Movin' On Up or "When to repot your violets"

Unlike the Jefferson's we won't be movin' our violets into an east side apartment in the NY city skyline; rather, we'll be moving them into some fresh potting mix that will make them feel as if they've just moved into a NY city penthouse!

If you can't remember the last time you gave your violets' potting soil a freshening up it's probably time. I prefer to keep the following time table in mind when it comes to repotting my violets:

Standards: Every six months. This assumes they are growing in a 4" to 5" pot. If you have recently acquired a standard starter in a 2 1/2" pot (or 3 ounce Solo cup), you'll probably want to move that into a 4" pot within 60 days of receiving it.

Miniatures/Semiminiatures: You can definitely stretch it to every six months but that is definitely a stretch. I prefer to repot my minis and semis every four months.

Trailing Varieties: Trailing varieties are treated a little differently because of the way they are transitioned into larger Azalea pots (short and squatty) as new crowns (drops) are grown. I typically start them in a regular 3 ounce Solo cup and transition them into a 3" squatty pot about 4-6 months after they were originally potted up into the Solo cup. After that initial transition, you'll be potting them up into a 4" to 5" Azalea pot. Moving them up to a 4" squatty pot will normally occur 4-6 months after they were moved up into the 3" pot. After they've been promoted to a 4" squatty pot or bigger, you'll want to repot into the same size pot (removing some old potting mix and adding new) about every 4-6 months.