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bttrflii

Anyone familiar with Chantaspring?

bttrflii
10 years ago

My collection of micros is growing, and since I was able to find Chantaspring from two sellers that I was already buying from, I decided to see what the differences in a single plant would be from two different growers. The answer turned out to be "are they even the same plant?"... The first site does call their plant "chataspring" instead of "chaNtaspring", but I believed that to be a misspelling since the description was the same as what Chantaspring is everywhere else.

Would anyone familiar with Chantaspring be able to tell me which of these two supposedly-Chantasprings is the real deal? Or are they somehow both the same plant? Both sellers use the exact same cup to grow their plants in, and both pictures were taken within an hour after I unboxed the shipment. The first looks how I expected it to look, while the second has extremely large leaves for a plant that I've read from multiple places is supposed to be inky dinky tiny.

Chantaspring #1:
{{gwi:376453}}

Chantaspring #2:
{{gwi:376455}}

Comments (52)

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    Both of these plants are off. First on has strange elongated crooked leaves, second - too big of a leaf. Wait until they bloom - so you can ask for the replacements.

    I.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Irina:
    Well that's disappointing if it's true... I better add Chantaspring back to my wish list so I can get the right one, just in case. :-/ I've had a difficult time finding good pictures of these micro AVs, so I've been relying on vendor accuracy since I can't really compare what I have to official pictures. This little Chantaspring experiment has me worried about the rest of my plants now.

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Bttrflii,
    Some growers might have a time limit within which
    you must register a complaint. But that might not apply
    tif they sent the wrong variety. You might want
    to let the growers know now of your concern, and that
    you will await blooms to be certain.
    I believe with VB (#2), they prefer
    responding to a phone call rather than to an email.
    Joanne

  • ultra_violet
    10 years ago

    @bttrflii: Looking at images online, my gut votes for the second one. I hope this situation comes to a satisfying resolution.

    (off-topic) I followed a link to your AV album and enjoyed browsing through the eye-candy. It's also helpful to see how different vendors package orders. Did you order from Cedar Creek on ebay or do they have a secret website?

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    Chantaspring is not exactly a micro. It is a very tough mini trailer. I would say - pretty easy to grow, Micros - they pretty much need to grow semi-covered. At least in CO. The only issue I have - it blooms in flushes - not all the time.

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Irina,

    I have never grown micros but I picked up a few at the Ohio State Show. What do you mean by semi-covered?

    Thanks,
    Linda

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Irina,

    I have never grown micros but I picked up a few at the Ohio State Show. What do you mean by semi-covered?

    Thanks,
    Linda

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    A club buddy grows them - she keeps them under the domes with a stripe on the top taken out. They are just not equipped to take our dry air. The leaves are so small and skinny. Probably Ohio is humid enough - except in winter when furnace is working. They probably won't die without - but they literally thrive under these domes.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    @ultra_violet: i'm happy to know someone else enjoyed my pictures. :) i also found the different packaging interesting and have my own favorites, both in how the plants arrived and how easy the plants were to unwrap. yes i got my cedar creek violets through ebay and i believe they *only* goes through ebay now; i read someone else asking the same question and that was the reply given to them. i did search (at that time) for cedar creek outside of ebay but didn't find anything.

    @Linda, irene: i keep my micros in mini greenhouses or double-potted in terrarium bowls.

    this picture of my desk at work is dated now since that temporary jar is gone and i have since swapped the temporary-that-turned-into-months-until-it-really-just-outgrew-bowl-and-i-really-had-to-do-something terrarium plant out for a smaller variety, but it does encompass my usual smaller-than-mini methods.

  • bragu_DSM 5
    10 years ago

    nice pix bttrflii

    with micros, have you found that your soil medium needs to be replenished more frequently (repotted) because it is taking a smaller pot, and wearing out faster?

    i have some very old thumb pots w no drainage holes made of akro agate that i am thinking about using ... i even have 4 thimble sized pots ...

    again, nice set-up ...

    dave

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Bttr,

    Beautiful set-up! Such talented people and imaginative people here. Thanks for the ideas.

