Sweet violet died

[Marb67]

Well yet another plant i bought a couple of years ago has turned up it's toes. The sweet violet which i had in a pot in normal compost, kept in reccomended position and it has shrunk to a puny dried up plant which lifted easily from the soil, with a few roots attached. I have potted it in a small pot with old tomatoe compost as I dont have any new. There was no evidence of vine weevil when i tipped the pot out.

Again this makes a mockery of me becaause the advice says they are very tolerant, spread easily and look after themselves. But then again a lot of plants i tend to have reduce in size instead of grow. I hae lost count at the amount of plants/veg home grown and bought that have done this.

I just hope it gets going again.

[Alison]

If you want advice then photos will probably help. You say you've had it a couple of years, what have you done differently this year or has it always been unhappy. If it's never been good then it'll be a food or watering issue I would suspect.

[Alison]

I've never grown T&M but a very quick Google seems to indicate they like rich soil so depleted tomato compost sounds like it could be your problem. The links I saw also talked about growing in beds rather than pots so that might have helped it access food. Somebody else will probably know more.

[Guest]

Please don't swear but......when I redone the front garden where I use to live they appeared from nowhere and grew everywhere. In between slabs and in the rockery. The front garden was sunny and exposed. I designed it for minimal maintenance. However, they would send out runners and the parent plants would die off. I don't suppose you have noticed it trying to send out runners?

[veggiechicken]

How many years was it in a pot? Did you ever feed it with anything? Sounds as if its been starved.
I can't imagine keeping a violet in a pot - its a woodland plant and would do better in the ground where it could spread to its heart's content.

[bearded bloke]

Yep what CV said ^^^^ RHS describes it's habit as .. a rhizomatous perennial forming a loose mat .. so not ideally suited to long term life in a plant pot, particularly one that is filled with compost that is starved of nutrients from a previous crop.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/19006/...8Vt%29/Details

[Marb67]

I have put it in the used tom compost today, it has been in other compost before that. I can't remember what type it was.

[PyreneesPlot]

Will the used tomato compost have enough nutrients left for a struggling plant?

[veggiechicken]

I have put it in the used tom compost today, it has been in other compost before that. I can't remember what type it was.

You haven't told us how long it had been in the pot and whether you ever fed it - or changed the compost.
Everything needs food and water to survive - or they go into a decline and die.

[Marb67]

I can't remember but they have always been in a pot. They seem to tolerate a lot so shouldn't need feeding. they do well in the wild and don't get fed.

[veggiechicken]

They do well in the wild because they're in the soil where they can search for the nutrients they need.
If you can't remember how long they've been stuck in the pot, without refreshing the soil or feeding them, sorry, Marb, but you've starved them. That's why they're not thriving.
I suspect this is the answer to a lot of your problems too. You're expecting too much. AS I said earlier, nothing will survive without food and water.

[bearded bloke]

I can't remember but they have always been in a pot. They seem to tolerate a lot so shouldn't need feeding. they do well in the wild and don't get fed.

Exactly ... they do well in the wild ... so you need to try & simulate the conditions they naturally grow in, the biggest consideration to attaining that would be to plant in the garden NOT in pots.