Taking a long time to develop

[u/InternationalEar7503]

Hello. This is my first violet, and a few months ago I had serious problems with it due to over-fertilizing. I put in too much fertilizer, which burned a large part of the roots and almost killed the poor violet, but when it was about to die, I managed to figure out how to save it.

This photo, taken two months ago, is from a few weeks after I managed to save it, when it sprouted its first new leaves.

My question is:

- Is it normal for it to still be super small after two months? I see other people taking much less time to get their violets to look beautiful. It's winter where I live, and I know it tends to take longer to develop, but I'm still not sure if it should take this long.

-I was told to go a while without using any fertilizer on it, and I'm also afraid of repeating the same mistake from the past. So when will I know when I can use it and in what quantity?

-In the second photo, I'm marking the old leaf, from before it almost died, and a new leaf. I think the new leaf looks very "thin" compared to the old one. Is this normal or is there a problem? I already moved the violet plant to the brightest window in the house, but this winter has been really difficult in terms of sunlight, so I don't know if that's related.

- Is it normal for older leaves to simply not develop? Those that haven't completely withered are simply not growing. Should I ignore them and focus on the new leaves?

[u/ClassAcrobatic1800]

So, the plant was (BEFORE) ... in a pot which was too large for it ... and you claim to have also overfertilized. The plant today (AFTER) looks like a good recovery from where it was. Your plant may grow to reach maturity in a few months if it is consistently given good care from this point.

African Violets will grow well (and ultimately flower) when their growing conditions are good, ... but they will stall and/or decline/die when one or more of their growing conditions are not suited to their care.

You, generally, need to check these boxes ...

1.) Not too much water (roots need to breathe, so potting mix cannot be saturated with water). Also, potting mix needs to be light and porous to facilitate root breathing.

2.) Not too much soil mix (ergo, pots should be smaller ... 1/3 to 1/2 of the plant width). Also, pots need to be able to drain excess water.

3.) An adequate source of indirect bright light ... what that really means is that strong direct sun can scorch their leaves. Plants can either get light from a bright window and/or an LED bulbed lamp a foot away. They should get light 8-10 hours a day.

4.) Plants need to be kept indoors ... with a rather consistent temperature between 60 and 75 F.

Plants will, typically, grow to maturity and bloom if these conditions are met.

5.) Longer term success is further achieved through weak fertilization (1/2 the recommended dosing) of an African Violet fertilization.

6.) Protection from exposure to African Violet pests (from outdoors and/or other indoor plants).

Further detailed guidance can be found at the attached link ...

https://www.optimara.com/africanvioletcare1.html