I really don't know alot about mini's and micros, other than they need to be kept humid and repotted alot. There is not alot of info on the web. Does anyone here grow these little guys?

The smaller the pot the better as far as keeping them at a very small size. But, as you stated, that takes more frequent repottings and more humidity to keep them at their best.

Personaly I would keep some in the 2" pots AND put a few starts in the 1 oz. cups.

John

Twinkle was a gift. It's so tiny, so cute. It was sent to me potted in a clear one oz cup, with another one oz cup upside down on top, taped to the bottom, like a little mini greenhouse. I don't know where she got it, but it came from someone with a very extensive collection. I could ask her if you want to know. One leaf was pressed against the side of the top cup, so I snipped it off and potted it up. If it takes, I'll let you know!

I definitely plan on keeping them in the small cups, but I think that they are trailers too, so what then? Won't they eventually need more space to spread? From what I have read, alot of ppl grow them in terrariums, or covered in some way. Years ago I had some very small mini's, though I don't believe they were micros. They came from an orchid shop, and the pots sat in a clear plastic reservoir and were wicked. I think I eventually repotted them, not knowing you are supposed to keep them in small pots. I forget what happened to them, probably died when I moved or something like that.

I wish someone who specializes in growing them would write a book or have a website donated exclusively to the micros and smaller minis.

Is this forum running really slow these days or is it me?

fred in nj

Fred, no bubbles here. My plant may be mislabeled unless a mature leaf on Baby Brian the semimin trailer is the size of baby's fingernail. I have mini's with bigger leaves than that! Will have to see if it gets bigger.

Moisture control & amount of light are tricky things. If you are an over-water, terrariums will not forgive for long - esp if the cover is on tight. Mold happens fast in a too wet environment. Check often...lift the lid ASAP if sides suddenly look like you're growing in a rain forest!

Definitely experiment so long as you have more than one "copy"! Also, setting extra micro leaves in a terrarium to experiment with good way to practice - so they're in there from the start and are used to it.

Also, the bonsai pot idea is a good one. I have a few small ones and should try using them. I bet they would look great esp. in a terrarium

John

I pulled out my little bonsai pots last night, but I think they may be too big for my micros. Maybe if I had a few of each variety, I could plant them in there together. For now, I think that the pots would be better suited for a trailing mini.

Dognapper, after reading your post, I uncovered everything for a few hours, think I am going to do that once a day.

Little Lizzy is in another terrarium, also in a light mix of peat, vermiculite, and lots of perlite, in a 2 in net pot set into a substrate of coco fiber and tree fern fiber. The difference here is that the humidity is higher, about 85-90%, and there is air circulation in this terrarium via a small computer fan. Little Lizzy has been in this setting since about November, and is blooming like crazy now. Little Lizzy is not a micro mini, but I struggled with it a lot before putting it in the terrarium. After my success with Little Lizzy in the terrarium, I decided that the only way I'd try to grow mini and semimini trailers was in a terrarium. I can't seem to grow them otherwise.

Incidentally, both of these terrariums were designed for orchids, and it's a nice side benefit to have the AVs in there too. Especially since orchids are usually not in bloom, whereas AVs, when happy, are almost constantly in bloom.

I have teeny bopper, Robs Twinkle Blue and Robs Voodoo Blue, all of which are very small for me.

I've never been to the Violet Gallery, probibally a 6+hour drive for me, I'm near Mansfield, Pa.

I really enjoy the micro sinningias, and they have gotten me thinking about trying some micro mini African Violets in terrariums, like I grow the micro Sinns. very easy to care for and didn't lose any, so why not try violets this way???
John

John, if you can grow the sinningias, I am sure you can grow the micros. Maybe in the fall we can trade, I'd love to try the sinningias.

Quinn, do you mind sharing where you found orchid terrariums? I bought the goldfish bowl, but I don't think it is going to work.

I ordered the ExoTerra online from a terrarium/reptile supply store, but I've been told you can get them at pet stores, which would definitely save you money on shipping. I don't have a car though, so ordering online was easier for me.

I'm making top cuttings and dividing some of my micro mini sinningias, we'll see what I have in a few weeks. Many of my plants have ben around for a long time and I will have some xtras, but not sure yet how long the new ones will take to establish and be big enough to get cuttings from.

