New Plants from Suckers
I love to separate suckers from the plant. You get instant new plant with no wait for leaves to emerge which cuts the waiting time for flowers by a lot! I know some people just pick them off and throw them away, but not me! You can't have too many plants.
Once the leaves get big enough to separate from the plant, you don't need to bag or enclose the new plant for humidity as long as you provide it with humidity from a pebble tray or container. I have wicked my plants with a water draw underneath them, but mostly I like to bottom water on a damp gravel layer because what the violet doesn't draw up stays in the gravel to provide humidity. If the plants are tiny, sometimes I put them in a plastic fast food drink cup with a dome lid. (It gives me an excuse to get a caramel frappe.)
How much water a violet needs depends a lot on the soil mix - and all my violets do not have the same soil. Some of them have not been re-potted yet. I feel the surface of each pot and pick it up to see how heavy it is before I decide to provide a little water or a lot for each violet. I touch, inspect and groom my violets just about every day. I really do enjoy taking care of them.
I have occasionally lost a plant or two here and there but I'm pretty sure it was due to over-watering. I bag and isolate until I figure out what's going on with a plant. Now I try to keep my violets damp but not soggy. I water when the top feels dry but I put water in the humidity trays each day.
Once the leaves get big enough to separate from the plant, you don't need to bag or enclose the new plant for humidity as long as you provide it with humidity from a pebble tray or container. I have wicked my plants with a water draw underneath them, but mostly I like to bottom water on a damp gravel layer because what the violet doesn't draw up stays in the gravel to provide humidity. If the plants are tiny, sometimes I put them in a plastic fast food drink cup with a dome lid. (It gives me an excuse to get a caramel frappe.)
How much water a violet needs depends a lot on the soil mix - and all my violets do not have the same soil. Some of them have not been re-potted yet. I feel the surface of each pot and pick it up to see how heavy it is before I decide to provide a little water or a lot for each violet. I touch, inspect and groom my violets just about every day. I really do enjoy taking care of them.
I have occasionally lost a plant or two here and there but I'm pretty sure it was due to over-watering. I bag and isolate until I figure out what's going on with a plant. Now I try to keep my violets damp but not soggy. I water when the top feels dry but I put water in the humidity trays each day.
When in doubt, don't water. They can go a day or two a little on the dry side but they can't go long being soggy. It's humidity they like, not wet feet.
What I have learned is that more water does not equal producing more blooms. I have caught myself wanting to water plants more when they are blooming profusely, but they really don't need it to keep producing more blooms. I think that's why most people over-water their violets. I have to remind myself, "a little on the dry side but damp - not wet."
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