    Irina,

    You're right-humidity is not a problem here unless it's too much of it! About a month ago my humidity reading was 85% in the basement where my plants are. It was like walking into a sauna! I turned on my dehumidifier but that puts out a lot of heat so it was a juggling act for a while. In the winter it lowers but it is always in the acceptable range. I think I am going to try Bttr's idea. Her display is so pretty.

    Linda

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    @dave: i've only had my first micros for a couple months, so i haven't reached the stage where i've repotted any of them. to be honest i'm still in the stage where i'm scared to touch them for fear that they'll break. :) as to my setup, i've been really pleased with it, especially now that i have three micros on the three towers in the back and have taken my ecosphere home to make room for that third micro. :p

    if anyone wanted a link to the little greenhouses i'm using, they're lee's betta keepers.

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Dave,

    I wouldn't think micros would need re-potting more frequently than other violets. Although the tiny pots are holding a tiny bit of soil, it is only being used by a tiny plant.

    Tiny Tim

  • bragu_DSM 5
    10 years ago

    i would think a tiny bit of soil soil would not last long, even if you have a tiny plant... and perhaps the vermiculite would have to be really adjusted ... must be a counter intuitive thing, or a right brained thing and i am left brained ... or vice versa ...

    dave *mush for brains, as of late*

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    A chiropractor for vermiculite? Really???

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    Hmmm... about where brains are located...my son is getting married in 10 days - and I am quite positive that right now he has an upper head brain atrophy...

    An if I am late for lunch - it is my stomach that rules...

    i.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    i've been using the 1:1:1 mix when i plant, so hopefully my vermiculite levels don't need to be readjusted or else i'll have to dig things back out. you are an evil man for making me worry about this now! :) i'm going to proceed on the assumption that the humidity levels with my micros make the vermiculite ratio just fine or else the poor little roots would rot.

    here's a just-taken-two-minutes-ago picture of the three greenhouses i keep at work, and they seem to be doing ok so far. :) i haven't figured out which base i prefer yet to separate the pot from the water and rocks, but that'll come in time.

    (on the left is senk's green goddess, and i'm not sure how big that one will actually get. the other two are supposed to be micros according to what i've read and are teeny bopper in the middle and senk's fruit fly on the right.)

  • bragu_DSM 5
    10 years ago

    oh wow, i feel like a sandwich.

    getting it from both sides, ohio and colorado

    oh, BTW irina, one of your mountain lions showed up locally.

    they said they are getting squeezed out of colorado, and into neb and iowa.

    dave (looking for things to feed the mountain lions)

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    Hmmm - what to feed to our mountain lions? Cats, dogs, goats ... may be MIL?

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    OR...Dave ???

  • paul_
    10 years ago

    Will such micros only remain micros if they are kept in teeny pots or will they remain in small dimension (with regards to leaf size, diameter of a single crown, etc) if potted up to larger pots?

  • bragu_DSM 5
    10 years ago

    no, I have mountain lions for lunch.

    Unfortunately, they are quite tough ... mostly muscle. Excellent in the crockpot. Tastes a bit like a cross between ostrich, elk and buffalo.

    Gotta throw away the tail, however ...

    dave

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    (correct me if i'm wrong and the mountain lions haven't eaten you...)

    @paul - both of these happen to be trailers, so while the area they cover will eventually get larger, the leaves will not. two others i have that to my knowledge are not trailers but are also micros are "lil periscope" and "pip squeek". in the seven weeks since i got them, their leaves have remained very small. here's day 47, and something to note is that the pots they are in are the same size pots that the three greenhoused-at-work plants are in. if you're curious as to their growth over the weeks, i also have an album with their recovery progress.

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Paul,

    If the genetics aren't there for larger growth, they will remain micros even if potted up.

    Dave-FYI-You can use the tail for dusting up.

    Linda

  • paul_
    10 years ago

    Hmm, then I guess my next Q is: Is the genetics "there"? (I ask this recalling other conversations in which, from what I understood, some minis only remain truly mini when potted in small pots that restrict their growth.) Truly micro plants would have a use for me in my terrs.

    @Dave: If you can have oxtail soup, why not cougar tail soup.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    @paul: the right plants will stay tiny, but you might consider potting them in the terrarium to encourage blooms.

