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African Violets

Repotting day

12 years ago

I spent today repotting 50 african violets - my annual repotting. I'm tired and my feet are hurting, but my stand sure looks great; the violets are all trimmed, the algae and dirt cleaned from the water reservoirs, and the shelves washed. I know you all don't know me, but my friends and family can't understand why I'd spend a day this way, so I thought I'd come here where there are others with the same addiction and share my day. :)

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Comments (5)

ima_digger
12 years ago
My addiction is rooting leaves. I am slowly running out of room. I have three trays of babies that need to be separated from momma leaf. I keep procrastinating and saying to myself "tomorrow I will tackle this job". It seems that tomorrow never comes, or stays long enough. LOL They are getting bigger every day. I have to get to them soon, before they start to bloom. Would you like to come and do the repotting? It seems you are very good at it, and in one day too. Quite an undertaking!!!!
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azpedsrn
Original Author
12 years ago
If I lived near you, I'd definitely help - it would be fun :) Three trays of babies, huh? That might be a weekend job instead of one day. I only put down leaves from five or six plants. I did have one poor little mini that gave me four suckers. Those are little bonuses.
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I'll try to help. The plant in the first picture looks like it needs a larger pot and is probably root bound. That would explain why it isn't able to tolerate the heat in your window. The flies may be coming from eggs that are hatching from the soil you used for repotting. I would consider repotting everything again. Remove as much of the soil as possible by rinsing the roots under gently running water. Sterilize new potting soil by microwaving until steaming hot, or baking at boiling temperature until heated through. That should kill any eggs still lurking in the soil. Regarding the gift plant, it looks to me as if it either needs more sun or is simply growing normally and the older lower leaves are just dying and falling off. I would see if someone can identify that plant for you and see whether you can take cuttings to root in a new pot so it isn't so tall and scraggly. Finally, the two bugs in the last picture look like aphids, which you can either squish or rinse off with a spray of water. Where you find a few, there will soon be hundreds, so keep an eye on all plants daily. I am guessing at what your plants' problems are, but I hope what I have suggested will help. Martha
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yikes ... did you moisten the new media before use?? .. i cant quite tell from the pix ... at this point.. there is nothing to do.. but figure out how to properly water it in the new media... and wait a few months to see what leaves fall off and more importantly.. if new growth begins.. most otherwise healthy plants . properly watered.. can releaf completely.. at lest once.. but we dont know if yours was healthy to begin with.. nor if it is properly watered ... it is severely stressed.. not hungry ... fert is not a response.. any green on a leaf means it can do a leafs job.. dont go cutting them all off unless entirely browned ... personally.. i would just let them fall off naturally ... go all boy scout on it next time.. be prepared ... ken ps: if you just cant stand the stress of looking at it.. just get rid of it.. live and learn ... we have all killed plants before.. nbd ... live and learn...
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irina_co
12 years ago
Hello there

It is still better than 5 trays of overgrown Streps I did on a Christmas day. I take violets any time!

Unless you want to sell them - do not keep all the babies, take 2 best ones from the solid color blossoms plants, and 3-4 from fantasies/edges etc. - try to select appropriate leaf color babies - like if mama-leaf has red backing - only take similar babies, do not take light colored ones - it'll probably be a sport -which is interesting - but not what you want to keep. Prepare your Sharpie marker, wick and fill your solo cups with soil - and just go assembly line. I am sure it can be done in several hours instead of several days. You can plunk the rest of the babies and mama- leaf back into the pot they were growing - and pass it to your AV friends as "plugs" - it will keep them occupied - if you cannot stand dumping them into the trash.

I think it is very relaxing to play with new plants in winter....

Good Growing!

Irina
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ima_digger
12 years ago
I have so many leaves and babies because I was in a few Round Robins this past August/September from different forums I belong to. Yes Irena, I will probably keep a few of each to send off this spring in RRs. I will be able to put in a bunch of the same, and hopefully the new members will be able to fill up their trays. LOL. I'm just starting to replenish the hundred that I lost in the past two winters. No fault of mine, just weather. I wasn't home to take care of them when they need me. It's a long sad story. But my collection is starting to look like it did before. I'm happy and want to share with my forum friends.
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irina_co
12 years ago
It seems to me you have more than 100 coming out of these 2 trays!

The good part - no matter what happens - you can get your collection back with a vengeance with good violet friends help.

I cleaned the shelves in 2006 after the virus outbreak - and now what - I am complaining that I have too many of them. I remember I got to our Sale after the disaster - and people were just giving me handfulls of leaves refusing to take money for them.

I.
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