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African Violets

multiple plants in 1 pot?

19 years ago

Hello--

I am not an enthusiast--just an inheritor of several African violets.

One of my plants appears to be three--three crowns all smushed together & getting quite crowded in a 4" pot (it started out in a 3" pot 2 years ago).

I don't mind how it looks, but the blooms are coming out in weird places. Do I want to split up the crowns, or should I leave them as is? How would I split them up? I am more of an outdoor gardener & have no idea what I'm doing with these! At least, after years of trial and error (I had one of these things for 3 years before I could get it to bloom :-D) I've figured out how to water, fertilize, & "light" the things so they'll bloom in spring/summer. Temperamental little things, aren't they?

Thanks for any help--

Jean in Balto

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Comments (5)

trisha_51
19 years ago
If you like the way it looks, then i would say just leave it that way. There is a certain 'something' to a pot of violets bunched up that way. Like you said, they can be tempermental. If you ever become a violet enthusiast, then you may want to seperate them into individual plants per pot. Others may disagree, but at this point, enjoy it the way it is!
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NannetteB
19 years ago
I had 3 in one pot, and have since seperated them I have a thread somewhere in here and recieved lots of great advice. I do love the way they looked in that pot all bunched up together although they probably won't flower much mine only flowered once all bunched together in that pot. I seperated and they are doing very well just be careful when seperating the crowns (if you do this) try toi give each plant roots and it helped me to place a bag over the pot too! Also it helps to know that they should be in a pot that is smaller than the diameter of the plants leaves, i forget now though how small so maybe someone could chime in and complete my thought! Good luck-Nannette
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korina
19 years ago
Nan, African violets root *very* easily; so much so that you really don't have to worry about each crown having roots when you seperate them. Just pull off some bottom leaves, scrape the neck, stick it in a pot up to the bottom leaves, and cover. It usually takes a month or so for it to root well. Give it a tiny tug after a month and it should feel firm. The same is true with suckers, but I use some thin wire to pin them upright until they root.

Good luck and have fun.

Korina
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jeanleecole
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions! I think I'm just going to leave them. All three sides are blooming, so why not? Besides, I don't have any room for more pots of violets right now ... at least, not where they'll get enough light. If it had been a month earlier, I might have split them for cheap mother's day presents! Maybe next year ...

Thanks again--
Jean
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mye3suns
19 years ago
I've got a few that are multiples and I have plenty that are not. My biggest is about 13inches across for each of the 3 crowns in it and it blooms it's butt off all the time. I took it to work to put in our employee lounge because it was so big and my plant table lost a lot of space due to it. I've been asked several times if the plant was real. My advice: Planters choice. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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