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I know it's important not to let African Violets get overwatered, but I often see self watering pots labeled African Violet pots. Would using these with my African violets be a bad idea? I have a bunch of little ones grown from tissue culture and rooted from young leaves that will be ready to be put in soil soon. I don't want to kill the little guys off by too much or too little water. :) Any advice?
The self watering pots don't overwater most plants (but I probably wouldn't use them for cacti/succulents for example). They help to maintain a consistent level of moisture rather than alternating between dry and wet which is what would happen if you watered it yourself. With the self watering pot, the moisture level should stay the same all the time and for many plants that is a good thing. Also since they water the plant from the bottom you don't have problems with water splashing on the leaves which is bad for AV's.
I have a few African Violets and Love the self watering pots for them. I have had a problem over the years of killing plants by watering too much. The two part AV pots seems to keep them from drying out totally, they seem to get just the right amount of moisture from those pots, not too much and not too little.
I see you are not a subscriber so can't access the African Violet Forum. I will see if some of the more knowledgeable folks from that Forum will stop by here with some advice for you. We have some really experienced AV growers here in Dave's Garden!
If you are growing babies, yikes...be sure you put the little things in a very little pot and water with an eye dropper. Most people use either the 1" pots or the solo 3 oz plastic pots you get at the grocery for the little babies. Put a lot perlite in the bottom and then the soil less mix. You can only use a size of a pot that will properly accomodate the size of the root system of african violets.
If you are growing an av that needs to be in a 4" pot and has a root system big enough to support a 4" pot then the self watering pots are great...Lin and Ecrane are right about the self watering pots although I wick everything personally...more than one way to do it.
With self-watering pots, the trick is to not put the water level up too high in the resevoir part. If you keep it too high it will rot the plant. Keeping the level just touching the bottom of the plant container is best...OK now you have my 2 cents worth! LOL
I've grown AVs (and rooted leaves) for years and had real good luck with them but have to admit I just LOVE the self-watering pots. They make caring for AVs soooo much easier! I think you will really like them too.
Thanks for the tips everyone! I really really appreciate it. I was anxious because I've gotten pretty invested in the little guys as they grew. :) They're so cute and tiny and so plucky! So, I'm going to try it. I'm putting the largest, oldest plantling into a small AV pot today as a test. I'll be sure to carefully water and monitor. I'll post a picture of the little fellow if it works out!
