture, but not where to get them from.

Working on a list of micro minis (2008) has, unsurprisingly, a list of micro-minis that the poster found, but even with those names, I can't find where to get them from.

Two micro-mini varieties (2007) has a picture of two micro-minis, but no buy location.

WANTED: Micro Miniature Violets (2006) and WANTED: Looking for Mini's and Micro's (2009) would have been great! Except neither have any replies. :p

This post was edited by bttrflii on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 10:45

Comments (38)

  • ultra_violet
    10 years ago

    Any AV that generally grows up to 6 inches is indicated as "Miniature" in their official description regardless of whether it maxes out at 2 in. or 6 in. I assume you already looked The Violet Barn or Lyndon Lyon Greenhouses but I'd look again, they usually add extra descriptive comments in their listings to give buyer a clue as to how small or smallish a miniature really is (ex. "this plant stays at 2 inches for us" "cute tiny foliage"). Unlike you, I read between the lines so I DON'T buy a midget since I have more success with semis and standards :) Also I bet they'll be more than happy to guide you over the phone.

    A lot of the tiniest AVs are trailers, but can be groomed to grow as a single crown. This Violet Voice forum gives some names. I would try eBay for most of the varieties mentioned, eBay is hit and miss but sometimes a variety you just must have DOES pop up after weeks or months of trying!

    This post was edited by ultra_violet on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 21:56

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks ultra_violet, I'll go look again and read the descriptions. I realize that no officially-sanctioned recognition is given to the micro and super-mini sizes, but I (obviously) wrongly assumed that they were still have those keywords *somewhere* searchable.

    I would actually prefer the 3-4" super-minis since from what I researched, those seem to be easier to care for than the As to searching on ebay... I've been looking for two weeks, so I guess I'll have to just keep doing so. :p I would dearly love a single resource that listed plants that fit into the different categories *and* had a picture. That would make finding which plants I actually want a lot easier, and then searching for only those plants instead of a list of 50 or more names? That would be awesome!

  • ultra_violet
    10 years ago

    *Under my growing conditions* Rob's Loose Noodle, Rob's June Bug, Rob's Chilly Willy, and Rob's Love Bite grow up to approx. 3.5 inches at maturity. They can be found at The Violet Barn.

    A word of caution, I personally find smaller varieties to be more delicate than others in general. Good luck!

  • seaj
    10 years ago

    You may want to check out some of these.

    Lyndon Lyon
    Pip Squeek
    Li'l Periscope

    Violet Barn
    Robs Voodoo Blue
    Robs Twinkle Blue

    Shanti's African Violets
    Petite Tart
    Baby White
    Tiny Moon Goddess
    Pip squeek

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    thank you both for the recommendations! i've decided to order from the violet barn since i fell in love with one of their chimeras; in that vein (haha), i'll be trying out loose noodle and twinkle blue. if these go well, i do believe i'll be trying out some plants from shanti next, as i've heard that tiny moon goddess is fun and quirky. :D

  • seaj
    10 years ago

    Did you place your order yet? You may want to check out Texas Teen, available at the Violet Barn.

    There was once a vendor called Violet Venture that carried many small cultivars. Bloomin Jungle has since acquired all of those plants and for a limited time you can purchase leaves here. http://www.bloominjungle.org/whatisforsale.htm They usually only sell plants I think.

    Tundra Snowflake (also sold by Shanti)
    Teeny Bopper
    MistyMiss

    I'm sure there are more. It's probably just best to ask vendors for plants in the size range you want.

    If you can help, I'd like to see how big the plants actually are when they are shipped to you. Good Luck!

