What causes my violets to change colour?

10 years ago

My violets are grown under Philips 865 fluorescent lighting. The medium used is Klasmann Peat mixed with pearlite. Many of my light colour varities change to a solid blue or purple as time goes by. Whenever the leave stems change to red, then the plant will bloom in a darker colour.

One of these include my Lemon Whip, the following photos were taken when it's young, then when it's mature. The last one is one of it's off springs by leave propagation. Sadly it too, has it's leaves changed from a light to dark green and leave stems turn red.

I read that some people advise to change the potting medium every 3-6 months. Having over 200 violets makes this an exhaustive task, especially the violets continue to grow and flower happily.

What is the cause of this problem and is there an easy way to let the violet to bloom to it's original colour?

This post was edited by Zukoll on Mon, Oct 14, 13 at 14:07

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Comments (16)

Zukoll
Original Author
10 years ago
2nd photo.
Zukoll
Original Author
10 years ago
3rd photo.
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becky15349
10 years ago
I think its just sporting...but it could also be the light? What is the analysis of the spectrum? Generally when plants get higher quality light, the pigments in their blooms are darker. I'll be curious to see what others say :)
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Whitelacey
10 years ago
Zukoll,

Usually with this dramatic a change, the plant is sporting. Some varieties are genetically unstable and will sport readily. If the leaf you took for propagation is from the row where the plant bloomed true, it will more likely be the original bloom. The plant from your leaf looks more like the original bloom than the second one, which looks like a sport.
Irina and I talked about this under the thread 'Playful Spectrum'. I have that variety and I never know what it is going to look like when it blooms.

Light and temperature will affect a bloom but I've never seen it affect it to the extent of a drastic color change.

Try a leaf from the bottom row of your plant and see what the bloom turns out to be. It would be an interesting experiment.

Linda
aegis1000
10 years ago
Temperature could also be a factor.

My Arctic Frost was more violet in the summer and whiter in the winter.
irina_co
10 years ago
Zukoll's plant is definitely sporting - and usually they are unstable - and eventually turn blue.

Out of stable variable plants - "Pretty Miss Kelly" s the one I would recommend - every flower is different, and all of them very pretty.

Out of temperature dependent - "Beachcomber" - what a gorgeous thing - it will change from almost pure white with blue streaks to almost all blue depending on a season. Huge semi-double -double flowers. Large plant, needs a bit less light than average.
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Whitelacey
10 years ago
Just my two cents- think the sported version is gorgeous.

Linda
fortyseven_gw
10 years ago
Makes me think of the old agage, "You can't fool Mother
Nature" or the new adage, made up by myself,
"You can take the violet hybrid out of the purple, but you can't
take the purple out of the violet." Remember the old
cliches about recessive genes. I have seen a violet do
that before. I suppose you could also say, don't judge
a tiger by its stripes. I noticed in the LLG write-ups,
they sometimes will say that each blooming cycle might
be different. As for the thread on Playful Spectrum, I will
look that one up. I suspect the key word here is "Playful"
I presently have two violets called Live
Wire that are completely different in color combinations.
Violets are playful as kittens with minds of their own.
Joanne
PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Joanne,

I have 'Live Wire' as well. I think it's interesting to have a few 'rogues' who go off and do their own thing. You never know what they are going to look like!

Linda
fortyseven_gw
10 years ago
Hi Linda
It is, it is! I thought about getting Live Wire for a
long time,
then gave myself the ok to "live dangerously!"
What colors are yours? One of mine has a mass of
large, mostly single stars that "hug" the foliage and
are mostly deep, bright pink with some fantasy along
the edges. The other one has double blossoms, some
triple, in clusters standing high above the foliage. The blooms are curled, with a pale pink background and heavily drenched in blue-violet fantasy. The stamens (yellow centers) are more complex on the second AV.
The first one more closely resembles
the photo on LLG website. I would post a photo but
still have not taken the class to learn how to do that.
This is a first bloom for both.
Thanks (if you decide to post a pic)
Joanne
PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Joanne,

I think mine is blooming. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow.

Linda
fortyseven_gw
10 years ago
I will enjoy seeing it.
Joanne
Zukoll
Original Author
10 years ago
Dear all, thank you for your reply. I found this single flower under the leaves this morning. So I untangled the flower and took this photo. Besides the color change, the plant is absolutely healthy. It really has a mind of it's own and perhaps I should accept the way it is.
PRO
Whitelacey
10 years ago
Zu,

If you like it, keep it! As the Bard said, "What's in a name?" You know the rest... :)

Linda
molliebee
10 years ago
i notice color change when i fertilize more..deep rich color results.just my two cents worth..by the way i'm not a 'newbie' :)..years of violets and other houseplants..learn from grandmother...
irina_co
10 years ago
Zu -

you use Klasmann Peat. My guess you are using not their raw material - but a peat based mix - or you do something to adjust Ph? Straight peat has Ph of 4-4.5 - and AVs need 6.3-6.8 range - that's why we repot them every 6-12 months - to avoid the damaging from progressively more acid aging peat soil mix.

Your violets look way too healthy and green - so I suspect you mitigate the acidity someway. But if it is on a low side - it can explain more than normal sporting.

You think 200 AV is a lot? I had a friend visiting - and she told me she has 3000 pots if you count all potted leaves and starters. She is a young retiree - so it seems she created another job taking care of them AVs. (I suggested to donate a good portion of them to the nursing home before she starts sleeping in her truck because of the massive AV hoard).

I,

What causes my violets to change colour?

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What causes my violets to change colour?

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