African Violets
Two questions.. I grow african violets; some produce great blooms for me while others refuse to do so.. How can I make them flower? Also, I have one plant where the bottom leaves died off and the stem is now approximatly 5 inches tall with no leaves on the bottom only on top. The stem looks like it has “thorns” where the leaves dropped off from. What could cause this ??
First, let’s talk about blooming. Hard to say why one blooms and not the other. Violets tend to bloom when slightly pot bound. They need bright indirect light (East window) throughout the year and temperatures ranging from 60-80 degrees. In order to bloom, violets should receive no more than 16 hrs of light/day. Saintpaulias will grow with as little as 3 hrs of light per day. Conversely, they need at least 8 hrs of darkness to trigger blooming. The soiless mix that they are planted in have little nutrients and need to be supplemented, therefore feed it with a balanced liquid fertilizer (20-20-20) at 1/4 strength every time you water. Avoid fertilizer with urea which can cause root burn, pale leaves and reduce blooming. Another old suggestion is to sprinkle epson salts (magnesium sulfate) on top of the soil and water it in. Apply it once and it may take a month to see results.
When the lower leaves die back, they produce a “bare neck” look; to remedy this take the dull end of a knife and scape off the dead tissue along the stem, then repot so that the leaves line up with the edge of the pot and fill with soil.
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Hello, I have a question for you. Im currently having a problem with little bug in the soil of my plants. can you tell me how to get rid of them out of the soil ? Also how to make African violets bloom…
Hello, now I would like to know if it is time to cut back my mandevilla plant. it already has some vines with leaves on it.. what should I do to start it to grow for the season ?? also, i have african violets the when the bottom leaves die and I trim them leaves a long ugly stem then the leafs are green on top ? should I transplant, cut the stem up to the leaves or what.. please help thanks again
I never can keep my violets flowering. no matter where I put it or water or just care for it. I have never had any luck with them and i want to know why..and what can I do to have them flower
I have started new African Violets from leaf cuttings. The plants appear to be health but they have never bloomed. All my other violets bloom very well, just not the ones started from leaves. What do they need?
When the flowers die on my African violet, do I cut them off or let them rot off?
Our violets, over the summer, were blooming constantly and very sturdy. Suddenly, the leaves are turning brown and wilted looking. What can be causing this and what do we do to correct the situation? Thank you.
For a very long time I have used Peter’s A.V. Food. I ran out and went looking for more, and could not find it anywhere!! What happened?
If for some reason they aren’t making it any more can someone recommend a new one to try. I don’t like the Miracle Grow!!
Thanks,
Cathy
Have you tried Schultz AV food? It comes in a liquid form, easy to measure.
I recently transplanted a beautiful 15 yr. old African violet into a ceramic self watering pot (which I made at ceramics class). Unfortunately during the transplanting the very long neck which had developed over the past several years broke leaving some root but losing most of the root ball. It has gotten soft, limp leaves but the flowers on it are OK. The soil is nicely moist and not soggy at all. Is this plant doomed? I hope not as my mother grew it especially for my granddaughter when she was just a little tot.
I have white sticky stuff on my plants
what do i do???
I have 2 healthy,
mature African violets. Lately I notice that the some leaves have holes either chewed or “burned” into them. The holes are brown around the edges. I’ve noticed some white specks on the TOP of the leaves but not on the bottom. Since I recently had to treat a hibiscus plant in the same room for fungus (leaf mold), I’m wondering if it has contaminated my two violets. If so what should I do? These are very special plants to me because they were my late mother’s and I don’t want anything to destroy them. Thank you for your help.
Is it possible that the violet leaves were splashed or sprayed with cold water?
I pre-mix the African violet food, so it is usually about room temperature when I feed my plants. I may have splashed the leaf with it, but I’ve done that before without injuring the plant. I bring them into the kitchen to water them. If somehow they were splashed with cold water, would it create a hole right through the leaf as though a critter was chewing on it? Do you have a comment regarding the white specs on the top of the leaves and the fungus on a plant in the same room? Since there are several leaves on both plants that have holes, I’m getting concerned. Would it be possible for me to email you a digital picture so that you could see what they look like? Thanks for your help.
