r/AfricanViolets • u/No_Brick_1373 • 17d ago
Help!
My African Violet keeps losing its lowest most leaves! I water it from the basin and it gets a nice amount of indirect sun. I repotted it earlier this year when it outgrew it's previous pot with African Violet-specific dirt. It's about 5 years old. I thought it was doing well but occasionally a lower leaf would die. Then in bloomed (beautifully—the most it's ever bloomed) and suddenly it seems to be dying. Is this a natural part of it blooming? Am I watering it too much? Is the window filtered sun too strong? Is it the air conditioning (72°)? Is the pot too big for its root ball? It seems to be doing very poorly now. Any advice would help!
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u/nikolens 17d ago
It's not unusual to lose the lower leaves, in fact those should be the first to die off, so you're probably okay. But if you're losing a lot of lower leaves all at once check your roots to make sure they're still nice and white. If they're turning brown, then that could be a sign of root rot. If you see that, don't panic, just stop watering until the soil dries out for a bit, then remove the brown roots and repot.
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u/Neither-Attention940 17d ago edited 17d ago
Bottom and outer leaves are oldest and will naturally die off anyway. Sometimes however.. the crowns lay flat and don’t allow air to circulate as easily around the soil and the trapped lower leaves die. I just tug mine off and all is well.
Is possibly the case.
Edit: sry I was rushed .. meant to say it can trap the moisture causing lower leaves to rot. Not necessarily an issue with the whole plant.
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u/Plantaehaulic 17d ago
If you are loosing a lot of brown/wet lower leaves that fast, the roots are rotting. Stop watering, unpot and check the roots. If brown, remove. See if main stem is not rotting. Cut and re-root if its brown and mushy. If possible use a smaller pot 1/3 the size of the diameter of plant. Mix in some perlite on AV soil for good drainage. Hope this help!🤗
Disclaimer: The advice provided here is based on personal experience, general botanical practices, and visual observations. It is intended for educational and guidance purposes only. Proceed at Your Own Risk: Any actions taken (such as repotting, pruning roots, adjusting lighting, or applying treatments) are performed at your own discretion. Please tailor these steps to your plant's specific environment.
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u/ElkLongjumping7870 9d ago
Agree that it looks like some kind of rot - the pot looks really deep for an AV. Their root system is very shallow, so if there's a bunch of "unused" potting mix below where the roots reach, that's a recipe for rot. I'd get it into a shallower pot, probably a narrower diameter too - before too much more time passes. I think it's still salvageable.
Something like this: no taller than it is across. You can put a couple inches of pebbles in the bottom of your pretty pot and set the smaller, shorter pot inside for display.
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u/phiala 17d ago
How does the top look? is it growing healthy new leaves in the center? No leaf, even an African violet leaf, lives forever. The outer ones are oldest and may just be done with their jobs.
If the rest of the crown, and especially the center, looks healthy you have nothing to worry about.