African Violets and Gesneriads: A VERY SAD DAY & LESSON LEARNED, 0 by BetsyJ

BetsyJ wrote:
A while back, I made a posting on a discussion thread about lighted violet stands and how "too much of a good thing was bad". I had (within the last month or so) put up another new stand with lights and was seeing what I thought were symptoms of too much light/warmth ~~ tight crowns, flowers not opening, etc. With the sun moving into its winter position, the window where I had placed the stand was starting to get late afternoon sun....which I assumed was contributing to the problem. Sooooo, I disassembled the stand, moved it into a different room, reassembled it, put the lights up a little higher, and placed all my violets on the shelves.
Unfortunately, that didn't help. I noticed more plants with the same symptoms and things kept getting worse. I did a little digging on the 'net and read where the symptoms of too much light & warm are very similar to symptoms of the DREADED CYCLAMINE MITE! Fearing the worst (but hoping for the best) I treated all the plants with a spray that contained Neem Oil......but things continued to deterioate. New growth at the crown was pale and HAIRY, new flowers were small deformed and failed to open.
Sooooo, today I did the unthinkable ~~~ I threw out all the violets on that stand that looked infected and I quarantined the rest (which is only about 8). I think I threw out about 30!....some of which I'd had for years. (see the attached picture of the aftermath). Needless to say, I'm JUST SICK.
THANKFULLY, I have two different stands in two different rooms and I did NOT mix the plants....so some of my collection is still okay & I should be able to participate in the spring swap (and I PROMISE to watch closely for signs of infestation and will graciously bow out at the first hint of trouble).
I got to thinking "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!?".....and then I remembered ~*~ I had picked up 2 new Optimara's at Menards about the time I put up the new plant stand....and immediately placed them on the stand with the rest of my violets. They were among the many I threw out this morning.
So, a lesson/reminder to all of us...ALWAYS QUARANTINE ANY NEW VIOLETS YOU GET!!
I will NEVER make this mistake again.