Question
Hi, I just purchased an AV from the store.  It came in pure peat moss which I deemed too wet.  It was doing well for 2 days until I went ahead to repot it in 1 part AV ready mix and 1 part perlite.  During the repot, I had to wash away much of the wet peat moss that got stuck to the roots.  After the repot, I sprayed the leaves with Captan fungicide.  As the leaves were dusty, I sprayed it generously with the Captan fungicide to cleanse off the dust and then pat it dry with paper tower and cotton bud.  The AV was not watered thorougly until about 2 hrs + later with a 1/4 strength fertilizer from the bottom. It was later left to sit in a east facing balcony.

The next day, I found the repotted AV sad with limp and droopy outer leaves.  The younger and inner leaves seem to be less affected.  

Interestingly, during the repot, I cut off two leaves and repotted them.  One went limp and one was still perky this morning.  The one that was limp was left unattended for about 2 - 3 hours until I repotted it.

Could it be a lack of water (2+ hours) that shocked the repotted AV?  Or was it my generous spraying of fungicide and repeated paper towel/cotton bud dapping on the leaves that resulted the droppy leaves?  

Please kindly tell me what went wrong and how can I save the plant?

Regards
Helen Lim

Answer
Helen,
I don't want to give you bad news, but I feel that you may have killed your violet. You should never repot a new violet, but I feel your biggest mistake was cleaning the roots off and spraying the fungicide on them. Waiting 2 hours to water it was a mistake also, because after repotting all plants should be watered generously and quickly. However, a new violet does not need a fungicide. If properly cared for they should not develop a fungus. I have actually seen very few fungal infections in violets. It can be a fine line between "too much water" and "not enough" with violets, but they do better when they are kept moist AT ALL TIMES. They cannot tolerate any dryness at any time.

I'm sorry to be so blunt. You sound as if you know a lot about African violets. Just take care of them. Remember that violets only should be repotted once every year or two. I hardly ever repot mine. Their roots love to be crowded, because that's how they bloom. If there is too much room in the pot for the roots then the plant will put forth its energy into creating bigger roots, but slightly crowded roots contribute to more blooms, which is why you keep African violets for in the first place. Better luck for your next plant. Please let me know if I can help further.