When plants trans-planted into 4,5 or 6 inch pots I like to use two wicks. You figure you like to eat heh you might even like food so much you often over eat :)) If you figured the larger the pot , the more food and water required ! WRONG ~ Just like people some got overfed and pay the price. Over feed and water your African violets pay the price getting fertilizer burn, crown or root rot, then the center burns out and maybe you saved two leaves , if lucky as it's a rare plant or one you love ! The rest is trash material.
Old Chinese rule says African violets don't over eat !
Don't over feed your African violets
You want to know how I deal with Pest !
If I have a plant that looks suspicious . I looked at it very close, 3x power as you know the appearance of mites can be three things 1. Mite themselves
2. Too much light 3. Too much fertilizer.
On suspicious plants, I take my finger and touch the center and if it is twisted and hard to the touch, I look for fat, swollen bloom stems, blossoms discoloration
Then I know it's mites. In the trash can ASP. Any plant I don't like trash.
I bealch all tray and area and thing near the plant tools..But if the center is soft to touch and grayish and hariy, then I spray just in case and put the plant in isolation and see what happens. This I feel is too much light or too much fetilizer. I have never had mites to my knowledge and if I did I'm sure they were trashed and baged and gone. lol
if I see any plant occasionally once or twice in the past few years that look like white rice or sticky white between crowns. I immediatly remover the plant , drench it with neem oil or strong Garden Spray , Raid.. I Clorox everything. It get's new bleached pot and wick and soil. It's isolated for months and treated every 7-10 days.
I also hang Pest Strips .
I use Neem oil, Knock out Gnats , this special oil from Garden's Alive I fount I like it better.
For everyday use I use Murphy's oil soap and blue dawn kills all soft body insects.
Mostly in the winter I use Lysol. It says it kills germs, fungus and more in just seconds ! No more algea hanging around my babies :))
Do you have any helpful tricks to share !
You know have you ever thought plants are a lot like Human with their likes and dislikes ! African violets mine anyways why I talk to them :)) are almost human . When you think about growing condtions what conditions are good for your African violets. ? Think they like whatever you like ! If it's best for you and your comfortable your plants will be !
Temperture, light, watering and like these are the most important to growing beautiful, blooming Africa violets.
Some grow beautiful plants that don't bloom. Some grow plants plants with long reaching leaves. Some grow plants that just sit there and do nothing while others have grown plants that shivel and die.
After all Afrcian violets should bloom everyday of the year and to the best of my knowledge their the only plants that do so year after year !.Some patented or so called " Florist violets" may rest but the vast majory of hybridized African violets will give you a color show continuously for years.
Important things to think about for our Human African violets.Room Temperature~
Have you ever wondered about Air conditioning if it would harm your plants ? Well an African violet to do it's best in the Summer or in the Winter it needs a temperture of 68-74 degrees. The lowest figure 68 during the night and the highest 74 during the day. African violets seem to like 72 degrees best. And us Humans like 72 the best also !
If you want plenty of blooms in the winter keep your home at the human - comfort level 72 degrees. However, a drop back to 68 degrees at night will help both you and your plants to feel better :))
If your plants feel better you will have healthy year round flowers !
Air condtion plants really thrive in air conditioning , I even have more better blooms in the summer rather than the winter as I can maintain my home air temperture better. Now if your a person who thinks your half Polar Bear and you keep your A/C at 65 degrees when tempts are 90's outside the center of your plants will most likely grow tight and you will have few blooms. African violets will also decrease their flowering when your home is kept at temputures of 80 and 90 degrees tempertures during July and August. I find A/c wonderful in the summer heat, I can breath better and more comfortable and my plants feel the same way !
Humidity what about the thing called humidity ! It's been said the air in the average home is dryer than the air in a Desert. African violet don't like desert conditions and neither do I. Keep humidity up for both your plants' good and your human comfort. Doctors will tell you humidity is good for proper health as it is good for your African violets proper health.
Misting ~ Like we take showers once in awhile. It's refreshing to wash off dirt and sweat out of your pores. So why not give your African violets a shower once in awhile for the same purpose ? Now don't soak them give them a humidity mist now and then. Make sure your mist is room temperture of even better warmer. Allow your plants to dry before turning light back on or going in the windows. It's good even to give them a bath in the kitchen sink if the foliage has collected a lot of dust.
It's also a good idea not to run your lights 24 hours a day. We like a good rest and so do you plants !
Did you know light is one of the most important thing you can give your African violets ? Some people tell me their African violets don't bloom and when I discover or go to their homes and see the light situation I know why.
There peole have sitting a shriveled plant with a few long leaf stems reaching toward a pin-hole amount of light creeping threw tightly pulled draps or blinds. Plants need light juast as you and I need light to feel good and function at our best. A Sunny Spring morning seems to do wonders to Humans ... and good light will do wonders for your plants.
A good 12-16 hours each day !
allison you're on a roll....good advice!!
