Judy,

I've read other articles on grooming trailers that were even more radical! I don't have all that many trailers yet, but I did experiment with different crowns of pixie runaround sport. Even though they were cuttings off the same plant, they all seem to be behaving somewhat differently, so I can't say for sure what actually worked best.
1. Left the plant alone to do as it pleased: first one to bloom, but a bit misshapen.
2. Removed just the leaves that covered emerging crowns, or were back-to-back with others: second one to bloom, nice shape, more growth than the first.
3. Removed all foliage except the growing tips. It is starting to bloom now, a month or two after the others. Has grown quite bushy since.

My other trailers are just starting to branch out, so no pruning to do there yet...

I haven't groomed anything in a couple of weeks, but I can post pictures later if you like.

Karin

Hi Karin,
I'd love to see your pictures when you get a chance. I've got two each of three different kinds, so I'll probably take at least one and try what you did on number 3.

Best,
Judy

I have to grab a proper camera... No grooming on the one with the blossoms (1), then 2 and 3 are in clockwise order. (I never know which way up the photo off the iPod will be).
2. Definitely needs a repot and some leaves removed again...

Thanks! 2 and 3 aren't reversed? Just wondered cuz of the size of the top leaves on 3, they're quite large!

Best,
Judy

Oh and BTW, that's an absolutely beautiful little trailer!

Nope, the bigger leaves are on the one that was bald not too long ago. The stems didn't fill in with new crowns as I thought they would, but they are well hidden under the new crop of leaves, so I can't really complain....

Wow, Karin. Thanks for the great picture and explanation. I'm just learning about trailers, and had no idea that they needed pruning.

Judy, please post pics of some of yours if you can. I only have 1, and it's still a baby, but I love it.

Thanks for valuable info!

Sue

I'm just trying to figure out how to handle them myself, that's why the experiment ;-)
I have a bunch of lopsided ones and can't seem to find the time to re-start them...

Judy,
This might not be the advice you are looking for. But I groom trailers back to one crown. When I had a trailer that grew huge but was stingy on blossoms, I treated it like a spider plant. I cut off every single crown and put it into its own pot. I pinned it to the surface of the potting medium with florists wire. Then when they were established and rooted, I gave them all to a senior center lunch place. They grew like weeds, so special care was not required. There were about six. I kept the main plant groomed to one crown. It rewarded me with many more flowers. It stayed like that for a while but I gave it away also.
The suckers or side shoots seem to root easily. Sometimes my thumb is too green and when violets go wild, they don't look right to me. Joanne

Let's see how this comes out.
From the left, two Cirelda Trail , 2 Gallinwinku, 2 Amadie Trail, and one Boolaroo. Thought I had two Boolaroos, but guess not! Though I've got several babies (who are blooming too, which is weird to me!). The Boolaroo is really shaping up nicely, finally got a third crown growing on it! But the rest-particularly the Cireldas, are driving me nuts. See the zillion leaves piled up in the middle? LOL!

Joanne-I can certainly see why you would cut back to one crown, but I'd really like to get these to trail out!

I believe the Boolaroo and the Galliwinkus are the oldest, but I forget.

Best,
Judy

Also-I'd heard from some that the Cireldas will just collapse if you don't thin them out in the middle. Sunday's a rainy day here so I'm going to take most of these and put them in pan pots-if I can figure out how to plug the holes. Forgot about the holes in the pots-these were made for wicking and I don't wick anything right now. Probably some synthetic cloth of some type. Was using paper towels but they decompose and will likely cause issues (used 'em before to keep the perlite from falling out, but need to switch to something more stable).

I was pondering Boolaroo's relative size until I remembered it's a semi-mini. Cirelda is too, though the leaves are so tiny, it's hard to believe. Maybe they'll grow bigger once it's potted into a pan pot. Amadie is a mini, and I can't remember on Gallwinku. It looks more like a semi.

All of these are grown under the same conditions by the way. What a variance!

Best,
Judy

They're just lovely, Judy. Thank you for sharing! I hope someone has the answers you need. I can see what you're referring to. They're beautiful though!

This is my baby, Ramblin Dots. Her mother has never been variegated in 8 years, but she had at least 2 variegated babies.

Sue

Wow Sue, I love this plant! Variegation is my thing-what a beautiful coloration between the flowers and the leaves!

Ima gonna try to find one myself! :-)

Thanks for sharing!

Judy try viewing Annie podcasts called all about African violets for advice on grooming trailers. She says to keep them more or less round in a snowball with at least three crowns.

Thanks Joanne-I will do that! I did seriously pick some leaves on one of the Cireldas today-probably 50 or so. This was done to allow the tiny leaves underneath to get some light. It appears to have four crowns, and lots and lots of tiny leaves too. Perhaps planting it in a pan pot will allow it to spread out a bit more. I may keep the other more like a snowball as you've mentioned, Joanne, just to experiment. Though that one needs the upper leaves pruned back a bit so the inner ones get light.

Best,
Judy

I am always amazed how I just "pick a leaf off here and there" and end up with a pile of leaves, and the trailer still looks overgrown.
Lucky I got over the compulsion to plant each and every leaf ;-)

Karin

Interesting conversation. I could never tell if removing leaves from trailers only caused more leaves to grow.

LOL! But I do want new leaves to grow-but from the new crowns that have been induced! The other leaves block out the light from those.

Today I figured I picked off about 200 leaves from my trailers, yikes! Planted the one Cirelda in a pan pot. We'll see how it grows before I try another one!

Can't imagine trying to plant all those leaves! Repotted nine babies today-six of 'em were boolaroos! Planted those leaves when I felt guilty too-no more! :-)

HI Judy
Your plants are very pretty. (So is Sue's RamblingDots)
The fact that you have named hybrids of trailers makes
a difference, because you can look them up on the internet or forums like this to learn what the hybridizers intended for their growth pattern. My guess is that because they were specially hybridized, they probably won't get too out of control. Sounds like they are becoming a specialty for you. As you noted, the genetics of trailers are all a little different, so their care might vary from plant to plant. Their genetic heritage is more complex than for plants that grow in the round.

Karin has shared a lot on this forum about her experiences with trailers. I believe she also said the "yield" was enormous!

There are other forums and blogs where members have
experience. One is called African Violet Nerds. Also, there is a blog called Fuzzy Foliage that is
fun to read. And another group, called Violet Reflections.
There are others, too.

Because I don't try to grow trailers anymore and gave mine
all away, I did not read up on them too much. The ones I had were NOIDS and just too out of control for what I wanted.

The ones I had were all given to me, so they were vigorous growers or else the people who gave them would not have had slips to give away. In fact, two of them were grown outdoors by their owners. (One was an orchid trailer.)

When they got too big for my space, I took several to the office. They are happily growing and cascading down the sides of computer tops or filling in huge window sills of my office buddies who love all the greenery.

Joanne