A Full Transformation!

Remember back in March when I was concerned about my purple violet that my son and his wife had gifted me? Remember that it had a baby plant that had grown in the same pot and pushed it aside? Remember that it had developed this weird stalk-like thing? Remember that the leaves looked sickly and curled? Just in case you don't remember, I included the photo below.

So, I ordered these nifty pots that are called self-watering African violet pots and broke the stalk thingy off and put it down into the dirt of one of those nifty pots. It looked a bit sad and the leaves and stems were all wilty and curled. Remember how that sad little parent plant looked in its nifty new blue pot? Just in case you don't remember, I included the photo below.

In about a month's time, the sad little wilty and curled leaves had transformed into a healthy looking plant. It was quite the violet transformation and I was smiling about it. I shared that I was excited and I thought the plant was too because it looked like its leaves were stretched out and reaching for the heavens. Just in case you don't remember, I included the photo below.

Well, this morning, I noticed that this same little sad, droopy, wilty-leaved, sad violet had continued to revive and even to thrive and it has started to bloom!

By the way, notice all the beautiful pink blooms nodding here and there on that beautiful pink violet beside it. Maybe it has been offering the little bedraggled next door friend some encouragement!

Today I noticed... A Violet Transformation

Earlier this month I posted about the promise of one of my violets. I've been enjoying the blooms for a few days as I sit at my desk and do volunteer work. 

A little over a month ago, I spent some time with another of my violets to repot it. It had produced an offshoot or baby plant that had sort of taken over. The parent plant had developed this woody ort of stem and the leaves were curling up. I was sort of afraid that I was going to lose it. The original plant is one that was a baby produced by a plant that my son and daughter-in-law have. They got it in a dish garden sent to them when my Daddy died. So, I was glad t get a baby from that plant for sentimental reasons. Plus, it has the most beautiful deep bluish purple blooms. Below is a photo of what my plant(s) looked like in late February.

You can see the parent plant on the right and how it was developing that tall stem and the leaves were starting to curl. By mid-March, it looked like the photo below. So, I ordered a couple of flower pots to use as a new home. The pots I ordered were advertised as African Violet self-watering ceramic pots. 

When I began to take the plant(s) out of the pot, the parent plant broke away. So, I wound up leaving the baby in the original pot that my son and daughter-in-law gave me. I just added a little African Violet soil to fill the pot, watered it and set it back in the kitchen in front of a west-facing window. Below is how that looked.

Then, I took what I had left and went to work. I broke the top of the parent plant's woody stem off and planted a piece that was a couple of inches long into the new self-watering pot. The leaves were curled and it looked pretty sad but I had hopes that it would develop a root system and bounce back. Below is a photo of the sad little violet parent in its new pot.

I still had a long piece of that woody stem-like piece and a few leaves. I snapped the leaves off and put them into a glass of water to see if I could propagate a new plant like that. Then, I buried the remainder of the plant in the other self-watering plant filled with some African Violet soil. The photos below shows what I had left

leaves in water on the left and the stem I buried on the right

I've seen no action from the buried piece. It still just looks like a pot of dirt. I think I will wait a couple of weeks before I take action, but I probably will dig it up and throw that piece away. A couple of the leaves in water got all limp and pitiful looking and I tossed them out. The remaining leaves have not developed a root system either and will probably get tossed as well. Today, I noticed that the parent plant in the new self-watering pot seems to have revived. 

similar view of the top of the sad, parent plant that was shown above

side view showing stems and leaves stretched upward

The leaves have uncurled and the stems and leaves seem to be stretched out and reaching for the heavens. It looks like a healthy plant! All I have done is add a bit of water into the bottom of the pot from time to time and left it alone. It is sitting on a table in front of an east-facing window alongside the parent plant of the violet I've had for years (the parent of the first plant shown in this post).

What an amazing transformation! I am so happy to have saved the original plant.