Another violet problem...

11 years ago

Hey guys,

I posted about a week ago about an African Violet that I had purchased from Lowes in late September that eventually died from root rot after repotting it into a mix that was holding too much water.

Well, now I have another problem with a violet. I purchased two small violets off a seller on eBay when it became clear that the violet mentioned above was most likely not going to make it. They are "Playful Spectrum" & "Buckeye Extravaganza". I received them about 8 days ago. They are small, have not had flowers yet. One was and is great(Playful Spectrum), looks happy healthy, no problems. The second(B. E.), I noticed when it arrived that it was curling some of it's outer, lower leaves downward. They were moist, as if they'd been watered in the last few days, so I did not water them.

About 5 days later, I checked the soil and they appeared ready to be watered, dry on top, ever so slightly damp 1/2 inch down. The violet in question(Extravaganza), looked about the same, maybe the curled leaves had drooped a bit more. I watered both from the bottom.

Playful Spectrum still is just chugging along, no problems. Now, the second violet(B. E.), has really started drooping, one of the leaves is hanging over the pot now and it's starting to look sad.

I'm not sure if this is something I have done wrong, or if it's a result of shipping stress or something that was already going wrong with it. I honestly don't think that I have overwatered it(I've only watered it once, 5 days after purchase). I'm wondering if I can do something to save *this one*?

Here's a pic of the two. You can see which one is having a problem. It looks an awful lot like my other violet that died from root rot. Starting to wonder if I have the violet death touch--lol. Thoughts?

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Comments (6)

terrilou
11 years ago
Your BE could very well have been stressed in shipping. Since it is a small plant, it probably doesn't have an extensive root system which makes watering a bit more tricky. What I would do is test the soil so it is lightly moist & then place the plant in a ziplock bag out of direct sunlight for a couple of weeks. Extra humidity is a boon to struggling plants & hopefully will help this one.

Terri
irina_co
11 years ago
Wendy - remove 3 drooping leaves - they are old leaves close to the end of their life and a stressed plant is shedding them. The olive color leaf on the left plant can go too. The front leaves from both plants that are to be removed - still have some life in them - put them for rooting - trim the leaf stalks to 1 inch with a razor blade - and either put them in a water or in a solo cup with soil in the baggie. The plants that were shipped - are vulnerable now - and can croak from stress - so this is a warranty against totally losing them. Otherwise - I second Terry - you need to give them a spa treatment - cover them with a baggie, dome - whatever - to up the humidity. Keep watering on a low side.

Good Luck

Irina
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wendync
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you, I have removed the droopy leaves, put two down to root and bagged the BE violet. At least it doesn't look any worse today.
wendync
Original Author
11 years ago
How long does this violet need to stay in the bag, btw? Is there anything I should do when I move it out? It appears to be ok in there, no more drooping. Thanks!
taxonomist3
11 years ago
However long it takes to start putting out new growth. I generally will leave them there until I can see new root growth (and the roots are in the soil). After that, you'll want to harden the plant off by leaving it in the bag with the top open for about a week (harden it off).
irina_co
11 years ago
Aha - crack the bag a bit now, some more in a couple of days - and in a week it will be ready - just as Taxonomist says. Right now the humidity is low because of the furances working - I am at work and I brought my AV room thermometer here - they were fooling with HVAC - so we had it from 85 to 60F in the rooms - and it showed 16% humidity. No surprise my office plants are guzzling water.

I.