Question:  I have a lovely decorative pot, and would like to pot three miniature violets, together, into it.  The pot is about 10" wide and has drainage holes.  Can I do this?

Answer:  Yes and no.  So long as the violets are otherwise properly cared for, they can be potted together into the same pot.  One thing to be careful of is watering, since these violets will be greatly overpotted.  Though the foliage of three miniature violets would easily cover the surface of a 10" container, their root systems would not be able to fill this size pot.  The volume of soil in this pot is far more than that in the individual pots of the three minis combined.  Also, remember that violets will grow better when not crowded together and forced to compete for space.  When crowded together, foliage doesn't always develop fully or normally, and plants need to compete for light, water, and nutrients.

If you still would like to put three violets together into one pot, we would suggest keeping them in their own individual pots, then placing them into the larger container.  At least, this will reduce the likelihood of overwatering, since the root systems of the individual plants would remain in the proper size pots.  This would also allow you to easily replace one plant with another at a future time, keeping the "arrangement" always looking its best.  Probably the best solution, if you choose to fill the large container with soil and plant a violet into it, would be to use a trailing variety.  Since trailing varieties, by their nature, are spreading plants, they can more easily fill such a large diameter container.  They still produce shallow root systems, though, so the depth of the container could be a concern.  if more than a few inches deep, fill the bottom with very porous, well-draining material, such as perlite.  A standard-size trailing variety would most quickly grow and fill this size container, and would likely be the easiest to grow.  Mini and semiminiature trailers would also grow to fill the container, but would take much more time to do so.

Question:  Can I reuse a leaf cutting?

Answer:  Sure.  After removing and potting plantlets, the "mother" leaf can be rerooted.  It will still be capable of producing more plantlets, though it may not produce as many the next time around.  Usually, it's more productive to simply wait until the plantlets grow large enough to have their leaves removed for propagation.  Plus, most of us have too many plants already without finding ways of producing more!  There are times, though, when reusing a leaf might be necessary.  Some varieties, for example, are particularly unstable and tend to produce plantlets that won't bloom as described.  In this case, it might be better to reuse a leaf that is known to have come from a true-blooming plant, rather than use leaves from plantlets that may not be true (though it's possible that the mother leaf won't produce "true" plants the second time around either).

Reusing a leaf might also be desirable when this is the last of a hard to find variety, and can act as insurance, should the plantlets fail to survive.  Should you decide to do this, leave a longer than normal petiole when rooting the leaf the first time.  This will allow you to recut the petiole, at a shorter length, the next time around.  If possible, younger, more supple, leaves are better, since the leaf will tend to become tough and leathery with age, and will produce fewer plantlets as this happens.

Question:  I just bought some violets and need some idea how to care for them.  If I happen to overwater them, do I just need to drain the water from the bottom?  Some of the leaves look almost black and I am afraid of killing it.

Answer:  Yes.  I assume this means discarding the unused water in the saucer.  It's best not to leave plants sitting in water, unless the soil mix being used is very light and porous.  Again, the rule of thumb is, the wetter you plan on keeping the plant, the lighter the soil mix should be.  One reason why light, soilless, mixes are so often recommended is because they allow the grower to occasionally overwater without doing much harm to the plant.

What concerns us is your saying that the leaves look "almost black".  Soft, "mushy", black leaves are a symptom of overwatering.  Remember that leaves can appear soft and wilted, yet the plant may not need watering.  If the plant has a wilted look, yet still has moist soil, don't water it.  Instead, observe it for another day or two and see if its condition improves.  If it doesn't, or leaves begin to turn black and rot off, the problem is more serious.  If the soil is very wet, remove the plant from its pot and lay it on some newspaper to let it dry.  Remove the rotted leaves, since these likely won't recover.  As the soil begins to dry, the remaining foliage should become more firm and fresher looking.  At this point, repot the plant into fresh soil, being sure to use a pot no larger than the root system itself.  After repotting, water more sparingly than normal, until new roots have grown into the added soil.

The old "dry to the touch" rule is worth remembering.  Ideally, violets would like to be slightly moist at all times.  This means watering when the surface of the soil is dry, and not before.  Here at our shop, when we teach someone new how to water our plants, we tell them to thoroughly water all plants where the surface of the soil is dry, sparingly water those whose soil surface is slightly moist, and not water at all those whose soil is still damp.  If a light enough soil mix is being used, most plants can survive an occasional unnecessary watering, but won't survive when this is done two or three times consecutively.

