You have the start of a sucker. Two choices,,,,1] Let it grow a bit, gently cut it out and root it or 2] use a nut pic to scrape off those leaves now. Choice is yours.

A sucker will elbow its way in and throw off the symmetry of the plant. If you can live with that temporarily for the purpose of growing the sucker a little bigger to propagate it, then that is fine. If you are not interested in growing the sucker on to root it then scrape it off now.

Actually leaves on a flower stem will be small and skinny and before you would see those leaves you would see little flower buds. Soooo, to answer your question,,,you have a sucker! lol Rosie

Hm, I'll check out that other leaf. So if I just pop those leaves off that'll stop the sucker from growing? I'm not particularly interested in propagating a new one; I'm fine with just the one I have right now. If it's that easy I'll go ahead and do that (I think I have a nut pick somewhere...).

I'm not sure I follow your comment about the flower stems? I think I might not have been clear enough. I'm not sure if you (or anyone else) would be able to tell the plant's general age based on a photo but I don't really know how old this plant is and I'm curious to know when I might see flowers on it. It's a cutting but I don't know how long I've had it. I figured those tiny leaves coming out of an odd point would be suckers, I just don't know how to properly deal with them (at least not until you replied!)

So I checked out that other leaf you saw.... and uh... is that a flower bud?

I mean there it is, I think that's what you saw? if not, that's what I found while looking xD What is that? I've never seen anything like that before..?

- also should the leaves be longer? I personally like how tiny and compact my plant looks right now but I don't know how healthy that is for a plant :P

I can't see it real well, so I personally would let it get just a little bigger until I could be sure. As far as longer leaves if the plant is growing happy where you have it then it could just be the way it grows. Not all plants "spread out". If you give it a little less light (yes too much light could be a factor in "tight growth") and it still grows the same, then that is the way it grows. Your plant looks, in my opinion, well grown. Looks like nice thick leaves also. I do have a plant that looks similar to yours and no matter where I put it nothing changes. It is a good plant and will grow the way it wants to. So says the plant! lol

Yep your nut pick will take care of that sucker only. Nothing to prevent another one from growing somewhere else. Some plants sucker a lot and some never seem to get one. Keep popping them off if you don't want them. Just make sure they are rounded leaves and that they are not the start of a flower stalk. That would look different. A flower stalk will look like tiny eensy weensy little round balls. AND flower stalks come from the same place suckers do. Just make sure what you are taking off is really a sucker and not a flower stalk.

As far as a flower stalk,,,,,,,,,,If you look at a blooming violet, look behind the blooms and sometimes on the stalk just behind the blooms you will see two little skinny leaves. Very small and slender and then the rest of the flower stalk goes down to the plant.

They say you can propagate from those also but I have never tried it.

A violet can bloom at any age. I have seen them (in pix) in bloom before they are separated from the mother leaf! So it is hard to say when they will bloom. As far as telling the plants general age based on a photo OR in person you really can't. The plant can be very old (10 or 15 years) and it can look new and fresh because it has been "started" over many times. If the neck got too long from age you just re-start it! Good luck!!!! Rosie

Endi92- looks like a flower bud to me! I agree with Rosie about the second picture being a sucker. And you can see the bud in the second picture as well

Cool thanks for all the info! :) My violet seems to like the amount of light its getting on the window sill in my room. If the leaves start to grow too close, I might move it off the window sill and put it with my other lower-light plants on the table across from the window and see what it does. Definitely gonna knock off the sucker leaves.

I looked a bit closer at my plant and there's actually another little "nub" leaf in the middle of the crown. It's a little dark round nub with two thin, long leaves on either side. I can try to get a closer picture later when my dad gets home from work, since he has a macro lens for my camera. But based on your description of the flower bud, I think those might be the start of flowers :) If that's the case I'm really excited!

loveofbostons - didn't see you post until I finished my reply! Thanks for confirming the flower bud! I'm really excited to find out what color the flowers are! I can't remember what color the parent's flowers were... :P

Your welcome! Post pictures when it blooms

Gosh yes,,,we love to see pix!!!! Rosie