Quinn and John, looks like I am going to have to check out the local pet and aquarium supply stores with a new eye...I know they sell those Exo Terras, or at least something like them, because I have seen then there. Thanks for the tips and info.

barbara...thanks:) and the lights are about 10 inches above the plants.

I pot all my micos, minis and most semi-minis in small condiment solo cups. They seem to grow to the size of the pot. Keeping then contained helps retain their small size. I have had minis that grew pretty large and semis that looked like standards.
I wick all of mine. And for me, the watering is then a no-brainer. While I have more them a few glass tanks and terrariums I seldom keep AVs in them. Most are for all the other gesneriads that I grow.

If you all might be interested I would talk to my son-in-law about helping to set up a website where we might all share info etc.

Woodland Sprite (6206) 04/16/1986 (A. Jantzen/Unknown) Single light blue/darker center. Medium green, quilted, serrated. Large

I have it and by time it has 3 or 4 rows the outer ones almost fill the palm of my hand. Seriously! :) It also tends to be a leaner - trying to jump out of the pot - leans over the side no matter how much I rotate.
I thought it was a trailer actually (oops! it has some suckers that need to be nipped ASAP) until I checked FC2 for 2 named the same. Just says Large. They're not kidding :)
The blooms fall off the stems on mine long before they fade.

"the soil needs changed every 3-4 months since they have so little soil in their tiny pots the nutrients get depleted."

There is very little nutrition in a soiless mix commonly used for African violets. If one uses the standard 1-1-1 mix, fertilizer added to the water is what provides the nutrition a plant needs. The potting medium does not, unless you are using a commercially prepared mix, such a Miracle-Gro, that has a fertilizer charge in it, for the peat moss part of the mix.

One of the reasons for the frequent repotting is the breakdown of the peat moss, which becomes more acidic than violets normally like.

Good growing.

Barbara

My sister told me the other day that Grandma said her secret to success with her violets was a couple drops of lemon juice in her water once a month. Anyone heard of this or did my Sis maybe get this wrong? Being acidity is a worry in soil it doesn't make sense to me.

Have a bloomin' day!,,,Debbie

Barbara

Sorry I photoshop the pots outta my pics, but this is in a 1/2oz solo cup--click here for teeeeeeeeny goodness

Do you have a GFS store near you ( Gordon Food Service) Party Supply stores may also have them. If you would like to order on line Ace Mart Supply has them. If you eat out- I always swipe Half and Half containers. Ask friends to do the same.

Mac

Lathyrus I do have a restaurant supply store downtown. I've never been inside but through the windows it looked mostly pots and metal utensils. I'll have to go inside and see if they have the 1 oz. cups but keep them in a backroom.

Thank you both for your ideas and help! I think in no time I'll have some in hand now. I do have some AV leaves planted so will need them when they get plantlets.,,,,Debbie

I still use the 1 oz cups, too. I use the to pot smaller leaves. It takes up much less space than a Solo cup and a leaf doesn't need all that soil anyway. When the leaf roots and starts producing, I can tell if I need to move it or not. I've found that leaves are unbelievably rugged and, in my experience, repotting a leaf with plantlets doesn't cause any damage or harm anything. Many people wouldn't care because they have a lot of space, but since I'm a big constrained, these are very helpful.

I use 2oz cups. I don't know that I've seen 1oz cups! Those must be tiny. I found a couple plastic shot glasses that I saved from something (I think someone was wandering around with samples of something?) but while they looked attractive, I found them too rigid for my liking... it was hard getting the plant and rootball out because I couldn't flex the sides to loosen it. Good idea with the coffee creamer cups. I may have to go out and order coffee just to get some of these, ha. Although with my luck, they'll bring half and half out in those little creamer pitchers instead.

I have a second group that was detached too soon, too. I dropped the cup containing mom and the babies. The mom leaf broke about 1/4" above the babies. One of the babies separated, the rest stayed together as a clump. I've all of them potted in a little 1 oz cup and in a baggie. So far, it's been about a week and they are still OK.

2 oz cups would be great to get. I saw some at a party store but the price was outrageous, lol, so I didn't get them. The 1 oz is quite small - it's 2 Tablespoons or 1/8 cup. A 2 oz would be 4 tablespoons or 1/4 cup. But, the 1 oz are perfect for so many things! One of these days I'll find some 2 oz, too, and I'll have this perfectly graduated set :-).