Violet Care

I love my newest pink violet which is blooming well here. I also got a new white one (both at Wal-Mart last summer). It is just starting to bloom after being broken in transit (my fault).

I would have more violets just from splitting them, but I give them away as presents. I only have so much space here.

I usually keep my voilets in my office in the south window. Voilets love direct light and will bloom great all year with a little "bloom" food, or special violet care fertilizer.

In this photo you can see they are at peak and it's December. Some may need to be divided again. I'll know when I pull them out of the soil.

Violets need to be split at the base of the plant. If they have multiple clusters or "cores", they will easily pull away from each other. Sometimes they have roots, but not always.

I try to keep a section of the roots intact, but even when I can't, roots will form in well-soaked potting soil.

If there are no roots, only a bit of the base can be under the dirt, so keep the top of the soil wet for a few weeks.

When you water violets, you have to keep the water off the leaves. It's best to water violets from the base. Be sure NOT to drown them. You can even let them "tell you" when they need to be watered. You simply watch when the leaves begin to droop. If they are overwatered, they won't bloom as well and can drop too many leaves.

Sometimes violet plants just get old and too leggy. If you can see there are several inches of stem above the soil where the leaves once were connected and have died, it is too leggy. In fact it can get top heavy and lean over. This is normal.

You can try to bury the roots deeper in the soil, or you can simply try to get the "top" section to re-root.

They will form new roots if you keep the top very wet for a few weeks.

Remember, you normally want to water violets from the bottom or very lightly on the soil on top so the plant doesn't drown, but when you want them to re-root, you need to have the soil muddy for a few weeks.

You can tell when it works because the leaves perk up and the plant begins to look healthy again.

I discovered this year that I only had to divide one of my violet plants. It's the little one behind the phone.

You can see that many of them are still "droopy" from being worked on and have yet to "perk up".

And while I didn't touch my new pink violet, it has lost all it's pretty pink flowers. I think I'll give it a boost of "bloom food" later today.

I'll try to remember to take another photo after they've all come back from their shock treatment and post it here.

Don't be afraid to work on your violets. After a few weeks, they will be back to their normal perky colorful selves!