  • irina_co
    10 years ago

    Regarding keeping minis as minis - and semi-minis - not turning into smalll standards. Dr. Ralph Robinson - aka Rob from Violetbarn - wrote an article about it in AV magazine some time ago. Read his blog on a Violetbarn.com site - good stuff.
    Anyway - the idea - repot often - and keep them in small pots - and they will conform.
    Microminis - they are by design quite fragile - and need to be pampered. And if you put them in a large pot - they will probably croak. I think they are for die hard microlovers and good luck to them.
    Miniature trailers can be grown to a good size. They are not small plants - they are small leaf plants. My club President Larry - he posts here too - grows good size heavily blooming Pixie Blue - and my Chantaspring got to grow in 5 inch pan pot before I disassembled it.

    irina

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Irina,
    Mother of the Groom, congratulations. As one MOG
    to another, (and as Linda well-advised me about
    my leggy plants), patience, patience! Marriage is
    a challenging time for both the bride and the groom.
    (At lest they are not eloping!)
    Wishing you the best,
    Joanne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Irina,

    Congrats! I know EXACTLY how you feel!

    Joanne,

    I was poking through my leaves tonight. I have about 60-70 that I put down and none are showing any babies yet. So, I said to myself, "Patience, patience..." ;)

    Linda

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    here's an update on the two plants from my original post.

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Hi Linda
    So excited to tell you of my "mouse ears!!" Some are
    growing right on the leaf. Others are quite far apart
    from Mom and from each other!

    Wow, 60-70! You will be able to start your very own
    Mickey Mouse Club band! Or was that Sergeant Pepper's
    Lonely Hearts' Club Band? Oh, well, at least our
    offspring will not have to be Lonely Hearts any longer.

    Irina, just keep telling yourself, it is "just one day."
    Joanne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Joanne,

    I just spent the last three weeks re-potting so hopefully I will have a breather before it is baby-potting time. Congrats on your babies! It's exciting, isn't it?

    Linda

  • Debra Andruska
    10 years ago

    Chantaspring's foliage when immature can be like your #1 plant. It's usually a little off (grows exactly like the pic) if it was grown crowded. It looks like it was recently 'just seperated'. So I have a feeling your plant #1 will bloom true. Also give it two or more bloom cycles for bloom coloration. Yellows tend to bloom a little deeper, brighter with age. From the updated pics it looks like it's growing, shaping better already. ;)
    My Chantaspring grew as a micro mini. Stayed so tiny!

    Deb

  • calshaye
    10 years ago

    Hi, I know the post is from a couple of weeks ago but I just now found it. I have Chantaspring AV and I had another one but that didn't make it and it was just so cute. After looking at the pictures I think the !st picture is the true Chantaspring AV. These little guys are very hard to work with. The 1 I have now just finished flowering a small white flower with yellow center. The last time it flowered it was a beautiful, light yellow color. It does not flower all the time. I have had mine for a year and 1/2 and it has flowered 4 times. Each time different colors.

    I have tried many different ways to make this one comfortable in this environment and with this one it didn't like the terrarium and it did not like to be water wicked. It is in 2 x 2 1/2" pot. I don't change the soil or pot size very often because it has a hard time to adjust to the shock of a transplant.

    Currently it is in front of the sliding glass doors covered by cheesecloth to help shield the sun better. Later in afternoon when sun changes in is under lights for a couple more hours. Then darkness for 8-9 hrs. as they also need that. My AV is just recovering from a little too much light along with my other AV's because timer messed up. Timer is working and now it is working great.You can notice the color on some of the leaves in the picture. This AV is a trailer and is a mini. I have also uploaded another trailer. It is called Rob's Toorokie. I do not know much about it or if I even spelled it right, but it is a trailer as well and has small lavender flowers.I have a few other mini's and I find them very hard to work and care for these little guys. I've only been collecting AV's for about 2 yrs. and started collecting mini's. I collected AV's some years ago so I decided it was time again to enjoy all the beautiful AV's. Hope this helps a little and sorry this post is so long.

    {{gwi:376446}}

  • calshaye
    10 years ago

    I need some help, trying to upload some pics and I guess I'm doing something wrong as they are not posting......any advice would be great! Thanks....

    update: I was able to upload 1 jpg but how do I upload a few?