We are growing African Violets at our office and 3 of the 5 plants are big beautiful and doing well. However 2 are small and limp. They don’t seem to be thriving and have a yellowish white crud on the soil, which by reading I can see is some type of mold. I was working on the one and adding some fertilizer and the whole plant came out in my hand. There doesn’t appear to be ANY root ball at all and tho the plant doesn’t appear to be dead I’m wondering if it is savable or do we need to chuck it and start over? There are other blooms on the big plant that we could re-plant. Is there anything you recommend? Thanks for any and all help you can give.
I wanted to find out how to keep my 40+ potted violets from drying out when I am away on vacation. Currently I water the plants once a week, by letting them soak for about an hour or more, till the top of the soil is moist. They do not have wicks, so what would be the best way to keep them moist? I will be away for about 20days & would hate to lose the plants in that time. There will be no-one checking in on them, & I need to ensure they remain moist. Thanks for any steps to help these plants from drying out.
I have a question about my African Violet plants. Some of them are getting kind of “petrified” (for lack of a better word) at the center where the new leaves come from. The leaves are very tiny, hard, and clumped together. They are not growing and when you touch them they break off. The outer leaves seem OK. I’ve been growing African Violets successfully for years and have never seen this. It’s a new phenomenon. It started with one or two plants and now seems to be spreading to others. Can you help me identify this problem?
My africian violet plant was doing very well for years. I transplanted it to a bigger pot as it was getting to large for the current pot. It was doing ok for a few months and then it started to shrivel up and now has died. Is there any way to save the root and start up a new plant ?
I have an African violet and it is very sparse and limp, it looks burnt in the center. i have used miricale grow on it and recently repotted it. Is there anything i can do to bring it back? PLEASE HELP!
Hi Heather,
Check the article African violet insect problem, I suspect you may have a cyclamen mite issue.
I wanted to share something I read on getting the violets to bloom – squeeze the pot a few times, which seems to “shock” the plant into sending up blooms! I have tried it on mature plants, including snapping off leaves at the base, which has resulted in re-blooming! I also diligently follow the feeding routine (with Schultz liquid feed) every time I water, & all the plants, new & old, have beautiful shiny leaves that fan out quite nicely. Every one of my violets are in their original 4″ pot & I’ve re-potted the older ones, once a year only.
Hope this helps some of the readers!
CAN I GROW MY AFRICAN VIOLETS IN A BRIGHT ROOM ON AN END TABLE. iT IS REALLY BRIGHT IN MY LIVING ROOM ON SUNNY DAYS. CAN YOU PUT THEM UNDER A LIGHT WITH JUST A REGULAR FLOURESCENT BULB. PLEASE HELP
DORIS
I have a miniature a. violet with white and lilac blooms some of which get brown edges. Is this indicative of a problem?
Also, I received a violet mixed with other plants in one pot. I transplanted it to a large pot with other plants (not knowing then that violets like to be root bound). It blooms profusely, is in an east-facing window and gets direct sunlight! I live in Calgary so the winter light is week but even now it is thriving in June.
I have four violets I inherited from my late mother. As a whole, my plants seem to be fine. The tips I’ve read today will make them better.
I am however getting concerned because the leaves of the plants seem to be fading. They appear to be healthy (solid not mushy, no edges burnt or wilted), however they have lost a lot of their color. What am I doing wrong?
A few of the plants appear to have baby shoots. Should these be pulled out of the pot and transplanted to a new one?
Thank you for your kind assistance.
We have an african violet in our office. It appears that someone must have hit it and some of the roots have separated from the plant. It is looking very droopy and dark. Is there anything that can be done to save this plant? It has sentimental value to the president of our company.
Thank you for any info you can offer.
I started an AV plant from a leaf cutting; now I have 3-4 small new green leaves starting. But some of the leaf tips are getting brown edges. I have my AV on a window sill on the north side of my house. I have it in a small container with a hole in the bottom. I add about 1 tbsp. water ever few days to the tray. What am I doing wrong?