Maureen, sounds like you're doing everything right. Well, when you say you water twice a week, is it when they need it? They don't like to dry out, but they don't like to sit in water either.

If you're watering as needed, rather than on a schedule, there's something you might try. If they're in little plastic cups, try squishing the sides, rolling it around, basically disturbing the roots. This will sometimes do the trick.

Oh -- they might be overpotted, if the plants are tiny compared to the pots. AVs like to be snug in their pots; the formula is the pot should be 1/3 the diameter of the plant. If they're overpotted, you could be patient while they fill the pot with roots, or you could put them into smaller pots.

Good luck.

Korina

PS So, what did you get? I'm a mini fan myself.

Maureen:

I have always been told that if you let an AV go dry while the buds are forming, the buds will dry up. It's not that the plant isn't blooming; it's that the buds aren't able to form. I'm not saying that's what you're doing, but if the plants *have* dried out at that time, maybe it's the problem.

Have you contacted the people at Bluebird? I've found them very, very helpful when I had questions. It's a shot in the dark, but could it be you're watering method is different from theirs and it's taking some time for the plants to adjust? Just a thought.

People more knowledgeable than I can tell you if I'm off the mark.

Good luck,

Linda

Linda

- if you are not knowledgeable, then who is?

All this AV growing is not a rocket science for crying out loud. I ordered from Bluebird - very very nice outfit, good quality plants. They make their own mix - and for the bottom watering it is very very good.

Maureen -

The basic necessities (did I spell it right?) - light, fertilizer and water. You can fertilize every time you water - 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon per gallon. Water - tap water is OK especially if you let it sit for a day so it will be room temperature and the chlorine will evaporate. If for whatever reason your water is too hard, too alkaline etc - happens if it is well water - you can buy bottled water in a grocery - a gallon size is cheaper. You do not want to let them dry and don't want them to sit in water. Get your finger in the soil - and if it feels dry - water. The only thing I imagine can be a problem - it is light. Let's say - they prefer 600 foot candles 12 hours a day. Which is equivalent to 8 inches from the fluorescent lights on the timer for 12 hours. May be the place where they sit - is OK - but but they get this good light for 7 hours only, or they actually get 100 foot candles for most of the day - and 800 when sun hits them direct for 2 hours. What I am saying - it is hard to control natural light - and they usually bloom less often in natural light.

If you really want them to bllom all the time - get a shoplight, put them on wicks and trays and keep repottinng them every 4 months.

We love to send everybody to rachelsreflections.com - it is a fun site and tons of info how to do it at a state of the art level.

But - looks like in your setup you will have them growing and blooming in any case - just not that often.

Good Luck
irina

Hi, Irina:

Thanks for the kind words . . . and the faith in my abilities ;-)

Maureen:

The only AVs I grow in windows that bloom continuously are my trailers. The others, as Irina says, can be hit or miss under natural light.

If you think about it, any commercial AVs you buy nowadays were started and grown under controlled light conditions with much higher humidity than you can ever provide (and live comfortably unless you like to sweat). It stands to reason they would do better under a situation where they are given the same conditions when they arrive in your home.

As a matter of fact, when my AV club sells plants at L&G shows, one of the selling points I make is they were grown in "home" conditions and not in a controlled environment.

If you follow Irina's and Korina's advice and don't let your AVs go completely dry, you should have your blooms; albeit not as profusely as if they received consistent light via a stand.

I make my light stands using Baker's Racks I buy in Big Lots! and attaching 2' grow light fixtures I buy in Wal-Mart.

I also bought a 4' shop light and hung it over the chest of drawers in my bedroom. I cut a piece of clear vinyl mat to fit the top of the chest.

Good luck,
Linda

Thank you all so much for the info here. I really appreciate it. I have let them dry out before watering (not on purpose of course) but I will be much more on top of it now. They are very snug in their little mini pots. I may repot them in new mix just to give them a boost. And I use the optimara fertilizer everytime I water (according to the instructions on the box).

Korina, I got 6 minis but already gave away 3. Here's what's left: Ness' tutti frutti, Ness satin rose and little chatter box.

You have all been a great help.
Maureen

Maureen:

You are more than welcome!

Did you know there's an AV Club on Long Island??? I've copied and pasted the information below from the African Violet Society of American web site (www.avsa.org). Let us know if you join and how much fun you'll find your local club!

The members will be a wealth of information and a great source for plants, too!!!

Linda

(NY) - Long Island African Violet Society

Location: Freeport Memorial Library
Location Address: 44 West Merrick Rd
Location City: Freeport
Location State: NY
Location Zip: 11520

Meeting Times: Fourth Monday each month, except Dec, 7:30 p.m.

Contact: Florence Schnaufer
Address: 3392 Colony
City: Baldwin
Phone: 576-379-6631

For my one cent worth, in my experience of ordering plants, they all say in bloom or ready to bloom and some plants are and some are just not mature enough, they grow and bloom at different rates. I have not ordered from bluebird, but from their website it looks like they are forcing bloom by making the roots potbound early. It doesn't take them many weeks to grow violets. I know their conditions are different, light and humidity, but I never go from a leaf to a blooming plant in bluebird time, I'm lucky to have ears on my leaves. You should contact them and see what they tell you. Oh and violet clubs are great fun! Join if you can.