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African Violets

Well, I've done it again. I killed my African Violet in one week

18 years ago

I had sworn off African Violets for good as I have killed every single one IÂve ever purchased, but this is a new record.

After learning from my (many) mistakes regarding houseplant care I thought *this time* would be different.

I purchased a beautiful African violet plant from Wal-Mart a week ago. When I brought him home, he was just beautiful. The plant was covered with tons of unblemished blooms and I was so excited.

I decided this time; I would do the right thing by leaving this one alone as long as possible. - I'm very prone to over watering :(

Anyway, I placed him in my bathroom on the garden tub ledge near a window. I keep the blinds *almost* closed, letting in just a tiny bit of sunshine.

The soil was plenty moist when I purchased it, so I did not add any water. I checked each day to make sure the soil never dried out.

This beautiful plant began its decline immediately. Slowly but surely, each bloom wilted and died right before my eyes. It has been one week and every single bloom is dead, including the buds that never has a chance to open.

The leaves remain green and look just fine. So what gives? I am at a loss here, but sure you guys will be able to shed some light on this. Thanks in advance for your help.

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Comments (3)

korina
18 years ago
twobit, don't worry, you did nothing wrong. You have to remember, that poor plant had been taken from a very controlled greenhouse, shipped in a dark truck, stuck in a too dark too dry store, and then to your house. The poor thing is just in shock. It's had a radical change in its environment, and dropping the flowers is a survival mechanism.

Remember also, plants flower for two reasons; either they're happy, or they're stressed and trying to reproduce before they die. It's generally pretty easy to tell the difference.

So, check out the FAQ on the main forum page, because you *will* want to transplant it out of that peat. Give it a couple of months after that and it'll probably start blooming for you. Also, check the link below; Rachel has lots of useful cultural info, with pictures!

Good luck and keep asking questions.

Korina

PS If you overwater (or underwater), you might consider switching to wick watering. It simplifies everything.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's Reflections
tomkaren
18 years ago
My clues to what went wrong is plant from Walmart and being plenty moist. Overwatering is the main reason that AV's die. Walmart took care of the watering and you are the victim not the cause.
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frangipaniaz
18 years ago
The plant doesn't even sound dead to me... it just stopped blooming.... I've found, at least in Phx, that it needs artificial growing lights to make it flower again... no amount of natural light has ever made it flower... my dad remembers his stingy aunt keeping her AV in the basement in Chicago under growing lights until company came over and then she'd pull them out... they were always full of blooms and beautiful... good luck, and it doesn't sound dead to me...
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