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African Violets

How do you keep track of repotting?

16 years ago

As simple as that :) Do you have an Excell spreadsheet? Do you have a journal? Do you write the date on the pot/sticks?

TIA,

Inna

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Comments (2)

bspofford
16 years ago
I can't seem to be too organized about this. I repot in binges, and kind of use my instincts for repotting. I look at the plant and ask some questions:

1. Is the pot now too small for the plant? Remember the 3:1 ratio, pot is 1/3 the diameter of the plant. If the plant has grown enough to make the next pot size in that ratio, it is time to repot. It is also probably 'tippy' due to the size of the plant.

2. Are there roots growing out the bottom of the pot? If so, check the root ball. If it is really potbound, it may need a larger pot, it may just need a root pruning and placed back in the same pot with some new potting mix.

Remember that repotting doesn't always mean moving up in pot size.

I just last night finished repotting 31 new plants from a trip and a violet show. I wick water, and took all the old soil off the roots and put into 1:1:1 mix. Everything went back into the same size pot except for a couple that actually went down in size.

As far as records, I keep two: an inventory and a 'have' list. My inventory is on an Excel spread sheet. I have categorized 'plants' (on their own wicks), 'plantlets' (ready to put onto wicks), OH LOOK THERE IS A CARDINAL OUTSIDE!!, 'baby plantlets' (recently planted babies), 'leaves with babies', and 'leaves' (no babies). This helps me know when I have a lot of something and can freely share it.
My have list is simply a numbered list with all my varieties. I satrted just writing a number on the pot, but soon realized I was always looking at the list to see the name, so now I write the number and the name right on the pot. It's on MS Word, and I figured out how to alphabetize it, so I print it and take it with me to club meetings and shows. Helps eliminate too many duplicates.

Oh, I forgot the 3 ring binder. Has a page for each variety with the information for that variety. I do make notes occasionally but not as often as I probably should. When it was fifty plants, okay, but at almost 300 varieties, too O/C for me.

Whew!

Barbara
fred_hill
16 years ago
Hi,
Barbara is too organized for me. I just repot when the plant looks like it's ready to croak. I will say I repot my minis and semis more often simply becuase they seem to out grow thier pots. As far as keeping records, I got rid of most of my 33 1/3's when I went to CD's...........lol.
Fred in NJ
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