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i did see their texas teen, but i'm not big into the red flowers. maybe someday!

    i'll add bloominjungle to my list of shops to watch when i'm ready for some more. i currently have eight plants and have ordered six more, so i'll be kept busy for a while. :)

    are you curious about sizes from all places, or only bloominjungle? i obviously can't give a picture yet for the violet barn, but i can from an ebay seller called "jack's violets". the astute will see that i don't have as many plants in these pictures as there were tubes in the box -- quite right! coworkers and i have been ordering together (there were actually two boxes from jack's) in our own small AV club, and those ladies took their plants almost before i could see them! :)

    arrival from jack's violets

  • seaj
    10 years ago

    I'm just curious to see how big the plants will be when they are shipped to you since the ones you ordered won't grow very large to begin with. Thanks for the picture link though. I've never bought leaves/plants before over the internet so it's interesting to see how things are kept together during shipping.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    jack's violets were my first, and i was very pleased with the packaging. :) i unfortunately (for trading purposes, anyway) live in a rural state, so i'm not able to go to the trade shows that others are able to attend.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    sorry for the slow posting of pictures for the violet barn order; i've been away for a few days.

    arrival from the violet barn

    -

    i've also made two terrariums for the two smaller-than-usual minis i have. hopefully this will meet their greater need for humidity, but if nothing else, they look great. :p

    homemade terrariums

    [edit: updated album with both terrariums]

    This post was edited by bttrflii on Wed, Jul 3, 13 at 13:49

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Just a note-I have always been happy with Jack's Violets!

    Linda

  • seaj
    10 years ago

    That chimera looks awesome! I'm quite fond of your moss collection as well. It looks like everything arrived in good condition.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i am once again requesting some help with this, as i have lost a part of my sanity between two frustrating sellers and my not being able to search the web with any success. i'm going to assume that i'm SOL, but i also figured that it doesn't hurt to ask...

    i am looking for three specific plants and have paid two separate sellers to get some of these plants only to find out that 1) the first seller must be out of business and didn't bother to update their site, meaning i have to go through my credit card to get a refund, and 2) the other seller took my money but then told me a week later that oh sorry but they don't actually have the plants and it would be two months before i'd get anything.

    if anyone could tell me any place they might know of to get these plants, i would appreciate it so much. if anyone has them already and would ship a plant or some leaves, i'd compensate you over postage costs for the time and trouble. note that shanti's violets and lyndon's greenhouse are not on the table.

    thanks so much for any replies.

    - Lil Periscope
    - Pip Squeek
    - Tiny Moon Goddess

    [edit: oops, spelling mistake]

    This post was edited by bttrflii on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 14:01

  • jlm303
    10 years ago

    I take it the sellers in question were LLG and Shanti's? I had similar concerns with LLG but received call from Paul, apologies, etc. I called first this time. I just placed an order with Shanti's yesterday and got a tracking link right away. Did you get this too?

    Jodi

    This post was edited by jlm303 on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 16:59

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    yes, they were.

    shanti's is the one i have never gotten a response from other than a "we got your payment" email. i ordered from them july 16th. if you've ordered from them and gotten a tracking number... do any of her(?) emails to you have a phone number on them? i would like to try to call her if possible, but that field was blank on the emails i received. maybe my emails are getting blocked? i would really prefer to have the plants instead of my money back!

    lyndon's greenhouse was an august 20th order and i got a call this morning saying that they don't have either of the two plants on my list in stock and it would be at least a month and a half before they'd have anything. i told the caller to please understand how frustrating it is to order something and then be told that what i specifically ordered doesn't exist.

    [edit: corrected wrong order date]

    This post was edited by bttrflii on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 17:14

  • jlm303
    10 years ago

    No, no phone number, just this shroomster77@yahoo.com.

  • suz7
    10 years ago

    I ordered five violets from Shanti's on July 25. I paid by Paypal and got an automated accepted order notice. I have yet to hear or receive anything. The email goes unanswered.
    She sells yarn on Etsy and has a notice posted there that due to health she's closed.
    I'm hoping she will straighten out her violet business soon and perhaps issue refunds. I've since ordered from Bloomlovers and the Green Mule on Ebay and been very pleased. They're both very nice. You could contact them to ask about minis.

