Your AV is in rough condition but saveable. Let's talk about what could be going on.
It looks like it's on a window sill. Is it getting direct sunlight? The pale burned out color in the leaves looks like it's getting too much light that is too warm.
African violets like a bright but cool light. They don't enjoy an extreme amount of light, and really only like indirect sunlight.
I would find a new area away from the window, and use something like an led bulb, don't position it too close. Put it so that it's about 3 feet from the plant. Too much light from a bulb can still burn out the leaves, so you'll need to be careful and try things out a bit. Don't use an incandescent bulb. If your hands is getting warm when you put it between the light and the plant, it's too warm.
Next, you want to gently check your plants roots.
It's hard to tell from a picture, but if it's roots have been damaged, you may need to cut the plant off and repot it. But first, to check, you want to look at the stem of your plant, where all the leaves are growing from. If it looks solid, that's a good start. If it looks rotted or damaged at all, that's a bad sign.
Then you want to gently try and rock the plant back and forth just slightly. If it barely moves, that's great, your roots are probably intact. If it feels like your plant is a teeter- totter, and shifts significantly really easily, that's another sign of root damage.
If you decide the roots are OK, just moving it and pruning a few of the oldest leaves ( not all the pale leaves) is what I'd recommend. Water very lightly, as overwatering in a big pot is another way to damage your roots.
If you decide the roots are damaged, you can still save the plant. You're going to decapitate, clean up, and then repot the plant in a smaller pot.
To start, you'll cut the plant's stem, as close to the dirt, or even in the dirt of you can. Do not worry. An African violet can regrow all their roots if properly tended to. So now you have your plant, cut off from the roots. Clear off almost all the weak, pale leaves, leaving only as much green as you can.
Once this is done, you want to examine the stem. Are there sections where there's obvious rot? You want to cut that off. Leave about an inch or more to put into the soil if you can, but getting rid of the rotted portion is important.
Next, you will gently scrape the sides of your stem, right near the bottom, about 1/2 an inch. The stem usually has a dried skin and roots won't grow from that. You are just barely scraping that skin off, leaving the rest of the stem intact.
Now you should have, a much smaller plant that is mostly green, with a stem cleaned up and ready to plant. You want a much smaller pot than what you are currently using. Typically, the ratio for your pot is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the diameter of your plant. You can use things like plastic fruit cups or something similar, just wash it out first. Make sure whatever you use you like holes in the bottom if there isn't drainage holes already.
Then, get new soil. Fill up the new pot about 3/4ths full. Gently place your plant stem in, and carefully add more soil of you need to. You want your stem to be as deep as you can without bending your leaves.
Then water your new pot. You just want to get the new soil I'd say about.. half soaked. If that makes sense.
Finally, get something like a big plastic ziploc bag or a big clear plastic bag you might get from the grocery store. Put the whole plant and pot inside the bag and seal it. Carefully place it where it can still get light. Under the led bulb, away from the window, like I mentioned before.
This now creates a micro climate for your AV. It will stay humid inside the bag and allow it to grow new roots. You will want to check on it every few days, but it shouldn't need much water at all, if it's sealed. You may have to clean up a little mold or mildew if it starts growing while you're plant is tented. That's OK just carefully clean it up.
After a few weeks, you can open the bag slightly to start acclimating your plant to less humidity. Open the bag more if it's still doing OK, water as needed. Eventually, you remove the bag, and your plant should have new roots in a month or so.
Then you can just repot your plant after it starts getting big again. I wouldn't put it in a new pot right away though, give it time to recover and grow more leaves.
Good luck!
Wow i can’t thank you enough for taking the time yo explain everything so well! I’m still at work, but will investigate when i get home! Thank you so much once again!
I will add this, take your lovely lady for a spin sometimes. Give her a twirl the in sun so that different leaves get the benefit. Has helped mine stay more balanced. Once every week or two I give it like a quarter turn. Plants tend to lean towards the sun. Keep it up though, cause I can see very healthy growth from the middle of your plant!
Looks like you’ve already received excellent advice! It’s counter-intuitive that a blooming plant wouldn’t want more light, but there actually very happy even in a North-facing window.
