1) Hold off on the repotting ...

Keep the plant in the same (or similar) pot.

AV's grow best in pots which are 1/3 the diameter of the plant, and any AV pot needs to have 3-5 drainage holes at it's base. Plastic pots are ideal. Ceramics can be problematic.

2) Over-watering is the easiest way to kill your plant.

Water the plant sparingly. Allow the soil to almost dry out before watering, and make sure that any excess water is discarded. Don't allow the plant to sit in water as it will saturate the soil mixture. The roots need to be able to breathe, and being saturated with water will rot them.

3) Your plant will need LIGHT to bloom.

Give your plant adequate lighting (12-14 hours per day) from a south, east, or west facing window. If a window setting is not feasible, use a fluorescent light setup to provide the light necessary for the plant to bloom.

4) Hold off on the fertilizer.for now ....

Allow your plant to adjust to it's new surroundings before you apply any fertilizer. Use a good African Violet fertilizer at 1/2 the suggested strength. When you really get the hang of growing this baby, you can increase the amount of fertilizer used.

Okay I don't think any of that will be a problem, thanks. Would there be any reason to prune off those newer sets of leaves in the middle?

Violets grow from their centers (called the crown), so if you prune out these leaves, your violet will no longer grow normally. And once the crown is gone, it will not come back.

So, please leave the center leaves alone.

Leaves which are not part of the normal pattern of center growth (usually called suckers) ... can be removed. You can usually just snap them off.

Leaves in the outer rows can also be removed. Just nothing from the center crown ...

This post was edited by aegis500 on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 10:05

congrats ... this should be an easy one ...

see the oldest leaf ... that is at about 4 oclock in your pic ... its slightly bending down ...

i would try propagating that one ...

there should be plenty of posts for you to look at ... to get some general ideas about just about everything you need to know ...

all i recall from when i did them decades ago ... is that they dont like cold roots ... so IF you put it by a window ... dont put it too close to the window ... if you live in the cold white north ... the window sill might just get too cold.. at night.. if your furnace kicks down ...

you can even use that half leaf ...

good luck

ken

I won't touch them but on mine the center growths seem awkard- kind of like a new plant rather then just new leaves. Are you guys sure they aren't suckers?

I see some leaflets on a stem (probably a bloom-stalk).

These can be removed. There are a few African Violets that have leaflets on their bloom-stalks, though most do not.

Can you give us a closer look ?

This post was edited by aegis500 on Tue, Dec 2, 14 at 11:13

They don't really bother me but they just kind of seem out of the ordinary. It's not like I'm taking it to a show or something but it kind of seems like unusual.

Hi Cooper.
If you're talking about the stems of little leaves poking up in the center, I would definitely take those off.
You got a nice, healthy-looking plant for your dollar! Good job!
Others gave good advice here. I always repot right away though, using 50-50 ratio of Miracle Grow African violet mix & perlite. I use the same pot, after washing it well, or go smaller. Violets don't like too much space.
There is a lot of good advice on this forum, so take some time and learn from others' experience.

Sue

Yep ... those are spent bloom-stalks.

Feel free to snap them off (preferably at their base).

My apologies for stepping in here. Some of the posts didn't show up for awhile.
Sue

Encouraging a budding AV enthusiast means ... never having to say you're sorry ...

Anyone can step in! I was just looking for suggestions or advice. The plant's fine though. How long does it take to grow new flower stems and flowers?

Thanks to both of you.

I'm sure this is an Optimara of some variety, so you may have more blossoms in just a few weeks, once your violet homes in. Optimaras are wonderful for beginners because they're usually very hardy. This is an Optimara "Michigan", which I bought last April. It didn't look nearly as healthy as yours, but I repotted it, took suckers off, hence the small plant in the photo, and it has bloomed nonstop since May.

I hope yours does as well!!!

Sue

Cool, I was thinking maybe six months or a year.. Shows how long ago it was that my mom had some. My windows are from the fifties I think so I'm keeping it a few feet away. Might take a little longer. It'll get some good light though.

I had some for years without blooms, until I bothered looking up how to grow them. Then it was just a couple of months until they exploded in flowers.

Depending on how stressed the plant was, and how ideal your growing environment is, it can take longer to bloom again, or not.

I don't usually repot, I chop off the crown and re-root the entire thing. Takes about 6 months to bloom again, but it saves me having to deal with the dense potting medium they came in.

Karin

Sue That is a great photo of the larger plant showing the symmetry that the violets strive to reproduce in their design pattern. Often, the starter plants arrive looking like the photo of the smaller plant. Then with time, they adjust their growth to even out. I learned that I don't have to remove wayward leaves, just remove suckers, and the plant naturally rounds itself. Well, some of them do.

This is a current photo of the baby. It has already rounded itself out! :) This violet just tickles me pink.

Sue

Those sure are pretty leaves Sue! I have one plant I'm thinking of rehoming but the foliage is so appealing I like having it on the shelf. Like your Optimara, the plant practically radiates good health and that glossy quilted dark green is compelling.

I usually pluck suckers too early for them to have a hope of survival but your happy baby makes me think maybe I should leave a few now and then. A couple of my chimeras have a sucker or two. Maybe I'll let them go for a bit and try to root them when they have some substance.

Welcome to the world of fuzzy foliage fanatics Cooper!

Yeah they're fuzzy! It was kind of hidden away and I happened to notice it at Lowe's. Sometimes you just get lucky.