What do you do when this happens? I have thought about just repotting it deeper, but I don't know if this is the right thing to do or not. Thanks for any info.
Mendy
Help my AV is crawling out of it's pot!
I'm definitely not the expert but this is what I do for mine. I let them stay in their 4 inch pots until it looks like they're stuffed in there and then I pot up to the 6 inch clay azalea pots. I like the large violets and the bigger the better. More than likely I will always leave them in the 6 inch pots and when they begin to outgrow, I will remove the outter leaves for propagation. My one space violet is now in a 8 inch clay pot. I had bought it on clearance at Frank's already in a 6 inch pot. It was a sad looking thing. I didn't think it looked good at all and was wondering what people saw in the space violets. But...I decided to pot up to a larger pot, and let me tell you, that plant is very lovely now. Evidently, it needed to spread way out! It has gorgeous blooms also. Hope this info helps a little.
Susan
Mendy - if you mean yours is developing a "neck", then go ahead and pot it deeper. Rob's Violet has a few good pages of culture tips and FAQs: http://robsviolet.com/lessons.htm
The page on necks is here: http://robsviolet.com/repotting_violets.htm
Susan and Keyring, thank you so much for the info you provided. I'll try the steps they showed on the website you provided Keyring.
Thanks again,
Mendy
From what I remember, Rob's tips are primarily for show -- meaning you want as many blooms as possible on a plant with well-groomed foliage. Keeping them in smaller pots helps raise the flower count. And, it's shocking how much bigger the leaf span of an AV can be in relation to the pot size. 2.5 inch diameter cup with 7" leaf span is easy.
All that said, if you're not growing for show, then you can pot however they grow for you. Personally, I do not go above 5.5 or 6" pots. When potting up, the usual rule of thumb applies - you should still only go a little bigger than the root ball. Also, it's better if the pot is shallower than a standard pot (i.e., an azalea or bulb type pot).
Also, not all AVs have the same growth habit. Certainly some have longer leaves than others, and older leaves on some hold up better than others. Whatever works for the plant should be good.
This message was edited Oct 9, 2004 8:41 AM
I have a question related to this thread. My oldest African Violet is getting a bit of a neck, but new leaves are growing from the neck. Should I repot it deeper anyway, or will it fill in? Some of the new leaves actually look like they're turning into a new plant. It's kind of interesting to see what happens, which is why I've waited so far. Does it hurt to have a plant with a neck, or does it just look funny?
And thanks for the links, Keyring. Good info!
danak,
If it is growing new leaves from the neck, then they are new plantlets commonly called suckers... just another fascinating way they make babies.
It won't hurt the plant to stay like that long enough to let the plantlets get big enough to cut them off...then you can repot it if you want.
MsC
Thanks MsC!
Your welcomed!
I read somewhere...(lol) that when violets are allowed to grow a neck that is when they start suckering to insure survial. Also, you can pluck out the center of a violet to make it sucker . Seems this is the way they propagate a lot of the chimeras that won't grow from a leaf.
MsC, pluck out the center? What do you mean, where the new leaves are growing? That is interesting. So in nature, do the plants die when the necks get really long?
My AV that's suckering is the easiest of all that I've tried to propagate. It really WANTS to grow! When I propagate by leaves, its leaves are always the first to root and form baby leaves. Now I have new plantlets without even doing anything! What fun. :)
You ask:
"What do you mean, where the new leaves are growing? That is interesting. So in nature, do the plants die when the necks get really long?"
The center crown leaves is what I understood the article to say.
??? I don't know if AV's die when their necks get really long...but it must take a really looooong time for that to happen-otherwise half my collection would be dead..lol.
Some AV varieties are just great growers...I have a few that just bloom and bloom, they always seems to stay symetrical no matter what. I have one mini or super mini that just suckers to high heaven but that darn thing won't bloom for nothing! The little rascal. I keep it in a thumnail pot and do my best to keep the suckers off of it trying to get it to bloom, but to no availe...it's cute anyway.
I have another lil mini that has to be a trailer , don't know for sure but it's a good grower....it blooms very easily and always has a new lil plant on it.
One thing for sure if you get an Av that doesn't do much -just trash it and get another...some just grow better than others. I think the "No Name" Walley World's must be the best for us beginners becuase those are the ones that grow so easy for me anyway.
Well, I'm totally guessing here, but maybe AVs are one of those plants that are adapted to growing where there are falling leaves from the trees above. As the leaves get mulched, the "soil level" naturally rises. Older leaves will die off and be buried, and new roots will form. There are some orchids that grow this way.
http://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/jkolehma/kotisivu/general.html#distrib
Here is a link that discusses the natural habitat and reproduction of AVs. Considering how popular they are, it's interesting that the information is so limited on their biology in the wild. So this kind of answers the question, but not totally. Good info, though. :)
Hi!
I'm new to Dave's but an old African Violet freak. I once had as many as 900 pots of over 150 varieties. I was a member of the Calgary African Violet Society when I lived in Calgary and also was a commercial grower for a couple of years (Brenda's Bloomin' Babes). Eventually I lost my collection to the dreaded soil mealy bug. Where I live now I don't have the space for a vast collection anymore and my plant collecting interests have turn to daylilies. However, I know lots about violets and growing for show. If you want your plant to stay symmetrical and bloom more keep the suckers picked off. If you have a neck, peel it like a carrot and remove any old faded or damaged leaves up to a heathy row of leaves so that you have a nice heathy looking rosette. Repot into the same size pot. Take a knife and cut off as much rootball as you have to, so that the bottom row of leaves touch the rim of the pot. This may sound drastic but new roots will form from the peeled stem. It is possible to reroot a top even if you have to cut off the entire rootball. After you have filled the pot with soil to the rim, bag you newly potted violet in a plastic bag. Blow air in and tie the top with a twist tie. This will make a mini greenhouse effect. If too much condensation accumulates in the bag just open it up for awhile. After a couple of weeks you can remove the bag and you will have a healthy looking regenerated violet. It is possible to keep the same violet for 50 years or more using this method. For show we rarely potted in anything bigger than a 4" pot because violets like to be rootbound. I have seen a violet in a 4" pot grow so big it took up a 2' X 4' shelf up all by itself! Once in a while, if it is a really big leaf variety, you can go to a shallow 6" pot. I always grew under flourescent lights. You can control the flowering by dropping your timer on the lights down to 14 hours and keeping all the suckers and flower buds picked off. 6 weeks before the show or the time you want them all to bloom, raise the timer to 18 hours and stop picked off the flower buds. In 6 weeks everything will be blooming in it's full glory. Most importantly...enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Brenda
Welcome SongBird839/Brenda,
We are always glad to have a new addition to our small but growing forum!
Sounds like you have a vast amount of knowledge that we can all learn from.
Please post any advice freely :).
Glad to have you here,
MsC
Welcome Brenda (Songbird839)! Thanks for all the info on the AVs.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your collection....that's really sad. Do you have any photos you could post? I sure would love to see them!
Mendy
Thanks for the welcome all! I do have some pix but I would have to dig them up and scan them in. After October I will. I also have show pix from Calgary 1992.
Brenda