Hello there -

Winter? May be it is cooler in your growing space...

How long ago did you repot them? Mine are doing something like that if they stay in the same soil for more then 6 months - I think it as well depends on our local water - but eventually Ph turnes wrong. If I procrastinate even more the leaves become crunchy and young leaves stunted. I was scared to death of mites - but you repot them - and it helps.

Will it help if you cover them with domes to increase humidity - again - winter and forced air makes the humidity go down. Do you keep them on trays and mats or bottom-water them? For me the communal living on the mats helps.

Good luck and keep us posted

Irina

Have you noticed if leaves seem more hairy than usual? Are leaves "crumpling up"--not growing flat? Are leaf stems thicker than normal?

Nancy

It's funny I should this problem today. I have a Rob's love bite that I reportted about a month after I got it. It looks healthy but it was not growing in the center. The leaves stayed little and brownish. It does not have critters. but I segergated it anyway just to be sure. Last week I took two leaves off of it and potted them so if the plant dies I have one. I looked at the mom yesterday and it is growing suckers out of the place where I took the leaves. I don't know how this is going to play out. I guess I will just let them grow for a while and see. It is the oddest thing. I have never had this happen.

Joanne

It's good to hear that suckers are growing. That lets mites out!

Next you might think about culture. Has your soil mixed changed in anyway? Take a few out of the pot and see how the roots are growing.

If roots seem white and healthy, you might look at your water pH. Sometimes cities change chemicals they put into drinking water without telling citizens.

If you could get pH tabs for soil and water test you could mark this factor off as well.

I didn't consider the soil because I have 60+ violets growing in the same soil and they are fine. I have heard that sometimes Rob's violets do this. I have several other Rob violets and they are fine so far. My water is well water. I bypass the water softener and that is what I use. I will keep posted. I am real curious to see what this one does.........
Joanne

This is a plant that I purchased at my local grocier.
It bloomed like mad a couple of times, I repotted into my own mix shortly after getting it home. Like Joanne, we have well water. I looked closer this week and there are several of the crown leaves that are trying to grow new planlets from the leaf edges.

Hi there,

Your well water can be too alkaline. Some people have it so bad that they buy water for plants, or haul municipal water from town - or go all the way and purchase a reverse osmosis system - not cheap to buy, and expensive to maintain.
But since you do not have any real problems with the rest of your collection, probably your water is good enough.

What I think you have is a relocation/transplant shock. Any plant from other place will be stunted while adjusting to your place. Small babies usually adjust OK. So to achieve the best performance in your conditions IMHO would be to start your own plant. You already have suckers coming - wait a bit and root them. These new plants will grow better for you. Usually if I order plants, I put down a leaf or 2 from new arrivals - just in case.

Good luck

Irina

Hi there
I am new to this site and to growing AV.. Its been a few years since anyone posted here.
My AV is growing nicely even has nice flowers. The problem is the center of the plant (I believe thats called the crown) the leaves are growing small and stunted. There many of them. They are a nice healthy color but they are not growing. The plant just recently had blooms but I do not see anymore coming. I keep picking the "small stunted" leaves with my finger nails and taking them out. Now I have many small stems at the base. Im wondering if I did the wrong thing by cutting these small leaves back. I wanted to make room for more blooms/flowers. But alls I have now is a crown filled with short stems that I cant cut or remove. The rest of the plant looks healthy but no more blooms and just mant stems. What can I do? any advice please..
also, Can someone explain what a side sucker or sucker is. thank you

Too much light can also cause crown problems. JoBear, I have some similar Rob's plants and had the same problem as you describe. I found out that they do not like a lot of light. The centers sort of burn. I moved mine to natural light with no direct sun at all. I also don't think they like artificial light, or at least not placed very close to it.
Violetmonk, most likely your plant is an Optimara. I have found that my Optimaras take less light than other plants and do very well in natural light.
Marieh, I can't quite picture your problem, but I would use some tweezers or something to remove the stems, then just wait and see if the crown will start producing sucker plants (which you can remove after they grow big enough to root them). I would also cover the plant with a dome. Also, I would root a leaf from the plant. I know there are experienced growers on this forum that might have better tips for you though.

Marieh,

A picture would help greatly. You really shouldn't remove leaves from the crown and I think that is why you are getting suckers at the base. It sounds as though you are removing the growing point from your violet and it is responding by sending out other growth points. Avoid picking at your violets. Just remove spent blossoms and leaves and suckers if you don't want them. You don't need to make room for blooms; plants can handle blooming all by themselves.
Also, one reason you may not be seeing any new blooms is that violets rest between bloomings. Blooming takes a lot of energy and plants rest between bloom cycles. The rest period varies with different cultivars and different individuals as well.
A picture would help identify your crown problem.

Linda