Just off the top of my head perhaps twice a week is two much water. How dry or wet is the soil when it is watered. I only water mine that I don't wick once a week. And sometimes depending on the humidity in the house longer then that.

I hope others can help you. That poor thing looks like it it trying hard to survive.

Thanks for your reply. I'll tell my girlfriend to keep the number of times of watering the plant down... she said that the soil is somewhat wet when it is being watered.

Taiwan's quite humid, so I'll tell her to water it once a week, and if the soil is still wet when a week is up, I'll tell her to postpone the watering.

All the leaves were blackened when the plant was moved indoors originally, and the new sprouts really brought us hope. I really hope it can pull through, as during the year and a half I had it, it actually grew to be really large with beautiful purple and white flowers... these sprouts are the last of my hopes.

By the way... I just talked to my girlfriend, and she said that she shoveled the blackened leaves into the soil yesterday (without my knowledge...). That doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Will this have a negative effect on the plant?

This is a tough call. But there are a few definite things that can be addressed. First the plant is being watered too much even at once a week in a high humid environment it can still be too much. Tell your friend to water when the top is dry to the touch instead of trying to use a set schedule. The plant is using much less water because it doesn't have the leaves to support a lot of uptake. As for the blackened leaves going back into the soil, it's generally not advised due to disease. However, in this case with the leaves having died from shock as opposed to disease, it will likely be alright won't hurt anything.

I'd keep a close eye on the plant. If the roots look healthy (mostly white-ish), I'd let the plant go about its merry way. If the roots look brown and dead, I'd take a sharp razor and cut off the top and re-root it in a high-humid place (with temperatures between 20-25'C)

Keep us posted

Ummmm... I just got another photo update.

I told her to stop watering it for now, as the soil is wet. The green sprouts as seen in the previous picture have turned a brown shade...

I'm not sure of the exact condition of the root, but it doesn't look that white to me.

:-( I'm afraid it doesn't look good. one last check to see if the crown is alive is to take a finger nail and scratch at the crown just above the soil line. if it's hard and alive-feeling, leave it. If it's brown and soft, the plant should be discarded.

... well, my girlfriend is now angry at me and would have nothing to do with my African violet... so I won't know the condition of it until I go back to Taiwan next week.

Thank you both for your replies, and I shall update the condition of my African violet when I see it firsthand.

... well, my girlfriend is now angry at me and would have nothing to do with my African violet... so I won't know the condition of it until I go back to Taiwan next week.

Thank you both for your replies, and I shall update the condition of my African violet when I see it firsthand.

I wouldn't sacrifice a relationship for the plant. She did what she thought was best for the plant. And when that was the wrong thing to do she tried to fix it. Not everyone would have put the effort into trying to keep it alive. Plants are replaceable. Not all people are. And who knows maybe doing nothing to the plant for a bit will pay off. Good luck.

Yah... I know... thanks for both the lesson on plant-keeping as well as the lesson on life.