Probably the most important thing now is to make sure of your diagnosis. Pictures might help to make sure. Botrytis Blight or Gray Mold has a gray, fuzzy coating on older plant material. Spores begin the infection and can remain in the soil during the winter. At times the young center leaves turn grayish and hair may become abnormally long. Botrytis can kill the plant. First thing to do would be to isolate the plant or plants from your main collection. Increase air circulation to the area. Remove all fading flowers or leaves. Lower your humidity if possible. Keep room temperature even and warm. Do not over fertilize. Leaves of plants should not touch. You can use the homemade treatment as suggested above. One tablespoon bleach in one gallon warm water sprayed over foliage. If you have only a few plants affected just remove them and see what happens. If many are affected in your collection you may want to buy Benomyl. You can also purchase sulfer from the drug store. Put this in little pots around your plants. Check your rootball just to make sure this is not root or crown rot. Nancy

Irina, I responded to your last post, accidently hit a button, and lost the entire page. Sheesh. I keep saying vinegar when I mean Rubbing Alcohol. Vinegar was stated numerous times. AGE!!! I've sprayed and swiped with alcohol. Rubbing Alcohol. 91%. Last night, we went to Walgreen's...remember RA was about .79 a bottle? The least expensive, Walgreen's brand is now 2.99.. Anyway, I did NOT use vinegar for mealy..lol. I'll have to check HD for Bayer's Tree & Lawn. 'no nearby Lowes.' What's the difference between concentrate and ??? Irina, we don't use chemicals, so when it comes to none-organic products, I'm clueless. What exactly is Bayer's Tree & Lawn used for? What does it do? Before purchasing, I'll have to read all ingredients. With birds, dogs and an iguana, we must be extra careful. A loud noise startles birds, next thing they're off and flying, sometimes landing on plants..Our little dog, Coco, finds everything interesting, and iguanas LOVE plants. Especially munching leaves. How do you determine dossage using Bayer's on indoor plants? Also, this spring I'm repotting or refreshing soils/mediums in all plants. I started this project about a month ago. If I decide to use Bayer's, it's best I wait until plants are potted in their new homes. Irina, I have Peat Pellets/Pots, and a little seedling green house with dome and vents..Includes heating pad. Four of the violet leaves rooted. They're small, too tiny to set in pots. Do you think my violets had soil or foliar Mealy? When violets were unpotted, I didn't see pests. However, violets that once had a healthy root were gone, like something devoured them. Mealy was on foliage. It was this forum I learned of soil mealy. Before reading threads here on African Violet Forum, I didn't know soil mealy existed. Irina, I soak plants in winter out of love. lol. It's a lot of work, but afterwards, tropicals look like they just came from Fl. Succulents are only soaked once during winter. It's relaxing, and IMO, plants enjoy it. It might not be something that needs to be done, but I feel better after their bath and shower. Thanks for the prayers..We can all use them. You'll be in mine, too.. Thanks again for all your help, Irina. I swear, you're a Saintpaulia encyclopedia..lol. hugs, Toni

I find that any AVs that is already in bloom when I have picked it up, need to be repoted right away. It has been in that that pot and soil for at least 4-5 month to bring it to bloom. Then there is the problem that most store bought plants are in soil that just to heavy for growing at home. A good book is" You CAN Grow African Violets, by Joyce and Kent Stork". You can pick it up for $18.00 at the AVSA web sit http://www.avsa.org/shop/books-publications/books-publications/you-can-grow-african-violets-1 You need to get it out of the pot it is in and into a lighter soil mix which is explained in the book . Also it is better to repot into a small pot than a big pot. The plant should be 2/3 size of the pot (smaller). If The pot is to big the roots will rot. AVS also like to be root bound and they will not start blooming again until their roots have filled up the new pot The fast way to kill a African Violet. TO MUCH LOVE! ( water) Here is a link that might be useful: American African Violet Society --book store

I am siding with Aegis. It seems that an ordinary maintenance is due. All leaves with pale leaf blades and leaf stalks should be removed off the stem - they are too old to work hard for your plant The plant should be removed from its pot and planted in a fresh soil - you can find oodles of recommendations on our discussion- what soil to pick. The AV should be potted lower - the soil level just under the last row of leaves - you can trim the bottom of the rootball if necessary. The diameter of new pot should be 1/3 of a leaf span - you remove the pale leaves and decide - if you can recycle the old pot - or you need to go higher. I think probably not. Regarding the white specs - hard to say - can be dust - can be not dust - squish on between the nails - if it is dust - it will be dry - if it is wet - it is a critter. Giving a plant a shower in a sink with a lukewarm water will help to remove the dust.