Good to see a post from you! Oh, such a pretty blue. This one was on one of my very earliest wish lists but I've never gotten it. Now I'm wondering why not?

Hi AnneCecilla, Its a great plant. Its on a wick, didn't do as well before I did that. Its a real keeper for me. I rescued this one from a thrift store I had given it to because it was a duplicate. They almost killed it, it was almost completely dried up when I visited the shop again, so I got it back. In the meantime, I had lost my main plant of MFJ, so was very happy to get it back again.

Beautiful plant ...

Lucky plant, to be rescued and made healthy again. Obviously, it's rewarding you for your great care. :-)

So glad you rescued it ! It is beautiful !!!! Rosie

The bloom color and foliage really work well together, please keep posting your violets :)

It is nice to hear from you & see photo. I recently received this AV from a club mentor. I've also not been reading for months. So it is nice to see posts from dedicated members.

Hey fortyseven---good to see you post again !!! Rosie

Thanks everyone, will try to posts some photos when I have some good ones.

Lovely photo! I love the dreamy blue blooms..m reminds me a bit of Picasso! I know its probably not THAT similar, but I thought of Picasso because I have a young one just about ready to bloom. :) I haven't been on here in a while either... I think there's prob quite a few lurkers around here. :P

Welcome back !!!! Rosie

I used to have PIcasso, but it didn't do well for me, Suyoder. But maybe because I wasn't wicking back then. Thanks Rosie very much for the welcome back!

Hmm... This could be why I have had trouble with some varieties. I haven't found a wicking system that works for me yet. :( the individual wicking pots are so expensive, and my plants are enough a part of my every day life and living space that I don't want huge reservoir systems... And other systems I tried were way too time intensive to take lids off and refill reservoirs. :( someday I need to try again!

I just use things for reservoirs that look attractive, like coffee mugs or similar things, nice looking glasses, etc. I just make sure that the pots will sit at the right level and not slip down inside. It took me a long time to find a wicking formula that works for me. I use a very thin wick, and I use Black Gold AV mix, one part to 3/4 part perlite. If I have a very large plant I use two of the thin wicks. I don't have any reservoirs that I have to remove the tops. If you go back and look at my Elfriede picture you will see that the reservoir is one of those aqua colored wide mouth canning jars. I will try to add some photos of other examples to my profile page. Over the year, I have found that there are some varieties I just can't grow unless they are wicked.

What string do you use to wick? I love the idea of keeping a lookout for attractive reservoirs. I have some things that would work for the 3" pot... But the 4" pots are a little harder to accommodate.

For reservoirs I use various vintage containers from the thrift store too, I often take empty pots with me to see how they will fit.

For wicking, in solo cups or 3 inch pots I use one wick, but in some of the larger plants in 4 inch pots I will use two. Here is what I am using, this is the acrylic crochet thread, not the cotton type. I get it at Wal Mart. I use the bright pink because any bugs would show up very well, so it helps keep a look out, lol. I have never been successful with wicking until I came up with using this thin thread, I pull it into the pot add a little mix and then curl the thread around a little. Sometimes I do use a very thin strip of knee highs cut at about 1/4 inch and then stretched. I added some reservoir photos to my AV ideabook on my profile.

Perle, I am well aquainted with these types of thread. I knit/tat and crochet using them and others. Looks like #20. I may try it. Not having real good luck lately with my wicks. They aren't wicking as well as I want them to and I did lose a couple of plants because I didn't pay attention and didn't realize they were no longer drawing water ! Shame on me for thinking I didn't have to be vigilant. I never liked the nylon hose for wicking. But that is just me. Good luck to you ! And I will start paying more attention. Rosie

I will occasionally have one go dry, but not very often. I learned to periodically check though, but have had much better results with this than other yarns.

I have most of my pots suspended over clear plastic drinking cups so the water level is very easy to see at a glance. What I failed to notice was the water level was NOT going down. When I finally realized no water was being sucked up I checked the plant and the soil was bone dry ! Just like the ones we "rescue" in the stores ! lol Anyway, I rehydrated the soil, cleaned the cup (even though it was clean by all appearances), and set it back in the window. And yes, I made sure the wick was rehydrated as well.

Same thing happened again. Then I noticed the water would quickly turn to algae. I don't know what started this whole process but, where did the algae come from? Never had that happen before. Now, I have to watch for algae. Even though everytime I need to add water to the cup I don't just add water, I take everything apart and wash the cups in hot soapy water and reset everything again. I even pour soapy water through the plant soil (and rinse) before I set it back in the reservoir. I don't know. Maybe I will just change all the wicks every time I add water to the reservoirs. What a pain to rethread all of that. Go figure. But I will get it eventually ! Rosie

Yes, it they aren't taking up water the wick has probably gone dry. Clear containers naturally get algae because of the light the water is getting. Some people use Physan 20 in their water to prevent it. I wash my clear containers every once in a while. Algae won't hurt the plants though, at least I don't think so. If you set your clear cups down in another container that blocks the light, like a coffee mug or something, the light won't get to the water. But then you can't see the levels as easily. It was a long journey for me to figure it out, but its less trouble than continually hand watering. Also, I found out by trial and error that some of my plants really have to be wicked or they don't do well.

