Mail order Violets, do I repot them?

11 years ago

I just got 4 of the cutest microminiatures from Rob's Violet Barn!! (Rob's voodoo blue, Sk's first love, Rob's bunny hop, and Rob's june bug). I absolutely LOVE them. It's my first time ever ordering violets off the internet.

I plan on moving them to terrariums as soon as I can go out and buy the needed supplies. The only thing is, the soil is a little more moist than I would necessarily keep my violets at (I've had a bad experience with violets ((especially leaflings and baby suckers)) and having their soil be too moist for them, so I tend to keep mine on the dry-moist end of the spectrum. Of course, not bone dry, but not exactly too wet). Should I repot them? They're so small, and delicate. I don't want to hurt them (I wanted to leave them alone until I had the terrarium supplies, but I might not be able to get the supplies for a few days). I don't want them to get root rot either though.

They're not sopping, but like I said - they're pretty moist. What do you guys do when you mail order violets? Repot them right away? Give them a few days?

Featured Answer

judyj

11 years ago

For me it depends. Invariably I repot almost immediately (some folks say no, it stresses them too much); it's never caused me any problems. In other cases, I might be too busy for a few days and if the soil is OK, they can wait. Plants I've ordered from Rob's have almost always been too wet for me, and the soil too dense, so they always get repotted right away. But if it's only going to be a few days, and they can dry out, then there's no reason you can't wait (unless you feel it's really bad). It's probably not a good idea to repot twice too close together-then they may get stressed.

Just IMHO!

Best,

Judy

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Comments (6)

supertinyviolet
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Judy, thank you so much for your reply!

After taking the wrap off the top and letting them rest in my garden window temporarily, they have dried a little and aren't so bad now. I am pretty worried about stressing them by repotting too much, so I'll leave them be until I get the terrarium supplies (which should be pretty soon). But it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one who thought they were a little too wet. :)
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frankielynnsie
11 years ago
I lost 3 out of 6 to rot because I didn't go ahead and re-pot so now I re-pot within a few days and things have been going much better.
Karin
11 years ago
i typically chop off the crowns and re-root. especially now that i've found soil mealybugs in some of my more recent purchases.....

Karin
supertinyviolet
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh jeez, frankie. I'll have to make sure to get my pots in order before they arrive then, so I don't risk it like I did with this batch. My microminis seem really happy in the terrariums now!! I think I only left them for a day or two though.

Mealybugs, froeschli? Who did you order from?
Rosie1949
11 years ago
Karin, just a question, I am not clear on this. What is the difference between a "soil mealybug" and the 'white cottony mealybug' that is actually on the leaves and stems of the plant? Thanks. I can't seem to get the difference. Rosie