African Violets and Gesneriads: Miniature av questions, 1 by nannanavarro

nannanavarro wrote:
Thanks MsC. You always come through. I will not fret about wicking and will make sure they get enough light. Did you get my Dmail about fooling your nonblooming plants?

About Fertilizer:

I have had wonderful response using 10-10-10 with all my avs. I have started using less than the instructions suggest. Instead of 10 drops per quart I use 25 drops per gallon. There is no built up of salts and all are blooming like crazy.

Just this week I switched to a 8-15-9 for the winter, hoping the blooms would continue. I was going to use it only on the variegated avs but decided to try the switch on all. I read an article that said a change every little while is good. The 10-10-10 encourages plant growth and the 8-15-9 encourages blooms. I thought I might try alternating them. I will try to find the article again. It was in AVSA magazine this year. Again, with the 8-15-9, it was suggested to use 7 drops per quart. I used 15 per gallon. I know that variegates are supposed to keep their variegations best on a low N solution. I also read that one of the biggest problems in growing avs is over fertilizing them.

That is the sum total of my vast experience with fertilizer and avs. Please, please, correct any misinformation and give advise.

The 10-10-10 I use is Miracle Grow for AVs. The 8-15-9 is Schultz

I wonder if I should dilute even more for the minis?

Nanna

PS Thought you might like to see Ma's Debutante's progress. I received her in August as a little 4 leaf plant from Rob's. She is sitting on a 17 inch doilie.

This message was edited Nov 1, 2005 6:49 AM