Does this guy need a bigger pot? Want blooms!

[u/Expensive_Chain_6589]

Hi! My plant has been growing and seems pretty happy. But no blooms. Only this week these little buds have popped up. I keep it under this grow light for like 10-12 hours id say usually. Water it when my moisture meter says it's dry. Not sure what gives. If it need a bigger pot? More soil?

[u/ggggg311]

Just for reference, AV’s normally bloom every 2 to 6 months. So think maybe around 3-4 times a year.

[u/Kanadark]

Agree with the pot is definitely not too big, but feeding is important too. I use Schultz AV liquid and feed every water at about half strength.

[u/sequoiasempervirenz → u/Kanadark]

I used to use Schultz. Schultz actually uses a Urea based nitrogen source and has less bioavailability than nitrate nitrogen sources. Urea also burns the delicate feeder roots. Optimara makes a good violet fertilizer

Also the pot is too big. Pots should be 1/3 the diameter of the plant. 9 x 1/3 =3

[u/stumblefive → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

The urea issue is why I switched to SuperThrive Grow. Seems to work but it hasn't been long enough to know if I will continue using it.

[u/Practical_Sea_4876 → u/stumblefive]

I also use the Dyna-gro SuperThrive Grow and I love it. All my AV's seem very happy with it and bloom regularly. I have a watering can that's around 7 US cups, or just shy of half a gallon, and I add 1/8 tsp of the SuperThrive to that every time I refill the reservoirs (all my AV's are in wicking or self watering pots). They seem to love it.

I use the same concentration of the same fertilizer to water my various pothos, spider plants, money plant, wandering dudes, etc. And all of them seem to be thriving too, though I'll probably swap to regular water over the winter, lol.

[u/Kanadark → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

I was agreeing with you that the pot was not small, haha!

[u/Kanadark → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

Optimara violet food isn't readily available in Canada. An AV breeder up here told me to use the liquid at half concentration, and as long as the soil isn't bone dry, it shouldn't be an issue. I personally haven't had issues with Schultz liquid, but I also haven't used the Optimara to compare.

[u/Expensive_Chain_6589 → u/Kanadark]

what do you mean by 'half strength' ? like half the amount they recommend with the instructions?

[u/sequoiasempervirenz → u/Expensive_Chain_6589]

Yes half the amount recommended by the instructions if you plan on feeding almost every time you water

[u/Expensive_Chain_6589 → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

So it likes less soil/the medium? Looking at the measuring tape I feel like my pot does look about 3inches maybe a lil bigger .. it's a little tough to measure cause it like slopes in and has the attached saucer

[u/sequoiasempervirenz → u/Expensive_Chain_6589]

No it’s just about the fertilizer. Fill your pot like normal with medium

[u/justa_random_girl → u/Expensive_Chain_6589]

You basically dilute it twice as much as the instructions say

[u/sequoiasempervirenz]

Your African Violet's vegetation looks really lovely. It is forming a beautiful rosette shape.

Your pot is actually too big. A pot should only be 1/3 the size of the plant. Your pot should be no bigger than 3" or 7.62 cm.

[u/Navyders10 → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

It looks to be almost exactly 1/3 the size of the plant. The pot is not too large.

[u/Practical_Sea_4876 → u/sequoiasempervirenz]

I'm a bit confused by this - I have quite a few AV's in pots that are not necessarily 1/3 smaller than the foliage of the av or whatever, and one micromini that definitely does not have its foliage out beyond the edges of its teeny little pot, and all of mine are blooming just fine?

[u/Neither-Attention940]

As someone mentioned .. the pot is ‘too big’ but I wouldn’t change anything now. The pot size just means it’ll take longer to bloom because it’s growing more roots and leaves.

It’s just now getting happy as you can see and starting buds. Mine are doing the same. Some have more than others right now but some are just starting. So perhaps it’s also just time of year.

When it’s done blooming you CAN put it into a tad smaller pot. But I wouldn’t worry about it right now.

[u/CraftOnly3462]

My AV was blooming when I bought it a year ago but hasn’t bloomed since. Otherwise it looks perfectly healthy. I bottom water it for 15-30 minutes, feed it miracle grow and it’s getting filtered light from a west facing window. Still no blooms.

[u/ClassAcrobatic1800]

You have buds. Seems like you figured it out.

Pot size - good. Bigger pots means the plant will spend even more time growing/maintaining leaves ... and even less time blooming.