    Suz

    This post was edited by suz7 on Sat, Aug 31, 13 at 13:01

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i actually had a minor miracle happen when i was ordering tiny moon goddess from fancy bloomers. i had requested information about the availability of a certain out-of-stock plant and had tacked on a side note about also looking for pip squeek and lil periscope. to my utter amazement and delight, an "I did just acquire Lil Periscope and Pip Squeek last fall, and I now have babies ready to be separated" was sent back to me.

    i might have gone a little overboard in my enthusiastic reply to her, but she made me a very happy person. the plants are in the mail and on their way to me as i write this. :)

    i'm updating my OP links.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    followup on the order from fancy bloomers...

    please note: due to the post office being slow in my area, my post office not following specific instructions to leave my plants outside my door, and the post office being closed for labor day monday, my order from fancy bloomers took a week to get to me instead of the two days it should have. because of this extremely unfortunate and frustrating ship time, the two micro plantlets, which had only *just* been separated specifically for me, were not equipped to deal with the unhealthy ship time they went through. their unhealthy arrival was entirely the post office's fault.

    the plants arrived packaged very well and were extremely healthy (not counting the two planlets) even after a week in a hot box. five of the six were even already blooming! i would highly recommend this seller to anyone else and am more than excited about how great they look. donna at fancy bloomers is a very supportive seller and provides timely replies to questions. most definitely A+.

    my fancy bloomers order

  • jlm303
    10 years ago

    I finally had to ask PayPal to open a file on my order to Shanti's after all my inquiries went unanswered.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i did the same. it passed through and i got my refund request accepted on sunday. i hope she's ok and is able to settle up with those remaining.

  • jlm303
    10 years ago

    I had the refund come through less than two hours after filing with PayPal. I, too, hope she's OK.

  • ny4216350
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    bttrflii,

    Have you found what you've been looking for (micromini avs)? Let me know if you are still looking. I also have a few HAVEs and a few WANTs.

  • quimoi
    8 years ago

    I would be interested in a source for Lil Periscope and Pip Squeek.

    Diana in PA


  • shihtzu4su
    8 years ago

    diana - Lyndon Lyon has lil periscope and pipsqueak is on ebay right now.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    ny,

    To make a long story short, a good 75% or more of my plants died during a several-months-long moving process, including all but a couple of my micros. My collection is decimated and hundreds of dollars lost. I haven't been able to work up enough interest to try again, especially since money is tighter now than it was when I started collecting.

    I wish you all the luck in the world with your WANT collection, because the micros were an absolute joy to me when I had them. :)


  • quimoi
    8 years ago

    Thanks, I don't think that's the right Pip Squeek. I've never had good luck with Lyon's. I'd order and get everything but Lil Periscope or get the one thing I didn't really want so much and nothing else :)

    Diana


  • shihtzu4su
    8 years ago

    bttrfli- oh wow... i am so sorry! that had to have been discouraging. :( are micros harder to propogate than regular AVs? Best wishes on the few you have left!

    diana - oh ok! sorry bout that history you have had with Lyndon Lyon..! that can be frustrating. i have had nothing but good experiences with them... except they are slow to ship! :)

  • quimoi
    8 years ago

    Someone just posted on FB because they were disappointed with their Lyons order - they had ordered 10 and gotten 4 (I think that was it). That would be me. I would order 2 or 3 chimeras, Pip Squeek, a Mac's and couple of things that I could get elsewhere but, as long as I was paying shipping... You know what would happen? All that would come would be the stuff I could have gotten elsewhere ;) I guess my luck just hasn't been the greatest, one way or another there so I've given up.

