My African Violet Broke Off!?

I have had a beautiful African Violet for about 15 years. Yesterday, I watered it from the bottom as usual and the entire leaf and bloom system must have been hanging on by a thread, because the entire plant came off leaving the root in the soil. Coincidentally, there wasn't that much root. I simply laid the plant back on top of the soil, but is it ruined?

My African Violet Broke Off!?
No, it's not ruined, although I know that sort of thing can give you heart failure when it's a beloved plant!



What you need to do is re-root the top part of the plant. I'm hoping that it has something of a "neck" on it already. If so, you need to put that in water for the moment, after slicing off a small bit of the end of the "neck" as you would slice off the end of a Christmas tree trunk so it can get water.



You'll need to get a fresh pot of dirt (preferably good African Violet potting soil), and a packet of rooting hormone from a nursery. A new pot isn't a bad idea, either.



First, make sure the soil is moist, and fill the pot with it; fill it firmly, but not super-tight. I wouldn't use anything bigger than a six-inch pot unless your plant is REALLY massive; four-inch pots are the "standard" for show plants. Remove the top part of the plant, called the "crown," from the water, and shake off the excess. You may want to remove part of the neck if it is REALLY long, but leave a couple of inches if you can. You can scrape the sides of the neck to expose fresh tissue on the sides, rather than the tough outer layer that has built up over the years. Once you've done that, cover all the "raw" surfaces with a dusting of rooting hormone powder; then make a hole in the pot of soil, near the center, deep enough to accommodate the "neck" of the violet. Put the neck into the hole, and firm the soil around it. Put the plant in a warm area where it gets plenty of light, but NOT direct sunlight. If it was blooming well where it was, then the same spot is probably perfectly ok. If it hadn't been blooming before, then find a brighter location - that's usually the key to blooms. I would remove any blossoms that are currently on the plant, to let it direct its energy into making new roots. Keep the soil moist but not wet - again, if it was ok before, then your previous routine will probably do nicely. DON'T let the soil dry out. After a few weeks, the neck will be rooted, and your plant will probably start to bloom all over again.



The roots that are currently in the pot should be discarded; they almost never put out more leaves again.



In the event that you don't have a "neck" on your plant, you can create one by removing two or three rows of leaves from the bottom of the plant; the spots where the leaves were will root easily with the hormone, and your violet should be happy again. You can also root the leaves that you remove if you want to, so that you have "clones" of your original plant. If it's a family treasure, perhaps other members of your family might enjoy having their own "baby" from the leaves!



Growers do this all the time purposely to remove a long "neck" from a plant that simply no longer attractive, so that it continues to live on. I've done this with plants that I'd had for years and removed upwards of six inches of scrawny, leafless "neck"!!



You're welcome to contact me if you'd like with any questions; I'm at tricia_genealogy@earthlink.net.
Reply:The culprit is crown rot. Sometimes the violet crown is exposed to too much soil, and rot occurs. The best solution I've found for this is the violet pot that is self-watering, i.e., you put the water in the container under the pot with the violet in it, and the water wicks up. You've lost this one, but get another and get a pot specifically for African violets. Good luck.
Reply:Check the soil for vine weevil grubs. Little white things that look like grains of rice. They love to live in pot plants and eat the roots. The first thing you know about it is when the top growth wilts or comes away in your hand.



If you do have vine weevil, chances are that other pot plants are infected too. Buy some insecticide specifically for this problem. Provado (containing imidacloprid or thiacloprid) is the best stuff. It gives six months' protection from the little b*****s. I wouldn't be without it.



Tip: don't use it on edible plants you plan to crop from e.g. chillies etc.