    {{gwi:376447}}

    This post was edited by calshaye on Thu, Oct 24, 13 at 11:22

  • calshaye
    10 years ago

    Chantaspring AV

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Linda, Were you repotting little plant lets? You inspire me
    as I have been procrastinating about separating
    and repotting some
    double crowns and pulling off some suckers.
    "Tomorrow, tomorrow, there'll always be tomorrow ..."
    Joanne

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Joanne,

    I re-potted everything. I do it spring and fall and I do my leaves as needed. It takes a while but I do a couple of hours usually every other day.
    I think you'll find once you get started it's difficult to stop!

    Linda

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Hi Linda
    thanks for the schedule. I found a nice template
    format to record information about each plant that is
    posted by dognapper2 on her blog
    thoushaltnotkillavs.blogspot.com.
    I might try using the form and keeping a log, just for fun.
    I find if I have all the supplies ready and at hand, it
    is much faster and easier to tend to the plants.
    Well, tomorrow's the day I wrap the plant stands
    in dry cleaning plastic and finish packing my
    suitcase!
    By the time I get back, Irina might have her son's
    wedding
    photos to post!

    joanne

  • Zukoll
    10 years ago

    #2 looks far too different from Chantspring, unless someone call it a mutation. Chantspring is one of the smallest minis I've ever seen.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    @Deb
    here's another update with a picture taken this morning. they both continue to fill out, but that second one is definitely not staying what i consider micro. i guess he'll be a mystery as to what he really turns out to be. oh the suspense!

    @calshaye
    i have both of these plants under a grow light and in those betta-tanks-cum-mini-greenhouses i posted a picture of earlier in this thread, and while i have no flowers, they both appear to be growing very nicely. if i have any success getting flowers more than thrice a year, i'll try to get some more details to you on what i did. :)

    as to how you post multiple pictures in a single post, you have to have your pictures hosted somewhere else and then link to them within your post. i personally prefer to use gardenweb's upload option when i can so that i don't create broken picture links in the future when i clean house on pictures i have randomly floating around, but that's me. :) i really hate broken links/pictures! so frustrating.

  • bttrflii
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    the second one's about to bloom. so far it appears quite happy. the first hasn't sent up any happiness yet, so i'm still waiting on him.

    i temporarily put up a couple pictures of another angle.

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Very nice! I love follow-ups. So many times we are left wondering how things turned out.

    Linda

  • Karin
    10 years ago

    i was just browsing the avse forum and found some images of chantaspring - reminded me of this thread and i figured i might as well post the link...
    there do seem to be two versions there as well - the last image looks like it has much smaller leaves...

    Here is a link that might be useful: chantaspring images

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Froe,

    I wasn't aware of the AVSE forum so I checked it out. All the posts seem at least two years old. Do you know if this is an active forum? Do you go there regularly?

    Linda

  • Karin
    10 years ago

    Linda,

    Can't say I know the place - I just found it last night. There were one or two threads from January though (ok, I didn't look at the year...).
    I was just doing a bit of googling, and got curious when I saw it... I am originally from Europe - Switzerland actually - and have to admit I didn't even know the German word for African violet until a few weeks ago. My mom grew one or two, but nothing I would recollect, other than that she put leaves in a planter to propagate.
    Not sure if not being aware of African violets was a culture thing (not as many around?), or just my perspective (I can be quite oblivious until something likes me in the - eye).

    I'll have to do some more reading to find out...

    Karin

  • PRO
    Whitelacey
    10 years ago

    Karin,

    It did look like an interesting site. I looked at several threads and didn't see any recent ones. It also said I was the only one viewing the site so that didn't seem too promising. I think it would be fun to discuss violet growing with those in other countries; see what is the same and what is different.

    Linda

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Karin, Nice site for the pix. CS looks like a trailer for sure. (I have a Swiss AV pal. (She is always punctual, a rare virtue in Calif. We talk a lot about chocolate.) Joanne

  • Karin
    10 years ago

    Chocolate makes the world go round ;-)
    Literally :-p

  • fortyseven_gw
    10 years ago

    Karin,
    I like the AVSE Forum, there are some really nice photos posted by members. I was simply doing a search for some specific varieties that are a little hard to find. They had some nice photos of what I was looking for to compare.
    Joanne

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