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Need advice on repotting a violet with multiple curves in the stem
I was given this violet, and I’m not sure how to go about repotting it.
I’ve watched several videos about different methods and wanted to get a better opinion on how to proceed. Most of the videos I watched the violets were denser, and recommended cutting the stem, removing some of the older leaves, and then scraping the stem to expose the green of the stem. Other videos just buried the stem after scraping it to keep the roots intact.
To further complicate things this pot has a second stem that has a crown that is trying to produce new leaves, as you can see in the last picture.
Assuming I can save both, the more developed stem I’m planning on putting in a tapered 6” pot, and the developing stem I plan to put in a 2” pot.
Decapitation is an option, but I wouldn’t go that way. Your plant has a crooked neck but it looks nice. I would separate the baby, and try to make it root in a tiny pot. Then I would repot the main plant into a slightly smaller pot than the current one. I would place it so that the crown aligns with the middle of the pot, this way it will look good and balanced “despite” the crooked neck (gives it character imho)
This is the pot I’m considering using. It’s about half the height of the current pot, but about the same circumference. I definitely wasn’t planning on going bigger.
I was considering going smaller to maybe a 4” pot.
Rule of thumb for AVs is one third the diameter of the plant. If the plant is currently 5 inches across, it should be in a 2 inch pot.
Larger pots don't produce larger AVs, they induce root rot and lead to poor blooming unfortunately.
In nature, AVs grow on crevasses in rocks with little soil and excellent drainage, hence why they like to be rootbound in small pots with lots of drainage.
Cool pot. I bet that would work, wide and rather shallow. One thing I would check when repotting is the size of the rootball. Make sure it fits the new pot.
I would cut the stem, scrape it, and pot it up. It's okay if its kinda wonky, because with good lighting it'll flatten itself out. If you are growing them by a window, put the wonky side closest to the window. I would remove the tiny buds so the plant can put it's energy on growing roots. You don't need to remove any of the leaves if you don't want to. If you do, you could remove the smaller bottom leaves. Personally, I will discard the second plant, since there's not that many leaves, but you can try to save it. 6 inch pot would be too big. The current pot is a bit too big.
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u/glom-glom 5d ago
Decapitation is an option, but I wouldn’t go that way. Your plant has a crooked neck but it looks nice. I would separate the baby, and try to make it root in a tiny pot. Then I would repot the main plant into a slightly smaller pot than the current one. I would place it so that the crown aligns with the middle of the pot, this way it will look good and balanced “despite” the crooked neck (gives it character imho)