Hi, I'm hoping to have a bit of expert African violet advice- I'm successfully growing several species, but one of my plants may need more care: it has leggy/lanky leaves, sort of. There are many healthy leaves, just not as many as my other violets. It's a bit 'scrawny' with leaves. This plant also always has a ton of blooms. I wonder if there are some violet species that just have a lot more flowers than leaves, or if this one needs its buds cut back, so that it can focus on leaves... I'm grateful for some advice!

Can you post a photo of your scrawny AV?

Thanks for your reply Will! Here are a couple of photos-






Hopefully these are visible. I don't know how effectively they represent the slightly sparse foliage and long, ample flowers, but when next to my other violets, it just has about half the leaves.

Thanks for any advice, erin

Thanks for the photos, Erin. Your AV looks healthy and is blooming nicely. I would not do anything more to it than you are already doing. No reason to make comparisons to other AVs that you have.

Keep up the good work and enjoy!

I totally agree with @WillC 👍
It's like ?🤔??? How come my zucchini, don't grow, or look like my Hubbard squash ? 😎😎😎

Hi Violeterin,

There is only one species of African Violet - Saintpaulia ionantha. But there are tons of varieties: leggy or compact, huge or tiny leaves that are variegated or some shade of green, flowers of every color and size.

Any AV that's blooming, though, is a happy AV. They will not bloom unless conditions are right. Your's looks great!

Thanks all! If I may, I'd like also to ask if any of you can comment on my sucker problem. I know suckers are common, and I have to just stay on it, but with a couple of my plants, it's REALLY hard to see where the sucker is exactly in order to separate it. For example, I had one really nice, full happy violet, and very suddenly realized that it had two distinct crowns. It was nearly impossible to see where the two could be separated. I have taken it back to almost nothing now, a tiny plant, and still I am not 100% sure that the very tiny leaves that remain aren't still a separate crown. I've done a lot of googling, but if you have any words of advice for dealing with that challenge, please advise away!

Thanks so much!

Oh, 😮, gosh, you hacked her up.😭
I would of given you my two cents worth, before ya did that.😭
I still will.😀😀😀 Even though I'm no expert.
Hears what I would do. that's if I wanted to seperate them ?
I would let them get bigger, till I could distinguish the two.
THEN ! 😮 ! OPERATE.
Speaking of operating... HUMM ?🤔??? Does rosette you cut out/off grow into a new plant ? It probably does, huh. So no use in me suggesting that I would take a paring knife, and split it into two plants. I can't help myself from experamenting !#!!! 🕵️🕵️🕵️

Ta. Ta. 😀
😎😎😎

Welcome to the NGA Violetrin !
You will find many people here to answer your questions and you can share your ideas too. There is a Houseplant forum here too.

Thank you Philip, and my apologies if I haven't been clear. My plant was a fully developed av when I operated- and it was necessary, as there were two distinct plants growing. Unless everything I have learned is wrong, the operation was due. My challenge has been that it is next to impossible to delineate where the plants are separable; I have taken back to the point where there is one clear crown, but, as a few very tiny leaves are appearing, it is not clear if they are again two plants or one.

So frustrating! 😳

Hi Erin,

Some AV's just want to be multi-headed plants. I try to keep the suckers "plucked" but sometimes I just give up and let the plant have its way. If you can carefully rub them off from between the leaves when they are very small, its easier. Use something pointy like a chop stick. If they manage to get bigger before you see them, use a small bladed craft knife. Don't try to save the suckers - its not worth the damage you cause your 'mother' plant.

Inspite of what some say, multi-heads will not slow down a blooming happy AV.

Hi, Erin 😀
👍You taught me a new word, today. Delineate. I had to look it up. 😀

So now, your also teaching me about AVs.
AV suckers, BAD !
Not wanted, don't grow same kind of AV. I'm I thinking right ?
Gee ? How to tell apart ? I see your delima. 😞

If I'm bothering you, forgive me, and let me know.

😎😎😎

Grateful to each of you, thanks!!

As usual, Daisy is on it! I don't like the word "sucker" in this instance because it implies something parasitic or unwanted. I think offset is a better word.

I think people who grow for AV Shows, remove suckers to keep a certain symmetry to the plant and yes, those suckers can become new AV babies! http://www.avsa.org/sites/defa...

More nformation about AV grooming and care can be found on this page: http://www.avsa.org/learning

This is one of my favorite AV's. It was part of the EverFloris Space Violet program.

http://www.optimara.com/everfl...

It is one plant but has 3 'heads', 2 dark and 1 light. Every leaf we have ever managed to propagate has had its own interpretation of the original (whatever the 'original' might have been. I think it was the dark version but its been a long time. ).

Thanks all! If I may, I'd like also to ask if any of you can comment on my sucker problem. I know suckers are common, and I have to just stay on it, but with a couple of my plants, it's REALLY hard to see where the sucker is exactly in order to separate it. For example, I had one really nice, full happy violet, and very suddenly realized that it had two distinct crowns. It was nearly impossible to see where the two could be separated. I have taken it back to almost nothing now, a tiny plant, and still I am not 100% sure that the very tiny leaves that remain aren't still a separate crown. I've done a lot of googling, but if you have any words of advice for dealing with that challenge, please advise away!

Thanks so much!

Couldn't you of just let it grow until you could distinguish the rouge off-set ???

Didn't we answer that?