African violet pots

11 years ago

I bought an african violet pot either at Lows or Home depot and my african violets are alwasy water loged and not doing well. The pot is a double one where you fill the outer pot to about half full and set the innerpot (with no drain hole) into the outer pot. The inner pot is sort of porus and is supposed to keep the inner pot wet. The problem is my soil is alwasy too wet and my african violets aren't doing well. Anyone else ever used these pots?. What am doing wrong? You are supposed to keep the water up to the water level as indicated inside the outer pot. I am following the clerk's instructions. Any help or advice is very welcome.. thanks ~ lcbon

Featured Answer

Karin

11 years ago

I don't use those pots. Oh, I've looked at them, they are cute, but I am too cheap ;-p couldn't buy one for each and every of my way too many plants....

The 'problem' is likely not your pot, but the potting medium you are using. If you search this forum, or google, for 'wick watering', you will probably find a lot of different soil recipes.

When I wick water, I use about 2/3 perlite to 1/3 commercial African violet (or seedling) mix. "Nice and fluffy" is the motto here. Coarse perlite is worth getting. I just discovered the promix perlite and it's a better grade than fafard or miracle gro, which I used before.

Other recipes include 1/2 perlite, 1/4 vermiculite, 1/4 peat (which I usually use av mix for), plus some "interesting" additives such as lime, molasses, egg shells, worm castings, bat guano etc. - read up in what they do, decide for yourself. I've started using a bit of lime, especially with plants I don't repot as often as I should. The other stuff, well, I am sure the people who use them believe in it....

For a self watering pot, you want to be careful to find perlite and soil that don't have fertilizers added. The constant moisture plays havoc with time release capsules, so quite often it all gets released at once and builds up as a crust on top of the soil. Or even kills the plant.

For more general advice on growing African violets, read through this forum, look up "Rachel's reflections" and also check out the "all about African violets" podcasts. The latter actually includes a project where she starts a grocery store African violet in one of those self watering pots, and observes how it does...

Good luck!

Karin

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Comments (7)

westerly pacific
11 years ago
:) good advice Karin.... Icbon I did buy one of those pots years ago at home depot ... it was great for almost 5 years ( I think) and then the micro holes in the terracotta got clogged and was no longer drawing water. If you decide to go ahead please take Karins' advice and add more perlite at least. :)
Elsie Bohn thanked westerly pacific
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Elsie Bohn
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you, I will definitely add more perlite. I appreciate your advice.
Elsie Bohn
Original Author
11 years ago
The pot with the holes on the side was for my orchid plant.
fortyseven_gw
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
It could also be the pot. Someone who makes the pots in the U.S. said that they have to be adjusted for porosity. I did not have good success with them. Violets don't like to have their feet wet constantly. Even if you use them, the plants have to dry out a little now and then.

A friend of mine insisted on using self watering pots on some minis I got for her. They all died.

Joanne
Elsie Bohn thanked fortyseven_gw
User
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I was all excited about the wick watering system too... I found a cheaper way with condiment cups and canning jars. But like Joanne said, I'm discovering that wick watering is a bit dangerous unless you have more experience! I just lost a plant in about two days time, just because it was too wet, and I didn't catch it in time. I had just repotted it into a bigger condiment cup, and instead of letting it sit for two or three days without watering like I usually do, I forgot, and watered it too soon... and just like that, it died. I took all the leaves and tried to root them and I think three of them are going to escape the rot. :-{ :-} It does not hurt a violet at ALL to get a tiny bit wilty before you water it again! Little sips twice or three times a week is what I do. There are a few big ones that need water more often, but this system works pretty good for me. The ones that are on wick watering systems, I let the reservoir and soil dry out before I refill the reservoir. Then I also water the plant from above to get the wick in the soil wet and going again.

I'm not an expert, but this is what works for me! :-)
Elsie Bohn thanked User
fortyseven_gw
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Wick watering is easier to control than using double pots. Well, there are other kinds of self watering pots on the Optimara company selective gardener pages. I got some of the water maid. style that are wicking saucers. A recommended book is Growing to Show, it covers this topic in detail. Joanne
Elsie Bohn thanked fortyseven_gw