    Diana


  • ny4216350
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    bttrflii,

    Very sorry for your loss. If your interests in micromini avs have not completely faded out, I can offer a few cuttings of Pip Squeek and Tiny Wood Trail. Lil Periscope is finally shaping up. It may take some time until cuttings can be produced. Amadie Trail (not micro but very small grower) is getting bushy. I can also offer a few cuttings or small rooted plugs of Tiny Moon Goddess. I also have one small plug of Tiny Pink Trail. I hope you are more leaning toward a reconstruction of your collection. I may not be of help if your interest stays in specific rare varieties, but as long as our interests stay alive, we can start up somewhere.

    quimoi and shihtzu4su,

    My mother plant of Pip Squeek is now quite bushy and finally ready to bloom (it took a couple years until it got to this stage). I can offer a few cuttings to you too. If you can wait, my Periscope will be big and strong enough to produce a few cuttings. Let me know.

  • quimoi
    8 years ago

    I am interested in Pip Squeek and My Periscope if you can. I'm afraid I paid no attention to how to do pm's here. All I need are 2-3 leaves if they can arrive in good condition (I think). I have Tiny Moon Goddess. Oh, I would take Tiny Wood Trail again if we have anything to trade of although it needed a tiny weed whacker.

    Diana in PA


  • ny4216350
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    quimoi ,

    I will make available for you a pair of cuttings of Pip Squeek and Tiny Wood Trail. Once My Lil Periscope grows big enough, I will send a pair of cuttings of this as well. Now I am looking for the replies from bttrflii and shihtzu-4su as to what they are willing to take. Can you hold until I get their replies? I just want to know how many cuttings I should make from Pip Squeek or other varieties.

  • shihtzu4su
    8 years ago

    ny - i would love to trade with you but i told my dear patient husband that i would not do any more trades until the fall! the only full grown tiny mini i have is lil balerina... and im not sure if it is a micro. i also have leaves down of about 8 diff small minis... but once more, i have no idea if they are micro or not.

  • ny4216350
    8 years ago

    shihtzu-4su, I understand your hubby’s concern. But Pip Squeek is so tiny (but demanding), he would not notice it (I am not suggesting a secrete trade though). Once it grows to be with half a dozen of leaves (1/4’ to 1/2” long) from a cutting, it behaves as a mature plant (1” high) starting to bloom. Talk to him, he would love it as well. If you are still interested, I will send a pair of cuttings to you for postage. By the coming fall, my Chantaspring will be ready for cutting. Let me know if you are interested. I do grow some plants of Lil Ballerina (mini). As having strict limitation to my growing space (my plants are now growing in 4” x 4” x 4” compartments), I can only grow microminis. Lil Ballerina is perhaps the largest plant in my collection. I am now looking for something such as: Tsunami, Midget series, Senk’s Fruit Fly, Vallarta Campanas Moradas, Flashy Trail, Lilla Blaklockan. I understand some of them are on eBay, but I have not had a luck, instead with growing interests in trade so that I could talk with other growers on those little guys. Anyway, those tiny guys generally require more of our attention. But once you grow them, you will see how attached you grow to them. Let me know.

  • ny4216350
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    quimoi,

    Although having grown plants for years, I am very new to trade. How do people do trade.. if both have something that appeals to the other, the trade will be easy. Anyway, let me make sure about what YOU WANT:Cuttings of Pip Squeek, Tiny Wood Trail (Lil Periscope will be available this summer or right after that, but let me double check). Do you want a mature plant of Tiny Wood Trail rather than cuttings? I may have an extra (let me check on this also). Now do you have microminis for trade with me? Let me know.

  • quimoi
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Thank you ny4216350. I was trying to understand how to take it to pm. Perhaps I will run into them elsewhere.. Yes. I suppose I have what you would consider microminis.

    Thanks again :)

    Diana

  • ny4216350
    8 years ago

    quimoi,

    Can you email me to motoko.yamakawa@citi.com. Many thanks.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    ny,

    I would very much appreciate the micros you have if you are
    still available when Lil Periscope is ready. Pip Squeek, Tiny Wood
    Trail, Amadie Trail, Lil Periscope, and Tiny Moon Goddess were all ones
    that I lost. I hadn't had the pleasure of having Tiny Pink Trail, but
    Tiny Moon Goddess, Pip Squeek, and Lil Periscope were particular
    favorites.