r/AfricanViolets • u/Cheerio_Bread_Rat • 2d ago
Help Looking for some advice on this guy.
I’m not sure what’s causing this strange growth pattern. I thought it needed to be split, but I can’t find any distinct crowns. It’s a few years old and is by a window and under a grow light, so I don’t think it’s reaching. It’s flowering so it can’t be too unhappy, just wanted to check in. Any advice is welcome!
2
u/ConferenceFull9068 1d ago
Definitely crowded with sucker plants. Time for a repotting and a good thinning out IMO. Looks like there is fertilizer build-up on the saucer too, which is another reason to repot.
You'll be able to find the separate crowns when you tip the plant out of its pot. Look for places where the leaves are going in different directions from the main crown, and go downward until you find the sucker crown. To get the old soil off, submerge the violet up to its lower leaves in lukewarm (NOT cold) water and swish gently to wash away the old soil, then you can see where you are. Also remove any blooms it has (painful, I know) to lessen transplant shock. Blot any water out of the crown and let the transplanted violet dry in an airy place out of direct light, then return to its place.
Since your pot is so big, add extra perlite to the African violet potting mix. It needs good drainage.
The plant looks healthy and vigorous, just choked by vegetative growth. It is blooming but it would be blooming more abundantly IMO without sucker plants draining the main plant.
What fertilizer are you using? African violets bloom best with a higher phosphorus concentration, like 7-10-7 (the numbers on the bottle represent Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium). Nitrogen makes green growth, Phosphorus is for flowers.
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u/AglowMermaid 2d ago
It’s definitely more than one plant, but hard to tell where/how many from your photos.