Question:  How do you ship an African violet?

Answer:  This is something we get asked a lot at the shop. Though we do this as part of our business, it's something anyone can do.  After all, many of our customers ask us to ship plants as gifts to relatives or friends, when they grow violets themselves, and could easily do the same.  Violets are fragile, but not as much as you might think.  With careful packing, they can be easily and safely shipped almost anywhere.  Here's how we do it.

Since the package is certain to spend much of its time traveling "upside-down", you need to keep the soil from coming out of the pot and making a huge mess of the plant and box.  We do this by making a plastic "collar" that we fit over the top of the pot, underneath the leaves.  Cut a piece of plastic (from a trash bag, for example) that is twice as big as the pot.  Cut a slit in the plastic from one edge, stopping at the center.  Then slide this over the surface of the soil, beneath the leaves.  The neck goes into the slit, so that the collar should slide easily and snugly around it.  Being sure the collar covers the soil completely, fold the edges over the pot rim and secure them with tape or rubber band (we use the latter) to the pot.  Next, find a sheet of stiff, yet soft, paper, twice as tall and wide as the plant's diameter (we one or two sheets of newspaper).  Gently bending the leaves upwards, place the plant against the paper and roll it into a paper cone, leaving excess paper both above and below the plant.  Then seal both ends with tape or staples.  For plants too large to seal the top, we tape the pot to the paper when we are rolling it.  This will keep the pot from sliding out of the paper cone, and insulate it a bit.

Use a box that won't be crushed when placed on the bottom of a pile of heavier boxes.  When placing the wrapped plants in your box, it is better to slightly overpack.  Be sure that whatever material that fills the remainder of the box won't settle or move during shipment.  Pack as tightly as possible without crusing the plant, yet tightly enough so that the plant cannot move.  If shipping during unusually warm or cold weather, you might want to insulate the box--we line the interior with fiberglass insulation.  Label the box as very fragile, though you don't need to mention its contents (in some states this only gives them an excuse to open and examine the contents).  Remember, too, that labeling isn't a good substitute for good packing--your package will still spend time being tossed around.  Lastly, unless it's being sent as a surprise, it might be a good idea to call ahead and tell the recipient of its arrival, so that it spends as little time as possible exposed to the weather on their front doorstep.

Question:  I am experiencing a white "gooey" substance around the crown of some of my violets.  Could you please tell me what this substance might be and how to get rid of it?

Answer:  The likely answer, we're sad to say, is that this is likely evidence of a heavy mealy bug infestation.  Mealy bug egg masses will often have this appearance.  Individually, they can be seen as very small, white, waxy, rice-shaped (but smaller) insects.  They will move, but do so very slowly.  Sometimes eggs appear as a white dust on the shelf surface surrounding the plant.  You likely also have them in the soil--you'll notice white patches, like confectioner's sugar, around the outside of the root ball.  they also are often noticed around the base of the plant, on the neck, just above the soil surface.

As for how to get rid of them, this is a difficult proposition.  From my experience, mealies are perhaps the most difficult pest to eliminate.  Doin so usually means the use of very expensive and/or toxic chemicals.  Two chemicals that we've found to be fairly (but not completely) effective are Enstar and Marathon.  The former is a liquid that can be used as a drench or, better yet, used as a solution into which the entire plant is submerged.  The latter is a granular, sand-like, material that is mixed into the soil and has systemic properties (i.e. the pests ingest it when they feed on the plant).  Both, however, are very costly--$75 to $100 per 5 oz. bottle and 1 lb. package, respectively.  For this reason (not to mention the exposure to toxins), it's usually better to just discard such a heavily infested plant.

Should you still wish to try to save the variety, we would suggest rooting the crown or leaves and starting over.  Be sure that the material being rooted is as clean as possible.  At the very least, washing with a mild soap (like Ivory), in lukewarm water.  Since this plant has a heavy infestation in the crown, taking leaf cuttings would be the wiser choice.  Even once these leaves produce plantlets, keep these plants separate from the rest of your collection until you are certain that the mealies haven't been passed on.  Mealies are stubborn creatures!

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