The center of your plant (the crown) is the grow-point for all of your plant's growth.

If you kill or injure the crown, your AV will never grow normally again. Ideally, your crowns shouldn't be so tight. Tight crowns can be a sign of a couple things, either too much light ... or mites.

If you don't think that your plant is getting too much light, go on Amazon and look up a miticide called AzaMax. Get some with the spray bottle, mix up a batch and spray your plants well, tops and bottoms of leaves, especially in the center.

If it is mites, your centers should eventually loosen, and your plants should begin to grow normally again.

This post was edited by aegis500 on Tue, Sep 17, 13 at 21:45

thank you aegis, so if i can rule out mites, then it may be the too much light thing.

Ken,

In addition to the light and mites, some varieties just grow more tightly that others. Sometimes, you have to nudge a leaf aside for the blooms to get through. But, as Aegis says, never pick at the crown.

Linda

Hi linda, with me being new to this, I am going to assume the 2 AV,S i have are the common type, one came from a local flower shop and the other from a big box store,the other i have is flowering just fine without a tite center,i did not know some had tite centers...thanks so much

Ken,

Move the one with a tight center to a place where it will not get as much light. If this is your problem, you should see the centers growing in less crowded.

Don't make the mistake of thinking what works for one, works for all. Guidelines for growing AV's are just that: guidelines. Each plant is different and has different needs and likes. You have to experiment a bit.

Go to Optimara.com and look at their varieties. You will probably be able to identify your plants. Most 'common' AV's are Optimaras.

Linda

Yep, already did that linda, now just waiting to see the results.Also trimmed off lower leaves of this plant because i trans planted it in to a tiny pot,I read where they like to be root bound and this pot is 1/3 the diameter of the plant.so it is really crammed into this little pot of about 2 in. thanks

Ken - it will be of a great value if you post a pic. We will be all happy to look at your problem plant. We just love looking at AVs.

I.

I hear ya irina, and i will post up a pic in a bit. ;-)

Here it is, what do you think People ;-) thanks

Posted by ken2256 5b (My Page) on Fri, Sep 20, 13 at 16:23

There are several "suckers" but I love "suckers". I would leave it alone and give it a slightly larger pot. The suckers will eventually become individual plants.

hey ju jo,,,but i dont want suckers , i want flowers, what should i do about them.I only have 2 AV,S and this one has all the suckers.....what causes them or is this just part of having them....and dealing with them.... ;-) thanks

Yep ... your problem is suckers. You have at least two plants trying to grow in the space for one..

Try to determine which is the original plant and what is suckers.

The original plant should look very simple, like this ...

{{gwi:363156}}

Try to see what leaves don't fit the rosette pattern and gently "remove" them. You should be able to gently snap them off where they connect to the main plant.

When you are left with just the original plant, it will be more apt to bloom.

Any leaves or plantlets you remove can be put in soil to root.

This post was edited by aegis500 on Sat, Sep 21, 13 at 20:02

Ken
I like the kitty poster behind the AVs.
Good luck with removing the suckers, I have
done that and end up with two plants.
I found that some plants easily form suckers.
Joanne 47

so i dont need to remove from pot, just snap the suckers off at the base.Thanks for all the good info.