PLEASE HELP, yellowing leaves on outside of plants

I have three or four plants that are getting less color on the outside leaves. NOT leaves that are old either! :(

PLEASE help. They are wonderful plants. More food? I am doing what I always do. Thank you!

Sally, I had fun this morning with the violet group. Maybe someone who knows will come along and help you.
Just for you information, I was told by a well known hybridizer that we should never be using a bloom boost (until show time).........are you , by chance, using just the fertilizer from Ken? It has few if any micronutrients in it, I am told. So I switched to 1/8 tsp of Peter's 20-20-20 which was the hybridizer's recommendation on everything I am growing in the gessie family.

He thinks that we don't pay nearly enough attention to micronutrients for gessies.....I think Ken's fertilizer is a 12-36-14?

Optimara also makes a good one that is 14-12-14

Just another thought.....Are you grooming regularly and taking off the bottom leaves that need to come off and then repot your violet deeper?

I've read that a yellowing/lightening of leaf edges could be related to nitrogen . . . not enough or too much . . . can't remember . . . let me go look thru the magazines . . .

I do use Ken's. I use a 1/4th or a bit less of a tsp. in a gallon of spring water. This is not happening to all, just four I think.

Shall I try to give them a bit stronger fert? These are very nice plants and I am sick about it.

I can try to repot, but it was not that long ago that I did that.

I do not use bloom boost.

Yes, I groom my violets every couple of days when I water them. I assess what needs to be done. I do not let them get old leaves, long necks.

Shall I try 20-20-20 on just the problem plants?

I can take a pic, but just imagine the outside all lighter. Not around the edges. Looks like they need nitrogen.

OH.. Here is a problem. One of them is my pretty Wrangler's Green Pastures. Too much nit. can turn it green, right? Or is that just over time>

Thanks for helping. I am standing by.

Yes, Gail it was fun. I think I will start a thread about it.

i think it is not enuff nitrogen that could lead to yellowing. But I am not sure about AV's. When I lose them, it is always due to watering issues/crown rot.

Sally, I was just talking to Marjorie on the phone as I had some questions about my violets and streps. Ken's fertilizer is a bloom booster........but Marjorie didn't think that Ken's fertilizer would cause the yellowing of the outer leaves.

She thinks that distilled water (as opposed to reverse osmosis water) could possibly be the problem........personally I think it may be not enough Nitrogen or the ph is off using distilled water.

What do I know???????? nothing but I have been reading for hours this afternoon out of two books that Marjorie bought at nationals for me................learning a lot. I am going to try using half my own water and picking up the reverse osmosis water at the local Super S and mixing it half and half. She has some friends who do that.

I don't use distilled water. I get spring water, I am so confused! Thank you for giving me a lot to think about guys.

Oh, I wonder if "Thrive" could help a little.

I've been using nothing but Ken's mix, but I'm going to try the Optimara violet food. I actually purchased some on ebay a few weeks ago. Just waiting for it to arrive! As for reverse-osmosis water - I wonder if the water machine inside Walmart is the same thing? I went and filled up a few gallon jugs this morning.

Nichole.............and Sally..........yes, the water you get at Walmart is the same reverse osmosis.............

Sally , let's google and find out the difference between distilled water, spring water and reverse osmosis..............

I went to Wikipedia and I am not smart enough to understand what it says about the differences in water............sorry (LOL)

OK! I buy each gallon at HEB or Walgreens. Not Walmart. We never go there. We can figure out the difference. I think Distilled is free of everything. Minerals etc.

The only problem with the machine water is ph. It's pretty low, and the soilless mixes can bring it down more. It would be up to the fertilizer to bring it up a bit, I guess.

What I am saying is that I know there is a difference in bottled water you buy at the grocery store and reverse osmosis water you get for 18 cents or 25 cents a bottle in the parking lot at Super S in Taft or any other place like Walmart.........it is not store bought. I just don't know the difference, but am positive there is a difference.

****I am not positive of anything........

Now, I remember Marjorie talking about the difference in ph in the bottled water we buy at the store and the reverse osmosis you pick up for 20 cents a gallon.

I am so confused and still worried! Should I get some 20 20 20 tomorrow? Different water?

Sally, maybe try 20-20-20 w/micronutrients on green leafed violets and 15-30-15 w/micronutrients on variegated violets. Don't use the 20-20-20 on your variegates.
Also, perhaps Wr. Green Pastures is getting too much light. Could that be? Getting bleachy looking? Generally, the whitish flowered and lighter green colored leaves require less light than others. Try it at the end of the shelf.

OK Goldleaf, I will move it to the edge. I guess I better hope I can find the fertilizers to try.

