African Violets and Gesneriads: This is my only houseplant, 1 by critterologist

critterologist wrote:
I got some good advice about repotting from Rob's Violet Barn (www.robsviolet.com). Unless you're up-potting a baby violet into a larger pot or trying to grow a show size violet, AV's don't need to be put into larger pots, but they do need repotting regularly. When my violets get more than 4 or 5 "rings" of leaves, I pinch some off (good for propagating!) so the plant can put more of its energy into blooming. Between pinching them back now and then and the fact that sometimes leaves just die off on me, the violet can develop a "neck" or stem that's bare of leaves above the soil line. This is where repotting comes in. Take the violet out of the pot and cut off the lowest part of the rootball (if the plant has a 1/2 inch neck, then cut about 1/2 inch off the bottom of the rootball). I also shake off any loose soil around the edges of the rootball, to make room for a little more fresh soil mix. Repot the violet in fresh potting mix , pushing the trimmed root ball to the bottom of the pot and adding potting soil to the top so that the "neck" is covered. The now-buried part of the stem will put out new roots. Happy violet!

I had to add a photo of "Big Blue" (not actually a named cultivar, but it's a plant with character, so it needed a name). I did put this one into a larger self-watering pot, and it's more than a foot across now. Fun!

-- Jill