I don't understand how a wick "goes dry" when it is still in water. I do understand the basic of sun, water and clear containers equal algae. Oh, and one more thing. When you start to get algae, kiss that wick bye bye. Just replace it and clean that container. Algae prevents a wick from sucking up. Learned that because I experimented. I just hate snaking another wick through the plant. I would rather hold off until it gets repotted but I found out what I WANT isn't always what I can HAVE. !!!! Soooooo, now I will try to save what I can, repot, and rewick! Always something. It will be ok,,,,just frustrating!

But perle I agree, a lot of plants do so much better on wicks. And it is so much less labor intensive to have the plants on wicks !!!! I still love the system !!! Rosie

I agree, I don't know why they go dry either, lol. I just wash my wicks off under the faucet when they got dirty looking and that seems to work, (Just hold the plant up to the faucet to do this without removing wick). I guess every persons conditions are different and you just have to see what will work. In my conditions vermiculite changed the ph so much that my plants started getting pale, so I now use just the mix and perlite. I will have to get an upholstery needle, but I have been using a crochet hook to add a wick to a plant already potted.

Perle, you said you use black gold mix right? What's the makeup of that? Crochet hook is a good idea!

Here's a visual...

This is a 2" pot I believe.

Great pictures and it would be less awkward than using a crochet hook, will get one soon. Your wick looks about the same thickness as mine.

The Black Gold bag says on the back of the bag: In Georgia (where I live) it contains Canadian sphagnum peat moss, perlite, processed softwood bark, composted peanut hulls, processed forest products, and composted worm castings. There are some slight differences in other locations, but they all have the worm castings. I used Fafard AV mix before and it is good, but my plants do better with the BG. I like it so much that if the store stopped carrying it, I would order it online if I had to.

Oh no, (blush) I have LOTS of long needles upstairs in my sewing room. Why didn't I think of that? Oh my,,,thanks for the reminder !!!!!

This is the mix I use: equal parts Miracle Grow and Perlite. And I find it works pretty good, so I don't think it is the mix. I just think it is that darn algae that starts the process.

Although I can't account for the drying of the wicks. Now that confounds me. Weird. I am going to start replacing the wicks as soon as I go UPSTAIRS and get my looooong needle. lol. Thanks for THAT reminder !!!!

Perle, you should have seen me trying to soap my one hand to gently "wash" the wick hanging out of the pot! And then rinsing it. But that doesn't get the algae off. I though it would be ok,,,,but nope. Not so much. And I usually managed to pull the wick almost, if not all the way out anyway! sigh,,,a real exercise in futility !!!! Rosie

Rosie, my sister is having the same issue with her wicks getting algae coated and then they stop wicking. She has been trying to wash the wicks by hand like you describe and is quite frustrated. (You two will have a lot to discuss on the 8th!) I bet she has a long needle around somewhere, too - great demo pictures, Suyoder - thanks!

Oh I can't WAIT to see the two of you on the 8th of April ! Yes I think we will have lots to talk about ! Rosie

i have mostly 4" pots but a few 3" too. i started getting colored transparent plastic solo 12oz tumblers from the supermarket - colored plastic is better as anti-algae. but as i mentioned in the other thread i add 3% peroxide to my water (1 to 1.5tsp per 1qt). and i get no algae, not even in larger 1 qt reservoirs. provided they are not directly in the sun (which usually they are not).

here's how 3" pot fits into it, not much space left for water.

and this is a 4" pot in the same cup

and for more water i buy heavy picnic plastic tumblers quite cheap at the end of the season - you can match them to your decor, they come in many colors. i manage to pick them up for a $1 each. so then they are for my more decorous display in the living room :). that's a 4" pot below.

Petruska, those are very nice pictures, will look for some of those.

I admit, I'm not much for decor... I just use plastic beer cups. The 4" pots sit in them unsassisted. For smaller pots I put an upside-down pot or plastic shot glass inside for them to sit on...

Here's a photo of when I brought them all to the kitchen for a "bath"..

Same here not much for the decor, use what is available! Around Easter, I saw those type cups in a pretty sort of turquoise color. I was tempted because I loved the soft color of them,,,,,,, but I have plenty already! lol Rosie

Love the picture, froeschli!

i just stumbled upon another idea - retro adonized aluminum tumblers. 16oz! they come in all metallic or color - super cool. and on etsy plenty quite inexpensive.

sort of like this, but many diff shapes

see, i make pretty arrangements with diff plants, including av's for my pleasure of viewing in the living room. and pots /cachepots are important for me, since i need to hide water reservoirs. and they need to blend/match,etc. at least not clash ;).

so i am always on the look-out for a good price and a good volume.

now These are 28oz (ha-wee!) and very subtle pastel colors , 7" tall, throat 3 7/8" - so quite nice for 4"pots. set of 8 tumblers