Sally..............Goldleaf knows more than the rest of us put together...............Peter's 20-20-20 is not always easy to find, but I have plenty of it and will gladly give you all you want............just let me know. The only way I found it was in the big boxes of fertilizer that you put in a Miracle Grow container on the end of a hose.........I just opened a package and use it.........be happy to give you a big package of it. (most places want to sell Miracle Grow and you don't want that)............

I am dmailing you..........

Thank you for all of the information. I am still looking. I know I should have some of the 20 20 20. If not, I will get some. Just scared for my variegation. Surely, once or twice can't hurt?

Fish emulsion would not help, right? I think the nitrogen is the best thing to try first. Maybe repotting too.

Try some epson salts to green up the yellowing leaves, fish emultion might help too,

JIM

i use ro water everyday, as i have it in my home,works great for my plants, do try epsom saults that does help.i also use 20 20 20 most of the time, but superthrive might also help, can't hurt to try.
bonnie

Speaking of epsom salts, I wonder if any of you are familiar with the beer formula fertilizer? I use it for my tropicals, mostly hoyas. To make it you mix:

1 12 oz beer
half cup epsom salts
half cup household clear amonia
tablespoon molasses
a few tablespoons of a bloom boost fertilizer (peters 10-50-10)

Mix all, then use 1 T to a gallon of water each time you fertilize....but I use about a tsp mixed to a gallon with every watering.

Does this sound like it would be good for AV's?

Off to look for some things right now. Wr. Green Pastures is on the edge of a shelf now. Thanks so much.

I use that, too .........outside but would never dare put on gessies.............and I use a lot more of the mix........than a tsp. per gallon..........

I agree with GL that it could be a light issue.My second thought is maybe the plants are getting just a little too dry between waterings.

Thanks Ibrabec. I am listening and noting all ideas and I really appreciate it.

I looked all over for the Peters fert. in the two different numbers. No luck. Guess I will try to order it.

I did water my A John Yellow Sub. with a tiny bit of fish emulsion and Thrive in my usual fert. The others don't need watering yet.

See, Sally, you should have met me in Portland this morning after church and I would have given you a big bag of it............^_^

I KNOW! I thought Fred was leaving town this morning. He didn't end up going until now. He will be back tonight. I don't drive that far yet. You know I just got well enough to start driving, but I stay close to home. I get so tired.

Sally, I wish you would take a picture of the yellowing of the outer leaves, so we could all learn. Between Lynn and GoldLeaf, you are sure to get some good help which we could all benefit from.

jmp24--your recepie above--does it keep once mixed? For how long? Sounds a little explosive? LOL!

phoebe, there are a zillion recipes like jmp on the hoya forum...........they work, too.

yes, it keeps. For me anyway, esp in summer time because I use it on all of my potted annuals, annual hanging baskets, etc...and on all the houseplants that are outdoors that dry out quickly in the heat. A batch only fills about one third of a half gallon plastic milk container.

As Gail says, alot of hoya growers swear by it. I see nice growth, but I am not sure if it is much different than the other fertilizers.

a lot of my babies were turning yellow,so i feed them fish emulion one week,a mix of (some stuff) and then finally a kelp extract which turned all kinds of things green,for me,like my Diastema vexans ,good stuff that kelp extract

JIM

ok- new question - was at the grocery, and they had standard Optimara AV's that were probably fresh a month ago, there was one that was very wilted but still sending up pretty pink flowers with purple edges, but the soil was extremely dry.

I gave it a very small amount of water, think I read it is best to revive them slowly - however, I have some AV soil I got from the AV show - should I repot it right away or wait till it perks up some? It was only a dollar so no big loss if I lose it, but I would like to save it if I can.

I would repot it and water it thoroughly.Be sure to check for any root damage.If a plant is wilted there could be a problem.The center looks tight,so be very sure to isolate it from any other Gessies until it grows out.I am not trying to alarm you.Just be cautious.
Lynn

wait till it perks up,should be able to repot tomorrow,
JIM

You might lose a few leaves,but that's no big deal.

thanks everyone. I found it on the Optimara website, think it is "Michele".

I also bought this NOID at the garden center today, came from Woodhill Greenhouses in Canada. I love the pink foliage, and it looks pretty healthy too. I am going to repot it with the other one. The last AV I bought at this particular garden center just wilted and died within a week, but you know how it is in those places, the people doing the watering know next to nothing about plants, and everything is soaked to the point where it weighs a ton. They give their employees no rules or guidelines for care, the attitude seems to be "If it is there, water it!" For the most part, all they care about is the plant staying alive long enuff to be sold. I could have returned the dead AV, because I knew it was not because of me that it died, but I bet the majority of people assume it is their fault and don't bother.

That's a really pretty one.

That is a pretty pink, but I worry that you need to isolate those plants.........bugs come from nurseries where plants aren't taken care of properly.

I took a few pics of streps ..........I do have african violets again but none blooming yet.

Purple Peppered is new to me ........had it a couple of years ago........