Surgery

10 years ago

I just performed my most difficult surgery so far.

One of my Optimaras, the one that looks like Susi, had a second crown growing and disrupting the growth of the mother plant. On closer inspection, I saw several new young leaves from... unusual places.

When I got little "Susie Q" out of her pot, I was shocked to find not one, but three suckers! Two of them were quite small, but the third, the one I noticed first, has tiny buds forming on it already (yes, I said it, buds plural, tiny little things!).

The babies are sitting in my nursery with proud momma. I lost a few leaves in the process, but I believe all four will be just fine! Trying to untangle the four plants from each other was excruciating! The three suckers had some small roots to them already. I have no idea if the biggest one will abandon its buds or not, but they look so tiny, I doubt they would grow to full size even if they did actually bloom, but who knows? I've been surprised before.

This was the first time I performed a surgery that actually had me nervous. I had no idea where to start. The biggest sucker was the hardest to remove, while the smaller ones separated most willingly, if they hadn't, I likely would have left them for the time being. I can breathe a big sigh of relief now. The babies still have some recovering to do, but then, if they make it, I have to find room for them or re-home them... New problem? Lol.

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Comments (8)

PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Lun,

I think sucker surgery is one of the most difficult things to learn to do correctly. It sounds like you did a good job!

Linda
0
LunRTwilight
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, Linda.

I just had to re-pot another plant this morning. It tends to grow a long, twisted neck. The neck was so long that it touched the bottom of the pot... Which means that I had to snap off the roots to fit it into the new, smaller pot... It feels like the wrong thing to do, I mean, plants need their roots, but what else is there to do? There is still plenty of neck for the new roots to grow, but I'll need to keep it moist until they do. Am I right?
0
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PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Lun,

You did the correct thing. If you have too long a neck, cut the neck to the point where it will fit comfortably in the pot. If you look closely at the neck, you will see the scars from the old leaves. Scrape off the scars until you see fresh green and then pot. Water and then put under a dome or in a baggie. (This is very important!) In about two weeks or so, you will have a new set of roots.

Watch to see of your plants need water but they usually don't. Don't over-water. Remember, there are no roots so your violet cannot take up water; you just want to keep everything moist.

Linda
0
LunRTwilight
Original Author
10 years ago
All of my suckers are doing very well, but the largest one did abandon one set of buds. I'll go on record and admit to trying out a root hormone on one of them. It specifically listed AV's on the label, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is doing very well, very perky and happy, and it doesn't move when I pull on it. This surprised me. It had no neck to speak of and it's only been a few days. It was the smallest sucker of the three, so I figured I had nothing to lose.
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PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Lun,

I think rooting hormone is something a lot of growers are ambivalent about. I have tried it and never really noticed much difference. It's hard to tell though, because you really don't know how long it would have taken to root without using it. I don't use it now but some growers swear by it.

It can't hurt to use it to re-root but don't use it on rooting leaves. And experimenting is good, too! It's how we learn what works for our growing conditions as well as our expertise.

Linda
0
fortyseven_gw
10 years ago
LunR and Linda
This inspired me as I have some sucker surgery
to tackle tomorrow. the longer I procrastinate,
the bigger the suckers get.
When I have done it in the
past, it has always worked out. I watched some
videos for encouragement. It is always worth it
to give the plants some breathing room.
As Linda, you usually say, the plants are sturdy,
with a drive to survive.
Joanne
0
PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Let us know how it goes.

Linda
0
LunRTwilight
Original Author
10 years ago
Good luck, Joanne! I'm happy that I could help inspire another grower before surgery!

Just a quick update: I did lose one of the suckers, but the other two are doing great! The one I used root hormone on is doing amazingly well! I thought this one wouldn't make it for sure, but it has surprised me. The largest sucker is still trying to bloom and I'm not sure if I should snap the blooms off or not. I'm afraid blooming might take away too much energy from the delicate little thing, but then, I'm not worried about losing it too much. Mama Susie Q is back on her shelf happily blooming away (although now she resembles Harlequin more than Susi, but her blooms change frequently).
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Surgery

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Surgery

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Whitelacey

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