Hi....I know there is an old thread somwhere on how to get AVs to bloom, but I wanted to ask for advice. My plants are mostly young ones. Some I got at Rob's Violet Barn. They are healthy looking and have grown since I got them. I also got some off EBAY and they are very, very healthy. I also have a few from Bluebird Nursery. (been busy.........ha ha) Anyway, they look good, but there are so few that are blooming, and the ones that are only have 1 - 2 flowers. I have them on a light stand I made. I have two 48" bulbs over the shelf. I am using Schultz violet food (I am putting about 4 drops per quart instead of 7 because I feed them every time I water.) Can someone give me advice or is it too soon for the AVs to bloom? Does it sound like I am doing the right stuff or do I need to change something? I am watering them once they feel dry on top (watering from the bottom, though). I also have most of the containers sitting on top of trays filled with small stones. That way I can put water in the trays to create some more humidity withought the plants being in water all the time. If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them. Have a good holiday season. : ) HP
Bloom, darn ya!
Hi Hadfieldp.
The only thing that I can tell you is my plants began continual blooming when I did two things. First, I lightened the soil; using half perlite and half packaged av soil. I also add a little charcoal.
Second, I began wick watering; which gives the plants continual even moister from the soil. These two things have made all the difference for me.
Nanna
I agree w/Nanna on the soil mix......makes ALL the difference. On the moisture end (yay for you, Nanna!), my violets behave differently. ;-) And, really, they DO all behave differently. I have found that some of the ones that I just neglect....forget to water....cease mooning over.....are the ones that pop out their blooms!
Old wives' tale says to drop a violet to get a bloom. The big "i.e." on that suggests neglect--as opposed to loving them to death...lol--can get some blooms going. Plants do bloom when they are in survival mode, right?
Best of luck on all fronts. AV's have a mind of their own.......;-)
MKJ
Thank you so much! I will try the lighter soil mix. I hadn't thought of that. I will also experiment with the wick system. Right now I just set a plant in a dish of water until it is damp on top. : )
All the above..plus maybe they are too young to bloom ? Most plants need to be 9-12 months old to bloom.
Light is very important . give them 12-16 hours a day of light and you will have big bouquets of flowers over each plant. Humidity plays a good roll. Put little cups of water around plants when it asorbs plants will get humidity. Sit your plants on trays of damp pebbles. Blooms depend on humidity.
POt Size. Don't over pot you will be in for a lot of problems. Use the smallest pots your plants will take without devloping a matted earth ball.
Watering room temperture or a little warmer. I use hot.
Room tempertures Foe daytime 70-72 degrees F., but up as high as 75 is acceptable ; ( My temps go up to 80 easy in the summer or hot weather in Florida even with the A/C running. I don't like it, they don't bloom as much but they grow and are fine. But give them below 65 degrees growth slows blooms may stop root rot and more over long period of temps under 65) at night a drop of 5 degrees or a little less is generally considered healthful.
Soil as above
Spraying pick your pest detergent , and spray regularly, usually once a month.
Isolate all plants for two months
clean foliage
Ventilation Fan going in plant rooms but not direct. Admit fresh air once or twice a day but not direct in cold weather. Cold drafts are bad
Most important number one again light
Give all possible light and as much sun ( no sun zero dark here in sunny Florida today :(( ) as foliage will take without bleaching. Any window is right, if strong sunlight ia filtered by a thin curtain , except
in winter when full sun can be beneficial. Try " Shocking" nonbloomers into flower with strong sunshine . Consider " phytoillumination ,"the method of growing plants artificial light , specifically that of flotrscent lamps.
Turn plants a little each week
Fertilize . Give all plants , young and old, light and weekly or biweekly feedings of your favorite plant food. Or just add a pinch of plant food to every watering . This method has produced almost constant bloom.
These are a few Brief Guidance to bloom notes from ;
Helen's Van Pell Wilson's African-violet book :))
How long have you had your violets? My rule of thumb and advice someone gave me was to repot every 3 months. This does not necessarily mean moving the plant on to a larger pot, but keeps the soil fresh and if the soil is compacted over time, repotting will take care of that problem. It's a pain, what with washing the pots and disinfecting, but my plants consistently bloom and for long periods of time.
Another idea might be to change your feeding program. For example, you can use a bloom booster for a few months to see if that kickstarts your plants. A bloom booster has a higher middle number (phosphorous (sp?)) that should promote blooms. You shouldn't; however, use bloom boosters for long periods of time as the plants really need a balanced fertilizer. In addition, there is a product called Superthrive, which contains vitamins for the plants. Some people swear by this product and I do use it occasionally, but I honestly don't know if it helps or not.
Finally, my experience has been that, while plants from Rob's are fantastic, his soil does not work with me. I lost his plants before I figured out that I need to immediately transplant them to the soil I make myself when I get them. I do not even give them time to become accustomed to my growing conditions (the plant must conform or die :)). Out of the box, into new soil. Since I began doing this, I have not lost one single plant from Rob's.
Anyway, I hope this helps...Stephanie
Wow. Thanks - I am definitely going to repot most of my plants. Plus I bet several are just still too little. I have asked Santa for a digital camera for Christmas. Hopefully I can share some pictures. : )
HP how are your blooms ? Hope you and everyone have a lot of Blooming plants for Christmas :))
Hi! Funny you should ask. Unfortunately, we had a death in the family and had to leave town for a week. I wasn't sure what to do, so I watered every one of my violets (even if they didn't really need it) and left. When I got back a week later, they all looked great, and five had new blooms on them. The blooms have not opened up yet. It is really fun to watch the process, isn't it? Anyway, I got them to bloom by leaving. Really, I think they were just getting big enough to bloom. Hope everyone on the board has a Merry Christmas. HP : )
HP Sorry you had a death in your family . It's near Holidays is always worst. You and your family are in my prayers.
I'm so Happy you gettiing a bunch of buds :)) Yes maybe your plants were to young. Many babies don't bloom until 9-12 months or more from the time we put a leaf down. Each one is differenet like Snow Flakes and People :)) It sure is fun watching the blossoms opening :))
Each step of An African violet process is fun ! I juat love growing them !
Merry Christmas HP to you and yours and everyone on our African violet forum and DG Garden !!! Allison
This message was edited Dec 22, 2005 7:44 PM
Bump aother thread from Sticky why are my plants not blooming ?
bump
Thanks, Allison, I am rereading. : )
Your welcome I feel going back to simple basics helps !