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

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?

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

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.

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

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

Let us know how it goes.

Linda

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).