Bluejean, you have the right idea to use the teacup as a cache pot, but don't put the plant in clay unless it's glazed; terra cotta damages AV leaves wherever they touch.

Good luck.

Korina

any suggestions for porous (sp?) pots that I could use instead of clay? Is tera cotta considered clay? (I just want to make sure that when I say "fruit" you don't invision an apple while I was thinking of a banana! )

Somewhere I read that lining your cache pot with perilite helps slow down absorbtion of water into interior pot.. so picture my teacup.. small amount of perlite in bottom.. set in place tiny pot with AV and fill in around tiny pot with more perlite.. any thoughts??

Bluejean - you need to find a small plastic pot that fits your cup perfectly. Then you pot your AV in a light soil and use your cup as a cachepot. Just forget about any kind of clay. The only way to make a cup work - is to drill a hole in a bottom - and it is not worth spoiling the cup. You can keep yo AV in a cup as is for a month or 2 - just be sure that you water it with a smallest possible amount of water - to keep the soil a bit humid, never soggy. The violet should not stand in water for more than 10 min. - afterwards you need to get rid of whatever not used - so cashepot works ok - because you can always remove the inner pot and get rid of the extra water. They sell double ceramic pots for AV - but it is not a foolproof thing. I doubt you can reproduce them with a cup and ceramic pot of your own - to start with - these pots do not have holes in a bottom - they have extra -porous inner pot.

I.

Have you seen these, Bluejean? Might work. Ã

http://cgi.ebay.ca/African-Violet-Pot-Tea-Cups-Inserts_W0QQitemZ7406179201QQcategoryZ4232QQcmdZViewItem

Bluejean, what Irina said. Put the plant in a plastic pot, and run a wick between the pot and the reservoir.

Korina

I have had one growing in a teacup for about a year. It has done fine until recently so I'm going to take it out now and repot. I have used other plastic containers besides plastic flower pots to put inside my non draining flower pots and containers. Those little plastic cups that the ready to eat diced fruit, applesauce, jello and pudding, even yogurt come in are slightly different sizes and fit into alot of things, I punch a hole or two into the bottom of them and run a wick thru, pot a plant in that.

so many great ideas! Thank you all so much for your help and suggestions! Now.. to decide what container to use that will "look" the best!

The self watering inserts seem like a great idea too. I was just hoping that whatever I use on the inside, that it wouldn't be visible on the outside. You know.. maintain the illusion that it is potted in the teacup directly!

Thank you all again!

interesting...I never heard that about terra cotta messing up the leaves, and I just took mine out of those kind of pots. Don't take this the wrong way, but Korina....how the heck did you become such the "expert" in one year? It boggles me. Hehe, Shannon

Shannon, I read too much; the AVSA magazine, Growing to Show. And direct experience, too. But mostly I hang out on this forum (and others) waaaaay too much.

The thing with the terra cotta (or more properly, unglazed clay) I've seen myself; my boss' boss once brought in this **GI-NORMOUS** AV and said, 'Do something with it.' It was in a cheap clay pot, and all the leaf stems that were touching the rim *were* damaged.

Korina, still with MUCH to learn...

Bluejean -

measure the cup diameter, height - and go from there. The best pots for violets are squatty - height less than width. Look up at the violet vendors - Pat Hancock is the Ohio famous hybridizer - if you manage to see her plants - you will be hooked. Since I am a Denver girl - I go to the Violet Showcase - and get the pots there - check violetshowcase.com and figure out what size is right for you. If the pot doesn't reach the bottom but more or less fits the top - you can always put some pea gravel on the bottom.

Ceramic self watering inserts - it is very much so-so. What Korina said - wicks - is the most effective way. If you want to know how it is done - look at the Rachel's Reflections site - you will get more info you ever wanted - and again it is the chance you get hooked and end with 300 of them. People play with cute containers - but no matter how cute container is - you need to have a happy violet there - otherwise - you can as well get an artificial one.

irina

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's reflections

...what about getting plastic drinking cups (the disposable kind) and using them as liners in the tea cup? You could just cut the plastic cup down if it is too tall...and could you "hide" it in the tea cup with bark or moss if it shows?

Michelle in Massachusetts

Michelle, anything you can poke a hole in would do, and the plant itself would tend to hide it.

Korina

I thought about drilling a hole, but because this is an antique tea cup, I thought better of it. (it's hand painted and absolutly beautiful!) Right now the violet is very happy in the cup- In a few weeks I am going to repot and put the new pot in the tea cup.

For a bridal shower we threw in April we used the cups as favors. We found antique teacups and planted them- we tried finding mini african violets to plant in them but had no luck finding any locally in our price range (when you buy antique tea cups the budget gets busted very easily!) My MIL did find one that matched my favorite tea cup and she brought it over to my house before the party started. When it was in bloom, it was too cute!

Bluejean, that's what standards are for! Just pull off outer leaves and trim the rootball as needed; guests could pot them up later.

I really must try out that drill bit on an espresso cup.

Happy Tuesday.

Korina

'Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.' ~Groucho Marx

Korina- what a great idea! I wish I had thought of that! Where were you when I was planning that shower?!

Thanks tho for the tip, it might come in handy down the road!

bluejean in ohio

Bluejean, there's always the baby shower...

:-D

Korina

Hi all, New to your list. Looks like lots of good usable info.
"Somewhere" as I was shopping for AV pots I saw a site that advertised self watering liners for antique tea cups. Can't find it again. Anyone know of this site?
Thanks....getnredy

I'm glad I saw this older topic! I have a beautiful antique tea cup (no saucer) and I wanted it in a special place, and my small AF fit it perfectly (it's in it's plastic container) and is so pretty!

Since I only have 7 AV's, I plan on searching Ebay to see if they have them in various sizes.

Great idea!

ARe you searching for violets or teacups? IF you are looking for violets I suggest that you look in the vendors section of AVSA.org. Either that or check for local shows in your area. Most clubs have spring shows and have leaves and plants for sale.
Fred in NJ

Fred, I'm searching for tea cups. I've bought from two online vendors for my AV's so far, and I've been really happy with them. IOW, they're still alive. :)

What will be interesting for me is seeing if any of my small town nurseries sell AV's. If they did in the past I just walked on by. Not this time!

I came across the last night and had to come back today when I had some time. Below is a link to some photos of some of mine that are wicked and others that are drained into a community pot of river rock and others done other ways. I have found things at yard sales, second hand shops, thrift stores, and (hold your breath) other peoples throw aways. Not the trash but they were going to throw them away for what ever reason.
Fred, your 3 pages have been great help and this site has too. Several but not all of the photos are of the babies I started from seed last October. I am, without a doubt, HOOKED.

Here is a link that might be useful: my AV's

Hi littlehelper,

The link doesn't work.

Larry

Larry,
I tried it and got the same thing the first time but then I logged in and it worked for me.
LOoks like you're going to have a lot of plants soon
Fred in NJ