Jerome -

it is a healthy thingie and it will fill up with time.

The problem with removing leaves on your rescue plant is - you need to put it ina much smaller pot - you can reduce it to 3 center leaves - but then you need to put it in a Solo cup - and it will bouce back beautifully. You need to maitan the balance between the size of the pot and the diameter of the leaves. Otherwise you just stunt them with all this heavy soil.

Have patience - watched kettle never boils... give them some time - and you will be very happy!

Irina

I had to jump into this conversation. It is just some info to try and see if you can use it. I use to overpot my violets and kept losing them. Now the majority of my standard size violets are in 3 oz. solo cups that I buy at Walmart or the grocery store. My mini and semi-mini are in the small 1 oz or 2 oz condiment cups. Those I get at a party supply store. I use the 2 oz. one for the mini trailers. They seem to be a perfect size. I wick them all with mason twine. The smaller mini and baby standards are sitting on mats. Larger standard sit on grates in trays. They are watered this way. So far this is the perfect solution for me.

What's a solo cup? Sorry I am really that dumb... :-B

SOLO cup is a plastic 3oz white cup they sell in King Soopers/Kroger in a pary supply area. Think rinse cup.

I.

Ima's solution is a good one, too. For me, the Oyama Planters are more esthetically (spel?) pleasing than either wick or mat watering (both of which I did for years).

You'll note: She has her large plants in cups that are 2" to 3" across. Remember the ratio from my other post: container should be 1/3 (or even less) the size of the leaves at their widest point. Maximum for a 9" plant is 3".

My advice would be to skip bying the 3" Oyamas, put your plants back in their original pots (or Solo cups) and reservoir water; just add a wick and make a reservoir out of a butter tub or plastic container. When they are 12" across, put them in the 4" Oyamas.

Have fun....I'm off to repot some new additions to my collection:

Wrangler's Jealous Jewels, Green Pastures and Banjo Dancing
Apache Gem
Misbehaving, Erin and Humako Myrthe (chimera)
Shirl's Cranberry Smoothie (everybody should have one of these beautiful minis...they grow so symetrically)

Linda