African violet tight crown?

Hi I have a problem with my African violet. After blooming the new leaves tend to get smaller and stiffer and stop growing. I see no signs of mite or fungus infection and the plant has not been in direct sunlight. It happened last year so I started new plants from cuttings. Plant in the picture is the propagated one and I feel the center is getting tight again.

I never had problem with traditional full size AV and they live and rebloom for years. This is an optimara "mydesire". Do you think the plant is not ment to live long or I did something wrong with it?

Hmm... I wonder too!

I know that a lot of people say that light causes it... but I leave mine in a window sill with light and haven't had any issues there. I however have found that the soil medium you utilize for them matters a lot. The looser the better. Heavy clumpy stuff seems to make it 'tighten' in my experience.

First of all, lovely violet! I love the ones that have the darker "eye" in the middle.

Your question has several possibilities. While I am sure that light can have something to do with tight crowns, as well as certain pests/viruses, I've found that there are a few other factors as well. If you're concerned about pests and viruses, you can bring some of the leaves to a lab for testing.

Temperature: if your African violet lives in a colder spot, such as a windowsill in the winter, it may get a little bit of scarring on the leaves and a tighter crown.

Needs a good repot job: I've found that the health of the plant is affected if I am late on a repot job. This includes how the leaves are shaped and how the crown looks. While some plants will survive for years without the repot job, some succumb to root rot if they're not taken care of (don't ask me how I know about either). Soil quality isn't just about nutrients. It's also about how aerated it is. With time, soil in your pot is packed and breaks down. That is one reason why you need to repot.

Genetics: There are some that just grow like this, regardless of what you do. You can train the leaves but the new ones will grow back the same way: up and tight. I have one of these varieties.

Feel free to ask more questions. We have a lot more information on our Facebook page: The African Violet Museum.

Jana Gerardi

Hi Jana, thank you very much for the reply. There's a lot to learn about African violets.

This variety is a long and heavy bloomer so the crown will be shaded for a while. I plan on repotting after it's done blooming and see if the smaller leaves will grow out. It's sitting on a south facing window sill with filtered light. But sunlight might be still too intense in summer time by then. I will watch out for that and come back with an update.

I commend you for how healthy this guy looks, I hate african violets! A few things I am thinking about that may help narrow it down:

-Can you give more detailed information on the medium you have it planted in?
-what type of water are you using and how are you determining when to water it?
-what zone are you in (edit: I forgot our profiles have zone info, I see your zone now) , how much light does it get (full sun or are there exterior trees shading it for part of the day, etc., do you supplement it with a grow light)
-what kind of drainage does the pot have? What is the pot made of? It is hard to see exactly from this picture.

I have a more "you live or you die" strategy with my plants, so violets don't tend to make it very long. I have attempted them a few times when I have received them for free, but I don't spend money on them haha. I am more of a succulent person.

My opinion is that African Violets, under the right conditions, can virtually live forever. I had a beautiful 'purple bloom' Optimara from Walmart for at least 25 years. Friends thought it was fake for how beautifully it bloomed at times. I kept it in a northern window (no direct sunlight)...watered, fertilized and repotted as needed. However, the last time I repotted it, I think there was something wrong with the soil (maybe the wrong type or contaminated?) I don't know for sure.  The leaves never recovered from it and it my 'once gorgeous plant' went into the compost. (Sigh).

Could warm soil temperature be the reason too? My house is at 72 F but the soil temperature in the pot right now is 10 degrees higher even with a semi opaque shade curtain in front the window. Gotta be even hotter in summer. I will probably move it to a north facing window.

I threw away the tight crown one last year (one year old) so this one is propagated from a leaf and less than one year old. I use 4 inch pot with my own home made potting mix and the roots look healthy and are filling the pot up. I am not very careful with watering my indoor plants and occasionally lift the planter to feel the weight. If it's getting light I water it. Sometimes rain water and sometimes just tap water.

I look up AV pictures online and people mostly are showing perfect first year rosettes like this. It's hard to imagine how tall and big if I can keep it growing for several seasons. What dedication to own a plant for 25 years!

What is your potting mix ratio? That looks like a lot of wood material which holds a ton of moisture, so it might not be draining well enough.

Most people I know who keep violets don't give them tap water, apparently they are finicky, and respond better to spring water or other pretentious options, another reason I don't like them . Either of those may be the issue. Maybe try a sandier mix or adding some larger rocks in.

A warm soil temp is normal, soil insulates, but if it regularly gets to over 85-90F it could be inhibiting plant growth. I would worry more about aeration/compactness and overwatering than temp if it is inside. Most plants in climate-controlled settings don't get overheated unless under supplemental light.

The #1 problem I see with houseplants is incorrect watering so if you are reading about how to properly water and you correct the soil so it is not holding water for too long it should be okay. Like others have said, violets develop fungus easily so over-moist soil is a problem.  

May,
I don't think it's the indoor temps.  My house runs between 66 and 80 degrees depending on how hot or cold my hubby is.  Besides, AV are tropical.  They like moisture, but not drowning.  Try having another bigger pot under it to catch the run-off but not quite touching the bottom of the inside pot.  When the bigger pot is dry it's definitely time to water.

Also, I forgot to ask:  Are you removing the bottom leaves as needed to give strength to the crown?

We had AV competitions at work and I cheated!
I brought in a Grow Bulb - only 1 for a 2 bulb 18" desk lamp and my plants took off!
Then every one else wanted to set their plants under the lamp too.

AV's like to be turned also, so at about 1 to 2 weeks I would give mine a 1/4 turn, which really helped.