Could be root rot... commercial mixes tend to be heavy and could be a cause along with over watering. Did the plants get dry... and then you watered them?

Probably not cold temps you mentioned

Ardy

Hi Wish,

you need to try to save this violet now. Tomorrow can be late,
root rot spreads fast.

Remove most of the leaves, cut the stem with a razor blade till it will look healthy (last time once more with a fresh blade) and try to reroot it. You can do it in water, you can put it into a small pot - plastic solo cup or condiment cup works OK with the light soil mix, just slightly humid - and put in a ziplock bag. Just in case - put 2-3 leaves you just removed - for rooting the same way - shorten the stem to an inch from the leaf blade - and repeat the above mentioned procedure.

Ardy pointed to the most possible causes. But sometimes it just happens to all of us - just keep an eye on your violets - and perform the surgery before it's too late. The earlier the rot is caught - the less chances to loose the violet.

And as it was mentioned before - the commercial mixes are way too heavy and you can possible deter the doom by keeping the violet on a dry side until you repot. You need to water regularly but not to have it soaking wet.

Happy growing - and in no time you will have 200 of them.

Irina

Thanks, Ardy & Irina!

I performed the surgery and found more leaves that were going mushy at the base. One sucker was totally rotten at its base (sniff). A lot of leaves were removed--which I now have in several condiment cups...I think at this rate, I will have 200 of them!

The original plant was reduced to the innermost circle of leaves and I had to cut all the roots off t o make sure there wasn't any rot. It's pretty drastic. I have it in a small condiment cup filled with perlite/vermiculite/peat moss mixture. But NO ROOTING HORMONE. Will it root without it? Should I go out and get some today? The condiment cup is inside a fishbowl and I have plastic wrapped the top. I kept the flowers, though. I didn't have the heart to remove them Do you think I should? It's a cute little terrarium.

I hope I can keep it alive...this is my first time handling an AV! Another question: how much of the root system can I safely remove when I'm transplanting an AV from a commercial potting mixture to the correct 1/3 ratio mix? (As I handled this AV, a lot of the root system came away as I was trying get rid of the bad mix.)

Also, do you wait until the AV has finished its blooming cycle before you transplant to a better mix?

This experience has made me realize how important the right potting mix is and I'm ready to tackle the re-potting of my AV's this weekend! I would love some feedback so I know I'm not hurting them...Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Wish

Repot if you feel the need to save it, blooming or not. If it is doing okay, leave it until it's done blooming and then move it to better soil. They are tough little buggers, even though you've experienced one rotten one. :-) I did the same thing to my violet and couldn't even save the middle crown (I overloved it and overwatered it because it started blooming for me and I got a little too excited). I did put down all of the leaves and now have tons of plantlets though!

Hi There,

I had to cut out all the roots--do I need rooting hormone??? I want to make sure it roots.

Thanks for the words of reassurance--I'm a worrier...

Wish

I dont think you need rooting hormone...
after all, people commonly take off the crown and just root the crown by itself, as if it were a leaf

you might want to dome it though to retain humidity
until it establishes a root system

All in all, it is better to take off more roots and diseased tissue , rather than save all you can... since
any remaining diseased tissue can spread disease to the remaining plant.... sort of like ugh cancer surgery

Ardy

I don't think you need the rooting hormone either, not for AVs. I would advise taking the flowers off the one you just did the surgery on. It's rough enough to have most of your leaves pulled and rotted off and then all your roots cut off, but to ask it to keep the energy to flower is a bit much. Where is it going to get that energy from? It doesn't have roots to take up nutrients, so I guess it might get it from energy stored in the leaves, but that will just weaken the plantlet even further and take precious energy away from it growing roots.

No, no rooting hormone. I have heard that they actually make their own rooting hormone and it stays in the soil/media where you root leaves and so if you stick the leaf in again after cutting off the plantlet, you can get an indefinite amount of plantlets off one leaf. I can't remember where I read this as I spend way too much time on the internet in various places. It could have been here!

minibot

Hi There,

Thanks for all the helpful feedback. I took off all the flowers. And it's planted in a condiment container that is in a fishbowl with plastic wrap over the top. I took a picture but I don't know how to post it with this message.

I think it'll make it! Now I've got to tackle all the others and re-po them into a better mix!

Thanks again,

Wish

Wish -

I use Rootone on the suckers and crowns - but not on the leaves. They say that it inhibits the appearance of the plantlets, but stimulates the roots.

I do it because I have Rootone ( I use it for rose cuttings). I wouldn't buy it just for violets.

You still can loose the crown - you can never be 100% sure that you cut all the rot.

When you repot to change the soil - you can whack a lot of roots - 2/3 of them easily - and scrap as much as
possible of sludge from the rest of the roots. But as as was suggested above - you need to remove all flowers and buds - and lower rowes of leaves to reduce the loss of water while the roots grow back. It actually rejuvenates the plant and produces a beautiful blooming somewhere in a month or two depending on the temperature and light.

Irina