Feeding were always thinking about feeding our African violets and our Human selves !
I've always enjoyed good cooking so don't forget your plants like to have a good square meal everyday and on occasion even enjoy a little desert !
Most manufacturers of African violet plant food have a balance diet for our plants , they are consisting of all the nessary elements for better and more vibrant blooms. The manufactureres are anxious to sell and don't always have are plants needs in best interest. They may say use too much, or worng kind of Nitrogen Urea sense it's cheaper for them to use. But it will burn your delicate African violets roots. I like to constant feed ( after all we Humans like to eat three times each day) So I divide what ever directions are given by the manufacturers says by four and I use diluted fertilizer mixture everytime I water except one a month or so will let them fast a drink of of plain water only. This is to flush out any build up of mineral salts that may have occurred. I have read desert for your African violets ! Why not. Some say it's good to change fertilizer something different ! For example you use Optimara constant feed fertilizer and alternate every few weeks with Peters Violet Special. They say you get oodles of bloom from this diet !
I bet it's true as I am always running out of one kind and using an other. But I never use fertilizer with Urea ! Then when I can aford Eleanor's VF-11 I leach and just use Vf-11 then I really get happy blooming African violets !
Important. I don't like me feet wet and cold I can end up with a bad cold. Wet feet does the same for your
African violets , only they don't get a cold it's worst your African violets get a fatal case of pneumonia. Once the soil is water-logged it may be difficult to save your plant :(( Oh it can be done and I have , sure you have also. But it can take months of recuperation to get a full head of flowers again.
Thanks Bob hoping to give people a helping hand and myself to have African violets blooming all year round :))
Ok don't forget Ventilation ! It's extremly important to your African violets ! Frwsh Air is great ! How do you feel whane you stand outsdie in the early morning and fill your lungs with good clean fresh air ! It's very invigorating ! Did you know African violets als like and need fresh air ?
Air your plant room out to help your plants realy thrive. Of course you don't want to allow frigid air to sweep directly over them anymore than over your six week old baby. So open a window in an adjoining room for a few moments to keep the air in the room where you have your plants from getting stale. Remember no cold drafts- just from fresh circulating air is what is needed.
My African violets enjoy company and " Felloeship" Take for an example you go away for a week. You have properly watered and made all necessary adjustments to keep your plant healthy and happy.
No one visits your plants like you do for the week your gone :(( When you come home they somehow lost some of their shine and luster. They missed you !
I do talke to my plants and I breath over them and the appreciate me being their Mom my presence so mcuh they take the carbon dioxide . I exhale and turn it back in the form of oxygen for my own use.
I could talk African violets 24/7 I love talking plants with all my friends here !
While African violets are not really Humans they certainly have happily adapted themselves to our human-environmanet and our way of life and that makes them so easy to live with enjoy, progate, share the number " ONE" Favorite Houseplant !
~ African Violets ~
GIRL! How much coffee did you have for breakfast! That's a lot of typing! Thank you for all the info.
I use a humidity meter (I'm sure there is a proper term - just don't know it) so that I can see how humid it is. Our house is dry, drafty and cool at times so it's good to know when I need to set out water. I also read to use bricks of Florist Oasis (foam) wet it and leave it on the shelf near av's for extra humidity.
I know for sure that my babies missed me while I was gone. And though my 'baby-sitter' did a fabulous job of keeping them alive, it's not the same as the love and nurturing I give them. Oh and by the way my Chirita Diane Marie bounced back from the grave! It was soooooo bone dry I almost tossed it. Two days later she's shiny and happy again. Goes to show you how much that Chirita can dry out before being watered again. No tip burn either. Whew!
Thanks again for the notes. Good to refresh once in a while.
And on the over-eating part for AV's, GUILTY! I did just that. (note to self, no more miracle grow at double strength!)
Laurie Yippee ! I told you your Chirita would be ok they like to be dry and crowded. You can trans-plant them once every 2-3 years. They will recover like Streps from under water drying out but not from over water. Their use to growing in-between cracks of rocks .
It was an amazing resurection on that Chirita! I would not have believed my own eyes! (check your dmail and regular mail)
LOL at Laurie's coffee comment... Allison, you really are on a roll this morning!
Laurie, maybe you could link this thread to the sticky... "Lots of good culture info from Allison"
can do. Also looking for Anita's hector for our sticky.
Hector ? Looking for Hector ? Whenre have you benn he's grown and gone to College
Well I was looking for my thread on the 16 foods plant use and what number meant and best numbers to use and so on I could not find it.
I did find this information on Violet Barn I fount interesting I wanted to share with you
Question: Most of my collection of violets at home have very light leaves, almost white. They aren't variegated, and they were all green-leaved when I first got the great answer and best number combination (N-P-K) to use check this helpful link out
http://www.robsviolet.com/faq_page_1.htm#all%20green
don't over feed to go along with Nanna thread
Another good thread why you might think your plants have mites and dont