African Violet Blog

 I am growing African violet plants from now until an October garden club meeting, where they will be part of my demonstration to the club members.  I have extended an invitation to the club members to Grow Along with me!  If anyone in the general public wishes to Grow Along, I am posting the 4 month Schedule and Instructions for the various steps.  Everyone is welcome to join, or to simply watch my updates on my Fun and Fancy Flowers Facebook page.

I have received questions from people who purchased AV plants, new to African violets.... and the most common one is: "Why do you say 'Repot twice a year'?"  I do think this is one of the best ways for novice growers to keep their plants happy and blooming.

Notice, I did not say:  Pot UP!  I said 'repot'.  The purpose of this 'repotting' is to give the plant 'fresh' potting mix, and room to grow.  A pot full of roots doesn't leave room for new growth, and I am a firm believer in the theory that root growth leads to top/crown growth, and that brings on the blossom stalks. (For some details on the 'root' subject, read the Class One notes of my House Plant Class.)

You do not have to put the plant in a LARGER pot, but please use a clean pot.

Here is a mature, 18 month old, plant of Ness' Fantasy Gold.  This variety tends to grow leggy... the leaf stems are quite long.  This particular plant has been pretty well shaped, with healthy leaves!  But it needed repotting.  The date on the labels said it had been repotted in August, 2012.
'Before' photo:



Then I set it in the new pot, filled in with fresh soil mix, tapping on the table to settle the dirt into the open spots in the rootball.  I topped off the pot with a layer of new mix, then pressed down slightly.  Please do NOT pack the soil mix when repotting African violets.  Press firmly, but not too much!
Here is an 'after' photo.

I did not remove flower stalks.... this is not a 'grown to show' plant, and I can enjoy the blooms.  The purpose of removing flower stalks is to put the plant's energy into growing foliage, and in this case, the plant has ample foliage, and it will bloom nicely while/after it is growng new roots into the fresh soil mix in the new pot!

Note, we made room for new potting mix in the same sized pot by reducing both the top and bottom size of the plant.  Personally, I would not cut off part of the root ball without also taking off a few leaves.  Remember, the roots supply the leaves with moisture... a reduced root system might not be able to keep a large crown healthy.

Your first impulse might have been to put the violet into a pot larger than the one it was in.  Many times you can do this... and you could have done so in this case. 

If the plant is younger than a year, and in a pot smaller than 4 inches, I would 'pot up' into a larger pot.  If the plant is in a 4 to 6 inch pot, I would recommend potting into the same size pot, as I did above.

(Remember, pot size depends upon the type of soil mix, the way you water, how much attention you give your violets, your house conditions, and your past experience.  If your violets like what you are doing, don't change it just because I do something different!)

Many people mention root pruning (cutting off the bottom of the root ball when repotting).  Growers tending show violets will train leaves to put them in the right position, disbud (remove buds and blossom stalks), and prune to remove leaves with damage or to give space for the center leaves to grow.

I leaf prune very small babies!  I did it without thinking... and was nearly done with the tray of babies this morning when I thought:  I wonder if anyone knows about this this?  I consider it very important, and should explain exactly what I mean.

Why take tiny leaves off very young plants with only a few leaves to begin with!!!????
They were very small but strong, with lots of roots, and I want to hurry them up, and the mama leaf was removed when I had the mildew episode, so I gently pulled them apart.

Notice the leaf hanging off to the right on the plant on the right.

Notice the leaf on the left on the plant on the left.

I removed both of these, because they were below the main crown/growing center.  The other leaves of each baby basically came out together with each other.

Yes, I know the leaves on a mature African violet come out at different levels along the trunk of the plant.

Here is how I transplant babies from an African violet 'mama' leaf.  Note, I say 'transplanting' babies from mama leaf, and I say 'potting up' babies when they have outgrown this first pot and need to be moved 'up' to a larger pot.  Some say pota-toe, some say pat-tato.

I have found one good way to start and that makes seperating and planting a tray of babies quick and easy.  Start right and you will end up happy. 

• Begin with labels and a waterproof marker.  Use labels or tape pieces with permanent adhesive.
• Have small pots in many sizes stacked right there.  It is easy to use a pot that is too small or too large when there are lots of pots there, but none of the correct size. 
  PUTTING THE BABIES IN THE RIGHT SIZE POT IS important. 
  I like to use a pot with the volume of soil mix about three times the amount of roots.  You can just guess... it isn't an exact science.  Don't go by the size of the crown/top. 
  *** If you put small babies in small pots, and larger babies with larger root systems in larger pots, you will be able to just pour water in the tray and leave them drink up for a half hour, without worry about over or under watering.  The larger amount of soil mix will soak up more water, which is needed by the larger baby, and the smaller pots will soak up less and you will be less likely to drown the smaller, slower growing babies.  This way I can put many babies of different sizes, varieties, and rate of growth in the same tray, and for the next two months, they will not need individual attention!
• Have water, with fertilizer/additives, ready.  Do you have enough soil mix?  Have a clean tray with dome standing ready.

Left, is a photo of my table this morning. At the top of the photo, is my tray of mama leaves, as well as two square cell packs on the table.
On the right is a sheet of labels and marker.
I just potted up two babies.  The 'discard' pile is near the tip of the pen.
Out of sight on the left, is a green Rubbermaid tub of potting mix.  Out of sight on the right, is a tray waiting for the baby pots.





Here is a mama leaf of Splendiferous, with the clump of babies.















Just 'tease' apart the clump. First I pull the mama leaf away, and the two smallest not yet mature babies came with her.  There are six other babies.
In the middle, are three small babies, and the largest babies are at the bottom.
The baby on the bottom right has the best potential for shape, root size, and number of leaves.  It also was the first to reach this size, and it may also have a bit extra vitality.
I had decided to limit the number of babies so had chosen four as a good number of each variety, as four pots fit across the tray, making one row for each variety.  :)

The Golden Rule to the Enjoyment of African violets is "Grow only the number you have time to care for." (Laurie's blog)

The Golden Rule to Healthy African violets is "Correct watering is the most important thing you can do for a healthy violet."

In my experience, I have found:

if your violets don't bloom, adjust the amount of light or how you
fertilize,
BUT, if your violets are dying, it is most likely you
need to correct your watering habits or methods.

* Any violet plant that is rapidly putting out new blooms or new roots is planted in a pot that allows 'toe room'. This means that starter plants that have begun to really grow up fast are given a pot that allows space for roots to fill, and larger mature plants also need a bit of extra soil to hold water between watering days.
* Any violet plant that is slowly growing or has a small root system is planted in a pot that 'pinches toes'. This means that tiny babies are transplanted in small pots. Slow growing varieties, weak or ill plants also need small pots. Small pots on these plants mean there is not extra soil to hold more moisture than the weak root systems can use.

When I do water, whatever that day is, I water ALL my violets. I have found that if I set aside a tray of babies or several pots to 'water tomorrow', I may forget them and they go without water until their wilting catches my attention. If I do remember them several days later, these trays or pots will be 'out of schedule' and will not need watering when the rest of the plants do, and next week I will have two watering days.)