I have 2 AV's, and they seemed to have stopped blooming. Is this normal, and will they start flowering again? I got rid of one plant, quite some time ago, because I thought it was over, but now I'm not sure if I should have done that. Help?!?
AV's stopped blooming, do they ever start again?
I moved and took my AV with me I do have alot it takes a long time I moved in my apartment 1year ago this June and they are just starting to bloom it takes alot of patience as long as they don't look dead just give them time the same think happens if they have been in a spot for a long time and you move them
oh yes, they definitely rebloom. It depends partly on the season I think (less blooms in winter), but otherwise they can either continue blooming for a while or do a number of rounds of blooming. It depends also on how much light they get - I tend to move mine to a low-light location when they are in bloom, so I then have to move it back into the light and wait for the next round of flowers.
I'm pretty sure the people who grow for show can say how long it takes for buds to form and bloom. My guess is 2 months or so form zero to full show?
As an aside, it's also good to repot AVs into new potting mix from time to time. They usually don't need a bigger pot, just new mix. If old leaves have died off, you can pot it a bit deeper at the same time.
thanks for the great info :)
More great info on the culture pages at www.robsviolet.com
Rob sells violets, but also has a lot of great information on his web site about growing them, so I keep directing people there!
I fertilize every time I water, too, and I think that encourages bloom. More light can help too, but direct bright light, especially afternoon sun, can be too much for them (you'll know if it's too much, as the leaves in the middle will start to get smaller & look scrunched up).
Hey, thanks for the info. Yeah, I fertilize every time I water. I have them in self watering pots. The leaves look nice and healthy and green, just no flowers for a long long time. I'll try moving them to a different area, where they'll get some more light.
Piggy ,
A few things I can add to CritterO's excellent info is to check your fertilizer program. You might what to switch to something with a higher middle number like 15-30-15...perhaps start with a weak solution and increase it every watering just a bit.
If you are using a standard AV fertilizer it maybe what's giving you beautiful foliage but no blooms. I had a similar situation with one of my favorite Av's and an AVSA judge recommended I change fertilizers about every 6 months.They do go through a bloom-rest- bloom cycle and one other thing that might be worth noting is in an article I read in an old AVSA mag was that after a AV is about 2-3 years old they tend to bloom less with age. So you might want to start another plant from the mother, if it is an older plant.
Something else to consider is that depending on that particular variety it maybe just it's genetics?
Now, I have used a 1/4 tsp of Epson Salt to a gallon of water and had excellent luck getting beautiful growth and blooms shortly after using it. I did a little research and plants like AV's who are watered frequently, tend to have the Magnesium leached from the soil.... so there are a lot of things to take into consideration.
Good luck!
MsC
Edited for typo's...:)
This message was edited May 30, 2005 10:31 PM
Oh wow, very good info. Thanks bunches.
PiggyPoo
Good tips, MsC! Sorry I didn't post the numbers for AV fertilizer... thanks for catching it. You know, I did change fertilizer brands a couple months back, and things started blooming.... I was thinking it was just a day length thing, but maybe the brand change helped. I will try the epsom salt, too.... my local gardening guru friend says I need to spray some on my tomatoes, anyway, so I'll give a little to the AVs while I'm at it.
CritterO,
Ya know, I actually used it for the first time, in my mister bottle on a tray of AV babies that were just sitting there. They were green and kinda at that adolences stage where they weren't really growing anymore. I just happened to have the mister bottle in hand and said what the heck.... it was so funny, those babies almost jumped out of the growing tray in what seemed like just a few days! The old thread is on here somewhere... that's the tray I was growing for this years trades that my Chihuahua puppies destroyed this past winter.:) The lil darlings.:) Oh and by the way- Av's aren't deadly to Chi pups, but getting into Momma's plants was. They were banished to their doggie bed for days..lol
Oh well live, learn & laugh a lot. :)
MsC
LOL! It's a good thing they're cute.... :-)
Yep! They are doing better these days and don't even go near the grow stand..lol