But it's not my fault !!!!!

17 years ago

Hi newbie here with a little story to tell. About 6 weeks ago, while shopping in my local super market, I made the mistake of slowing by the "floral" section. There sitting on a shelf was some of the sorriest, dryest AVs I have ever seen. Some were struggling to keep their little blooms aloft and they were marked down to 99 cents! Not being one to leave a poor creature or plant suffering, I picked one up and took it home. A little water and a light dose of fertlizer later it looked pretty good.

The next week when I went back there were the remainders, still dry, still sad, and still 99 cents. I got another one. Well to make a long story short, I now have 5. They have all improved greatly and are holding their blooms well. I am here now lurking on this forum feeding my newest "habit" with your wonderful advice and lusting over you pictures. The DH is shaking his head and mumbling something about - "first it was roses, then it was hibiscus and elephant ears, now it's violets!" But I keep telling him - "It's not my fault!"

Thanks all for your expertice and ideas as I start yet another chapter to my "plant habit" nova

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Comments (6)

larry_b
17 years ago
Nova,

The first sign of addiction is denial. You have obviously been a plant addict for a long time and still are not taking personal responsibility for it. lol ;o) It is your fault. So bask in your addiction and celebrate it.

I'm glad that we have been of some help to you in your African violet habit. lol ;o)

Larry
mairenn
17 years ago
hi, I'm cat, and I'm an addict:) it all started when my mom sent me a Mother's Day houseplant basket. Well, the violet in it did not like living with the other plants. So I potted it up in my old usual standard potting soil. it lived and stayed green in my dim living room, which is all I used to require of houseplants. I knew not to expect more.

Then, a year later, my sweet 80 pound puppy decapitated it with his tail. took the leaf rosette right off the stem. sailed it across the room and landed it neatly in an empty saucer. i quickly put water in the saucer until I could get a chance to see if it could be saved. After all, my mom gave it to me.

I read. I bought African Violet potting soil. I found out that you're SUPPOSED to decapitate them when the stalk gets leggy! Thanks, pup! I carefully followed all the directions for rooting my lone rosette. I put it in my northeast kitchen window, where all my plants go when they need more attention than occasional water. It not only rooted, it bloomed. then it stopped. then it did it again!

well, then there was - you guessed it - the floral section at the grocery store. and some different colors. needed rescuing. they were cheap! and...well...the northeast kitchen window now has a big long shelf under it, and the herbs and the seedling flats have to share. Because African Violets like that northeast light. and every one of them has bloomed all summer. and I had enough to give away. and another set of new babies coming up. one, with 2 whole new leaves already, is even blooming.

it might be my fault. but it could be my mom and the dog.
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robitaillenancy1
17 years ago
I must have a will of iron when it comes to plants obviously in distress and waiting for someone to save them from death.

I used to buy them because they were cheap and would probably have nice flowers in three or four months with care. However I managed to bring home more than one problem with those cheap plants. Bugs and disease.

You can't always see a bug in the soil or sometimes even in the crown. And a leaf that looks diseased may be taken off the plant but then another leaf gets the same symptoms and continues until the death of the plant.

Then my collection now numbering around 300 is jepordized. Bugs travel and multiply very fast. Disease goes rampant and isn't seen until it pops up in one corner then the opposite corner. Devestation.

Do be careful of the plants you buy to save from death. They could mean the end of your whole collection. All new plants should be isolated in another room for at least three months.

I've learned to pass them by and look for something I think will be a real additon to my collection--with no hitch-hikers!

Nancy
smurfboy
17 years ago
I always buy bad looking violets from the grocery store, I've found that the plants that look worse often tend to be the better plant compared to a perfect violet. I did buy a variegated violet, every one i've bought has rotted in the center where the leaves grow from. The plant lives, new leaves try to grow, but the new ones also rot and i keep it dry. The only plants that do this are the variegated leaf ones, my green leaf violets do great, any ideas?
irina_co
17 years ago
Smurfboy -

Plan A. I think Nancy is 100% right. Whack it.

Plan B. Get 2 greenest and healthiest leaves from this plant, soak them for 10 min in a solution of Clorax and water 1:4, recut the stems an inch from a leaf, pot them in vermiculite, soil for seedlings, water - and whack the rest now.

It can easily be mites - and it sounds "infection".

It can be bad soil - by the way - did you repot them after you got them from the grocery store?

But in any case - you will not get anything worthy out of the mama plant. It will never be beautiful or healthy.

Irina
korina
17 years ago
I'll bet it's the soil. The muck the commercial nurseries put those poor innocent plants in would kill anything. A good basic recipe for Av soil is 1 part commercial Av soil or peat, 1 part perlite, and 1 part vermiculite. As you can see, this is a very light mix; AVs love air in their roots as much as water.

Barring the soil, it could be an infection of some kind.

Definitely try Irina's suggestion about taking some good leaves and restarting. Just put them in the above mix, barely damp, and enclose the little pot in a baggie.

Good luck and keep plugging away; we've all killed our share of plants.

Korina, plant slaughterer

But it's not my fault !!!!!

Comments (6)

larry_b

mairenn

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