Roots Growing into Wicks

5 years ago

I recently read somewhere that when you are wicking you should not let your African violet roots grow into your wick since it could clog them up. My violets seem to love growing roots in their wicking and I haven't noticed any negative effects yet. However, I have only been wick watering for two years. What are people's thoughts/experiences here?

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Comments (5)

terrilou
5 years ago
My plants not only grow roots down the wick but they sometimes fan out to cover the bottom of the reservoir! They grow and bloom happily so I don’t concern myself. I have been wick watering for many years.
puppypro89
5 years ago
i wick all my violets...i have a new av plant , that i haven't repotted yet that has roots growing out on the wick...i will be repotting this plant and will be cutting some of those roots off...then i will repot it into the size pot i want it in...it's a mini so i will be potting it into a pot no bigger than a 2 +1/4" pot and cutting off the roots that need to be cut in order for the plant to fit comfortably in the pot...that is all i will be doing with this plant, except removing any suckers, and probably some of the lower leaves to groom it up.... i won't be letting any of the violets grow via the reservoirs which creates water roots and not soil roots...so, i think any roots growing on the wicks are really telling me that the plant needs to be repotted...so, good luck and thanks for the question...
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BaraYoukai
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you terrilou. That's good to know. Your violets sound very happy!
BaraYoukai
Original Author
5 years ago
Puppypro, minis are very cute! How often do you end up repotting, if you don't mind my asking?
puppypro89
5 years ago
barayoukal:...since they are mini's i try to repot them about every 4 months or so...right now i am getting them all on wick watering and in november i will take more out of isolation (since they are new, they are isolated for about 3 months) and enter them in "the general population" wicked...then my next project is to start repotting...that can be done over a few months since they have come to me over several months...then i will concentrate on the leafpots i got and separate them into individual pots...once that is all done then i probably will be repotting more and pot up babies that are taking now...this is a new collection for me so most of the plants are new to me, it feels super busy for me now, but i keep on telling myself that it will all settle down once they are wicked...i will probably also put them into 2+1/4" pots when i take them out of isolation, wick them and they are good to go for another while...i also have seeds that i want to plant and that will be another thing to deal with...i am very grateful that i decided to do violets again after a 5yr of no violets...it's been great for me given the pandemic!!...enjoy...