Wow, you certainly have read a bunch about AV's. Thats great and really the only way to learn, along w killing a few plants accidentally!

Keep in mind that I have only been at this for a year of two. There are several folks here that have been doing it for decades. Take what I tell you w a grain of salt.

This is just MY opinion. Your plant looks like it could use more light.

I could not determine if you are using wicks or not. My suggestion is that if you are not using wick watering yet, start now. Just about eliminates watering problems.

If you brought the plant to me to look at, the first thing I would do is dump it out of the pot so I could see what kind of root structure I had and how damp the potting medium is.

At this stage, you have to fix one thing at a time. Get your water situation under control. It sort of looks like you're wicking but not sure. If so, what did you use for the wick? To thick a wick, to much water and food, to thin a wick, to little water and food. Research wick watering here and you'll find more than you could ever read.

You didn't mention your lighting. Again, I get lots of plants that look like yours from BBS. They just don't provide them enough light. In some cases they don't provide any light and just count on selling them before they die. Within a few days of receiving them and putting them under the lights, they usually turn the proper color green.

Last but not least, unless you are emotionally attached to the plant, at some point, it just makes more sense to maybe harvest a few leaves and dump the rest and start over. Not saying thats what you should do now but its something to keep in mind. I was so determined to keep my $5 noid alive that I spent $40 on worthless crap trying to keep it going. I could have bought 8 new plants w that $40!

Good luck and I'm sure some of the old timers here will weigh in at some point.

I did used wick watering now and i used flourescent light at home for +12 hours. its only 2 days since i wick it. should ill wait few more days or just dump the droopy leaves now?

oh yes i have a table lamp with flourescent bulb. i put it just about 7 to 10 iches high from the plant.

i've not been doing this as long as jeff..but i'm curious on your wicking and how big it is..also curious about your soil mix ratio. As someone who has gotten a lot of noids from BBS..sometimes when I bring them home..they look worse before they get better

I think that you're right about it being overpotted and overwatered.

I'd suspend the wicking and make sure that it's soil is barely damp.

Go ahead and pull any outer leaves that are limp.

Give it just a few drops of water at a time until it's doing better.

Some would suggest that you bag it at this point.

It might take a while (a few weeks) to perk up, but wait it out.

This one will be in sickbay for awhile, so get another to keep it (and you) company.

If you're still interested in wicking, work on your technique a bit. Shoot for a setup that keeps your soil barely moist.

okey thanks aegis & heather, ill try it first

Everyone else has offered great advice. Something else that's useful to know as a beginner is: If a plant is in trouble, trim a firm adult leaf from the AV, and plant it in damp vermiculite or soil. You can then put that in a ziploc and blow some air into the ziploc to raise humidity. It will root in a few weeks and grow new violets, which you can harvest and plant later. It's really nice insurance to have, and it's a great skill to develop. :o)

If you are losing leaves and your crown is browning , you have crown rot which is fatal. Take as many leaves as you can and hopefully, the rot has not advanced as far as the leaves so they may produce for you. This plant is over potted and your soil looks very heavy so it has probably been too wet for too long. Potting mix is usually very heavy even those labeled for violets. You are on the right track with vermiculite and perlite but switch the mix for peat moss. And try not to feel bad about this. Killing plants, unfortunately, is how we learn not to kill plants.

@whitelacey you're right, i did have a crown rot. but i trim the crown rot and the soggy stem off. and i make sure to sterile the soil before putting the plant in the pot. the soil may look heavy but it is not, its moist for the very least and i put more perlite so that it will not become heavy. In here, we do not have peat moss. so i used local potting mix with coco peat as a replacement for peat moss. i already bag it for a week now and its show some improvement after i used wick watering. some of the leaf are going up again. I hope i dont kill this one, im not giving up yet.

Bagging violets is always helpful. It creates a mini greenhouse so struggling plants can recover more easily. Make sure you take a leaf or two in case this one doesn't make it. Do not remove too many leaves as there is a root-to-leaf ratio that must be maintained. Only remove many leaves if you think the original plant will not survive. Also, many growers, including me, take a leaf to propagate from any new plant the they receive in case the original plant does not survive. I think it's a good practice especially on a plant that is especially dear. Good luck!

Linda

Ai Lee-you're welcome! I'm not sure where you so I don't know about the type of coco peat you have available but here in the states coco peat can be very salty. It must be soaked and rinsed to remove the salt. I have never used this on my violets but I have on my orchids. Just something to watch out for.

Linda

@whitelacey yup in my country its the same. they recommend us to soaked and dry it under the sun so that its sterilize enough for plants to grow. Do you think humus might me a good potting mix soil for african violet?

You do not want the soil to be too rich or too heavy. Do not mess with coir, if it is salty it will be the death of them. There are some soils in US with coir or coco peat as a component - but I think they make sure it is inland coir, not ocean side one where they use the seawater to process the coconuts.

Adding a little bit of humus probably will be much better than a lot.

AiLee, you want your mix to be light. Think fluffy.

A good basic beginner's soil is half potting mix, half perlite. It's plain but still gets the job done. (Don't worry about soilless mixes yet... save that for when you're more experienced.) The plain mix will also make it easier for plants to recover from watering and fertilizer mistakes, in my experience.

Mr. persistance! I love it! Work w inexpensive plants! Read, read, read. If you read and remember everything written, just on this forum. We will come to you for advice!

Were I you, I would take the advice of some and create one single stable ingredient. An easy one is soil. You have to be able to eliminate at least one and preferable two key requirements for healthy plants. Soil, water, sun and food. Soil is easiest.

Forget the exotics. A simple combination of perlite, vermiculite and peat will work great, 1-1-1. If it's available in your area, get the larger sized pellets. If not, a little horticultural charcoal can also work to loosen up your mixture. The idea being to create a loose mixture that will enable the roots of your plant to navigate freely throughout the pot.

The next easiest is sun. Most indoor growers underestimate the amount of light needed to make these plants thrive. Sure, grandma grew AV's in her window and they probably bloomed once in a while. Thats not what we're doing. Read. You can determine exactly how many lumens it will take to provide adequate light for the square footage of the plant racks you have. Take appropriate steps.

Once you have your soil and your light right. If the problem persists. Talk to you then.

One thing I have noticed is that many beginners find the concept of sun and light being two different things a difficult one to grasp.