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African Violets

Curious Variation in Growth Habits

9 years ago

I have an interesting situation and thought there might be some ideas about what's happening here. This is a picture of two plants of the same named variety from the same reputable greenhouse. The small plant on the left was purchased in late summer and the plant on the right was purchased in early October as a replacement because the smaller plant looked like it was a goner. The little one has recovered some substance in it's leaf texture but is merely surviving. Same soil, same conditions...same everything. One difference is I did move both to a larger pot shortly after receiving them but the smaller plant was so upset I put it back in a small pot as a last ditch effort to salvage it's fuzzy carcass and save it from the compost bin.

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Comments (8)

shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
These following four pictures are of two other plants with detail pictures of leaves showing a discoloration pattern which I'm guessing is a ph issue but I'd love to hear if anyone has other ideas.
shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
Plant one
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shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
Plant one leaf detail
shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
Plant two
shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
Plant two leaf detail
aegis1000
9 years ago
Plants are very individual via their nurture and nature.

I'd suspect you treated your second plant better .... because you almost lost the first.

Also, you first plant was purchased in late summer, while the other was purchased in the fall. I've found that cooler temperatures work better for my violets.

The first plant looks healthy now. Maybe it will catch up to its younger brother someday.
toronto.and.brisbane
9 years ago
well i'm very curious in this too....

the small stunted one looks...stunted... were they both the same size when you got them?

the other photos I was thinking insect damage... but I really don't have a clue.

will keep watching this thread for other ideas. :)
shallons
Original Author
9 years ago
Hmmm I suppose it is possible I treated one different than the other but I'd argue that they were treated equally. All my plants are in the same room on the same shelf and get the same pot, soil, etc. I'm inclined to think you're closer to the answer with the individual plants idea. I just thought I'd share the picture because it is so dramatic. Our house never gets very hot (DB wilts so we keep it fairly moderate) and the other AV's all did fine...

Yes, they were roughly the same size when I got them and both in good health, so neither had to recover from anything - they've both been healthy all along. The little one turned soft and wilty for a while. When it did come back to firmness it stubbornly sat in the same condition and has remained in a suspended state for some time while it's genetic twin has zoomed to a robust young plant.

I'm going to ship the little guy to Joanne this week and see if it likes her house better. :)

As to the leaf discoloration, could the insect damage be subterranean? I have no airborne or surface bugs, so it's not something on the leaf - it would have to be in the potting medium. I added Bonide to the mix when potting up, so at least half the soil in those pots is infused with anti-critter cocktail. Could it be the Bonide causing the spotting???

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