African violets are a dainty when they ’re happily in bloom . But when they ’re unhappy , they can be downright unusual looking .
They can uprise tenacious stems and foresighted petioles that make the plant bet like an entirely different specie .
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Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
There are way to accost the leggy growth that ’s beset your plants .
But first , you have to determine the specific type of growth you ’re facing and what ’s causing it . Then , you could climb up in with a solution .
Fortunately , neither type of problem is all that difficult to fixate . Up ahead , we ’ll go over the different types of leggy growth and how to rectify them .
Here ’s what ’s on the roster :
What You’ll Learn
Before we dive in , allow ’s clear up a few things :
African reddish blue can have long “ necks , ” or the leaves themselves can grow with long , elongated petioles .
The petiole is the part between the main stem and a leaf . A neck opening is a tree trunk - like maturation that forms at the center of the plant over time , as it ages and the lower foliage falls off .
These are two different type of undesirable growth , and they have unique drive . This guide will count at both .
What Causes Long Necks in African Violets?
Necks evolve on African reddish blue over time as the lower leave accrue off . It makes the plant get going to expect like a sort of laurel wreath tree . But this is n’t always normal maturation .
A healthy , happy African violet will keep its lower parting for years , but one that ’s growing in low light , that have too much water , or that ’s struggling with pests or disease will drop its depleted leafage more apace .
If your plants are five long time old or older , a foresighted cervix is normal . If your plant is just a year or two old , you ’ll need to take dance step to call whatever is causing the problem .
How to Address Long Necks
First and foremost , you involve to work out out what ’s causing a long cervix to develop if it is n’t happening due to age .
Make certain the plant is in a fix that receives shining , collateral brightness . Anything too grim will run to long-shanked growth .
Next , cohere a finger in the ground . Does it find moist , like a well - wrung - out sponge , or does it feel soggy ? If it ’s sloughy , you ’re overwatering .
Wet , droopy leaves ( not dry ones ! ) are also a signal of overwatering .
If both of those items find out out , look closely at the plant for any sign of pests or disease .
Check for anything that ’s moving , as well as webbing , brown spots , fungal spore , yellow folio , or speckled leafage .
If you see symptoms to indicate an infestation or infection , you ’ll need to take steps to fix it to ameliorate the overall health of your flora .
Once the effort is addressed , or if the cause is eld , you only need torepot your planta bit deeper . It ’s perfectly ok to swallow up that long neck in some soil .
To repot , pull the plant life out of its existing container and light touch away the grunge . As a general rule , you require to use a lot that ’s one - third the width of the plant ’s leafage .
In other words , if the foliage spreads a substructure across , the pot should measure out four inches in diam .
You do n’t want to promote the pot sizing unless the leaves arise and spread enough that repotting is necessary to retain the 1:3 ratio .
Plant the violet so the abject leaf are just above the soil line . fill again the pot with overbold , water - retentive potting filth .
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dilute lachrymation for the first calendar month after repotting to slenderize the opportunity of overwatering .
What Causes Leggy Growth in African Violets?
If we are n’t talking about long necks when it come to legginess , what do we think of ?
The leafstalk are long than usual and the leaf grow upwardly rather than out , as if they ’re reach for the Dominicus . This is technically known as etiolation .
Legginess of this character is induce by poor Sunday exposure . In orderliness to reach the luminousness , the plant extend out , growing longer petioles .
This long growth come at the plant ’s expense , get it to become weaker temporarily .
Once it turn over good ignitor once more , the industrial plant will charge out raw , tidier growth and will often drop the old , leggier leaf .
How to Deal with Leggy Growth
If your plant has developed long petiole and the leaves are grow upwards , it needs more unclouded .
Remember , these plants do n’t wish lineal sun , but they lust lots of collateral Christ Within . An east- or west - front window with a sheer curtain placed over it is lovely , but a north - facing window is perfect .
If you do n’t have a unspoilt speckle to move your plant to , look into subsidiary inflammation .
You do n’t have to commit in an elaborate rig , and there are lots of attractive option useable that will go in with your home interior decoration .
Three - Arm Grow Lamp
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Once you place the plant life in better lighting , the knocked out leaves will start to frown back down , though the petiole wo n’t get any shorter .
At the center of the plant , new , more thickset leave will emerge .
Since the leggy foliage wo n’t go back to normal . you ’ll either need to live with it or cut it off with sterilized scissor grip after new increase come in to put back it .
Because it ’s usually the previous , outer growth that becomes tall-growing , if you cut it off you might end up creating a long , mere neck opening in the process .
In that case , steer back to the section above to decide how to make it .
Make Your African Violets Look as Fantastic as They Should
African violet can be tricky . They need a fortune of indirect light without any direct Dominicus .
They want moist soil , but they ca n’t stomach a substrate that ’s too wet . And they can start to show their long time as the old age go by .
aboveboard , I can really bear on to all of that !
But unlike human aging , it ’s moderately easy to reverse the clock for African violets . Just put them in the veracious luminance and bury them a bit deeper , and voila ! Or do I mean genus Viola ?
Anyway , are you dealing with leggy plant or African violet that have long necks ? Is this your first time run into this problem ? How long was it before you started to see healthy new maturation ?
divvy up your experience in the comment plane section below so we can all learn more about caring for these classical houseplants .
And if you ’re expect formore information on growing gorgeousSaintpaulia , give these guides a read next :
Photos by Kristine Lofgren © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL rightfield RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product pic via FoxFarm and Gardener ’s Supply Company . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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