The crown doesn't look like a sure bet to recover.

I would start a new plant with a couple of the leaves.. Snap a couple of the leaves off of the trunk, and cut the stems to an inch or less ... with the cut at an angle to expose more of the upper cut surface.

Plant the leaf stems into indoor planting mix ... and keep lightly watered. New plants should emerge in a few months.

Don't fertilize until your new plants get started.

When the leaves become dime sized, separate the plantlets into their own pots and grow from there into mature plants ...

Thank you for this- I'd love to save this plant by whatever means necessary, for sentimental reasons. Should I put the cuttings into a self-watering pot to keep the soil moist?

i probably wouldnt use a self watering pot for anything ...

with such.. you are delegated the single most important plant culture variable. ... proper watering ... to an inanimate object ...

and how do you know if the pots intelligence can deal with whatever media you put in it ... especially when you think of a media ... as a water management system ...

who wins that smack down .... the pot or the media .. who knows if they will work together peacefully ... what if it turns into some type muck creating issue????

ken

Agree -- I'd ditch the self-watering pot and try to start from a leaf cutting. I'm not so sure about your coir vermiculite mix you're using either, and I'm wondering about the very pink color in the leaf petioles.... what kind of light is the plant getting?

It sits next to a bright kitchen window out of direct sunlight. Both my violets are much improved from where they were when I got them. The leaves on both are perky and reach for the light.

I have them in plastic self-watering pots that came with little coir soil pucks (you soak them in water to expand). And forgive me, I did not mean vermiculite—I meant perlite—there is just a very little bit mixed in.

I would say the soil in the pots (when the little water meter is at a "medium" level) is lightly moist to the touch (my finger does not come away wet).

Attached is a photo showing petioles on both.

If my setup is absolutely bad (I did do research, so i thought I was on a good path), I would welcome any suggestions, as these plants are precious to me and I would like them to thrive and flower.

Given your setup, it doesn't seem likely that overwatering was am issue for you. It was, simply, my advice (based on my experience) that you not use the self-watering pots for your leaf cuttings.

From what I read ... and what I see, I would speculate that your plant may be a bit overfertilized. That can cause problems in the crown like what we see on your plant. The inner leaves are tender, and can be damaged by too much fertilizer. The good news is that, if that is the case, the damage to the crown may be done, and the plant. itself, may be salvageable, The damage doesn't appear to be pest related, or due to a water or watering problem. Just back off of the fertilizer for a while.

Taking off a couple leaves to propagate shouldn't hurt it. Your chances look good ...

I will definitely try to propagate—I’d love to see how that goes, and it would be fantastic if it works! (and I’ll back off on the fertilizer) Thanks! 😊

That pot is too large the pot should be 1/3 the size of the plant…. 2/3 of the size of the plant should hang over the side of the pot if its properly sized

soil probably isnt drying fast enough as there arent enough roots to absorb all that moisture

I am posting with an update. Just discovered my leaf cutting has a new little growth! The parent plant deteriorated but is trying so hard to grow. I discontinued the self watering and am watering the soil lightly under the leaves avoiding getting water on the plant itself. I haven’t repotted bc I’m terrified I’ll make it worse. Also attaching a pic of the other, healthier plant which has darker inner leaves now but anemic colored leaves on the outside. I know the coir mix was advised against, so maybe I should just go for repotting in smaller pots with better mix. I’d be grateful for any thoughts or advice.

You can pinch those lower faded leaves off (last pic) thats what i would do

yes i would leave the other one be for now until the new growth gets larger