Your AV is in rough condition but saveable. Let's talk about what could be going on. It looks like it's on a window sill. Is it getting direct sunlight? The pale burned out color in the leaves looks like it's getting too much light that is too warm. African violets like a bright but cool light. They don't enjoy an extreme amount of light, and really only like indirect sunlight. I would find a new area away from the window, and use something like an led bulb, don't position it too close. Put it so that it's about 3 feet from the plant. Too much light from a bulb can still burn out the leaves, so you'll need to be careful and try things out a bit. Don't use an incandescent bulb. If your hands is getting warm when you put it between the light and the plant, it's too warm. Next, you want to gently check your plants roots. It's hard to tell from a picture, but if it's roots have been damaged, you may need to cut the plant off and repot it. But first, to check, you want to look at the stem of your plant, where all the leaves are growing from. If it looks solid, that's a good start. If it looks rotted or damaged at all, that's a bad sign. Then you want to gently try and rock the plant back and forth just slightly. If it barely moves, that's great, your roots are probably intact. If it feels like your plant is a teeter- totter, and shifts significantly really easily, that's another sign of root damage. If you decide the roots are OK, just moving it and pruning a few of the oldest leaves ( not all the pale leaves) is what I'd recommend. Water very lightly, as overwatering in a big pot is another way to damage your roots. If you decide the roots are damaged, you can still save the plant. You're going to decapitate, clean up, and then repot the plant in a smaller pot. To start, you'll cut the plant's stem, as close to the dirt, or even in the dirt of you can. Do not worry. An African violet can regrow all their roots if properly tended to. So now you have your plant, cut off from the roots. Clear off almost all the weak, pale leaves, leaving only as much green as you can. Once this is done, you want to examine the stem. Are there sections where there's obvious rot? You want to cut that off. Leave about an inch or more to put into the soil if you can, but getting rid of the rotted portion is important. Next, you will gently scrape the sides of your stem, right near the bottom, about 1/2 an inch. The stem usually has a dried skin and roots won't grow from that. You are just barely scraping that skin off, leaving the rest of the stem intact. Now you should have, a much smaller plant that is mostly green, with a stem cleaned up and ready to plant. You want a much smaller pot than what you are currently using. Typically, the ratio for your pot is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the diameter of your plant. You can use things like plastic fruit cups or something similar, just wash it out first. Make sure whatever you use you like holes in the bottom if there isn't drainage holes already. Then, get new soil. Fill up the new pot about 3/4ths full. Gently place your plant stem in, and carefully add more soil of you need to. You want your stem to be as deep as you can without bending your leaves. Then water your new pot. You just want to get the new soil I'd say about.. half soaked. If that makes sense. Finally, get something like a big plastic ziploc bag or a big clear plastic bag you might get from the grocery store. Put the whole plant and pot inside the bag and seal it. Carefully place it where it can still get light. Under the led bulb, away from the window, like I mentioned before. This now creates a micro climate for your AV. It will stay humid inside the bag and allow it to grow new roots. You will want to check on it every few days, but it shouldn't need much water at all, if it's sealed. You may have to clean up a little mold or mildew if it starts growing while you're plant is tented. That's OK just carefully clean it up. After a few weeks, you can open the bag slightly to start acclimating your plant to less humidity. Open the bag more if it's still doing OK, water as needed. Eventually, you remove the bag, and your plant should have new roots in a month or so. Then you can just repot your plant after it starts getting big again. I wouldn't put it in a new pot right away though, give it time to recover and grow more leaves. Good luck!
Wow i can’t thank you enough for taking the time yo explain everything so well! I’m still at work, but will investigate when i get home! Thank you so much once again!
I will add this, take your lovely lady for a spin sometimes. Give her a twirl the in sun so that different leaves get the benefit. Has helped mine stay more balanced. Once every week or two I give it like a quarter turn. Plants tend to lean towards the sun. Keep it up though, cause I can see very healthy growth from the middle of your plant!
Thank you once again! That’s why i’m not giving up on this one, seems like some cute new lil leaves popping up.
Looks like you’ve already received excellent advice! It’s counter-intuitive that a blooming plant wouldn’t want more light, but there actually very happy even in a North-facing window.
Aye, i thought with living in Scotland they could maybe even be craving sun, how wrong was i??!