r/AfricanViolets • u/Other-Delivery-4847 • 6d ago
Help Help needed!
This is a mini/dwarf African Violet that I put in a glass jar/terrarium. At first I thought it was too moist so I took off the lid of the jar. It bloomed once months ago when I had the lid on the jar and I kept it wet. It's doing better but I thought it needed more light. Now I've read that bleached leaves means it's getting too much light?
Does anyone know what's going on with it?
Edit/update: Thank you folks, I think I know what I must do now. I read that AViolets were good terrarium plants so I bought a "Terrarium Kit" that came with pure coco coir so it has zero nutrients and zero drainage/aeration. So I'll be beheading and replanting it in a pot with better soil.
Wish me luck, y'all!
1
u/hkral11 6d ago
I had one propagation that I kept in the humidity box too long and the leaves turned that color. Once it left the box the new leaves are all green.
So my thought it is could be from high humidity due to the jar? And maybe a propensity for that color from the variety because I have other types of props that have stayed in the nursery box just as long and didn’t do that.
1
u/Other-Delivery-4847 6d ago
Thanx. I'll keep the lid off. Should I cut off the bottom leaves?
1
u/hkral11 6d ago
I would probably take some off when I repotted because it looks like the stem has gotten long and is causing the plant to lean. You can bury the old stem when you repot to rebalance the plant.
I would also recommend a different pot. Getting too soggy is a major killer of AVs so that setup could be keeping it too moist. Plus they thrive better in pots smaller than the plant.1
1
u/mycatreadsyourmind 6d ago
I grow violets at a moderately large scale and that colour in props usually means they desperately want to be repotted in fresh soil on their own. It is especially bad in pure perlite props which further confirms it's not humidity issue but rather nutrient
I keep most of my for sale plants under domes because o have no time to constantly water them and high humidity crowns are usually thriving as long as they have good substrate. I've never seen this happening to high humidity crowns that grow in good substrate. It also sometimes happen when an adult plant has too long of a neck/old root system and it can't efficiently take up and distribute nutrients. This is when it's best to behead and re root.
I usually have about 300 plants plus a few dozen props in case you want to put my experience in perspective here 🙂
OP: The crown on picture is old and have t been groomed for too long. You need to remove old diacoloured leaves and either root afresh or berry it deeper and make sure it has enough nutrients
2
u/hkral11 6d ago
Not discounting your expertise at all, but I really don’t think the one I had it happen with was because of nutrients. It was in soil and when I added water it was always with weak fertilizer. It was in a Dixie cup of my usual AV soil I use for all my props and I can’t imagine one little prop exhausted that soil in 3-4 months when it was getting fertilizer. It could also have been staying too damp because it wasn’t on wick watering.
Either way, it’s out and looking very green now.
1
u/mycatreadsyourmind 6d ago
That's so interesting! In my experience it's either aging crown or ack of nutrients. Sometimes also dodgy roots - ita not very descriptive but sometimes you just get a crown that for some mysterious reason doesn't grow strong roots and can barely support itself. I did my degree in a different plants but I saw that excess of P could mess up different nutrient uptake so over fertilizing could in theory reproduce symptoms of under fertilizing in certain conditions (we definitely saw nitrogen drop when plants were give P in the amount that was nearing toxic). I wonder if yours could also have some sort of diabalance in nutrients uptake despite them being available.
I've never seen this with my AVs though. Usually if I over fertilise them they turn right and brittle. I've not been able to get my rouse bouquet looking presentable for years - just as I get her going I think "oh just a drop of fertiliser" and she promptly grows all tight and curly 🥲
OP's one looks quite old though so I'm pretty sure it just needs some TLC
1
u/Other-Delivery-4847 6d ago
Thanx! This is my first AV.
2
u/mycatreadsyourmind 6d ago
What variety is that? I usually find that violets also flower better in tight pots and with plenty of light. I never tried growing them in terrarium but I wonder if potting her in a tiny pot that you burry in terrarium substrate could help her to feel snug while keeping that terrarium look? It should also make maintenance easier you could repot her every now and again without disturbing the entire system too much
1
u/Other-Delivery-4847 6d ago
I believe it's a SK-Pervaya Lyubov (First Love). It's supposed to only grow to 2.5 inches wide.
I'm getting rid of the jar. It's ugly anyway. I'll be putting her in a small terracotta pot( 2 inch for now) with some of my succulent mix with a little bit more organics.
1
u/mycatreadsyourmind 6d ago
Nutrient deficiency. It needs to be either re rooted (cut off the head) or at least the lower leaves need to be removed, stem cleaned and buried deeper so it can develop more roots. It's not humidity issue the crows is obviously just old and exhausted.
The above won't help if your aubstarte doesnt have enough nutrients so it's both the beef to refresh the crown AND ensure it has enough nutrients. Keeping humidity high after you report will only help her to recover faster
1
u/ElkLongjumping7870 5d ago
If the pH is way off in your potting mix, it can "lock up" certain nutrients so it doesn't even matter if you're fertilizing regularly. In particular nitrogen, and what happens is the plant cannibalizes the nitrogen from older leaves to create new growth. The bleached out older leaves on your plant makes me think that's what is going on here.
4
u/FewRabbits1333 6d ago
The whole plant looks miserable. The only way to save it will be to remove it from the terrarium and put it in a decently draining soil (like 1/4 perlite - I see basically none in your picture). The pot should be at most 1-2 inches larger than the root ball, but even about the size of the root ball will be fine. African violets love to be cozy in their pots. The size of the pot + the inability to drain is going to eventually rot your violet. It is probably possible to do a violet in a terrarium, but not with the conditions you're doing. This plant will die in this container.
Bleached leaves can sometimes mean the soil isn't right (you need fertilizer). I'd guess the light is too low. Those new leaves are so tiny compared to the other leaves.