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African Violets garden

The flowers on My African violet are dying, Why?

3 years ago

I have had this violet for about a month or two now. It has a 4 inch pot, bright artificial plant lights, with a sheer fabric over the lights because the leaves were getting brown spots from too much light. It gets watered every 3 days, probably 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup. The humidity level in it's "house" is around 50%-70%. I have not added any fertilizer yet. And the room temperature for it is generally 65 degrees F.

(sorry the photo is horrible)

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Comments (4)

aegis1000
3 years ago
African Violets have flowers when they're trying to reproduce. That takes a lot of energy and plant resources, so it doesn't happen all of the time. African Violets may have periods of blooming which last 4-8 weeks or so, ... then the flowers die down ... and the plant is ready to make seeds.

If you remove the faded flower stems before the plant makes seeds, ... the plant will rest and recoup its resources for awhile, ... and then will begin to try to reproduce again, starting with a period of blooming.

If a plant is healthy, it may go through this cycle a few times a year, meaning that you will get flowers for extended periods a few times a year, ... separated by similar periods ... when it's resting and rejuvenating to bloom again.

I just pulled the last faded blooms from one of my AV's yesterday. It will be without blooms for awhile (probably a couple months), ... then will bloom again.

That is why I have more than one AV (to say the least). That way some plants can be in bloom ... while the others are resting.

Right now, ... about half of my AV's ... are in some stage of bloom while the others are resting from blooming. In two months, the situation will reverse.

The link below leads to a fairly comprehansive guide to growing African Violets ...

https://www.optimara.com/africanvioletcare3.html
joyfulsu
3 years ago
I believe you can force them to bloom by letting them dry out between waterings. :)
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My many African Violet plants appear to be dying
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Vicki, If I was in your situation, this is what I would do; make up my own mix of 1 part each peat moss, coarse vermiculite, and perlite. I would take the plants out of the ceramic planters and check the roots. If there is root rot, you can only salvage the crown or leaves if not too far gone. Cut the stalk to see if there is fresh green inside, and you may have to cut higher up the stem. If you are able to get to fresh green, remove the leaves except for maybe three rows, and put the stem in the new potting mix in a plastic pot. Bag it and place in light but not sun. If there is no stem and you can't make one by removing leaves, pot the leaves. This is why the ceramic planters ring the death knell for so many plants. Even though you are letting the plants dry out between waterings, if there is any root rot it doesn't just go away, you have to remove it. And you can use the same potting mix for the leaves. Good luck. Barbara
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Kathi - you have suckers and long necks. The necks are so long, you need to cut the crowns off and reroot them. Since they were not repotted for long time - I am judging by the length of the necks - the soil turned acid - and it stimulated the mutation - your blossoms are turning into something else. When you separate your plants into 2, they will grow better, bloom better - and you will have 2 different colors - tiedye 1 and tiedye 2. I had it done too - my Optimara Alaska - white with blue edges - the blue pigment was bleeding all over the blossoms - from solid blue to tie dye. Same issue is with the suckers...galore. You basically need to disassemble plant #4 and reroot the suckers. You would be amazed how fast they root and how soon you will enjoy the bloom instead of this mop. Delphe from Georgia - to my regret you are absolutely right - your initial post was lost in a middle. Finally Linda from Tennessee replied you - I second her. Your plants are not dying, they are actually in a very good shape, the only thing you lost - your blossoms got spent way too fast from the heat. Remove the bloomstalks - and you will get new ones soon.(Just never do it again!) I think both of you can benefit from looking again at this site and finding well illustrated answers to your issues. Irina Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's Reflections
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Why isn't my African violet blooming?
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Under the right conditions, many varieties of African violets will bloom year round. If your violet hasn't bloomed in a while, it may not be getting enough light. Try moving it to a brighter window or growing it under florescent lights. Your violet may also need some fertilizer to bloom. Fertilize each time you water, using one-quarter of the strength recommended on the package. If you violet has been in the same pot or soil for a while, repotting may give it the boost it needs to flower. If it looks like there is more than one African violet in the pot, it probably has suckers (baby plants growing off the mother). Removing the suckers will help the mother plant bloom. African violets bloom best when they are rootbound. The pot should be one third the diameter of the plant. For example, if your plant measures 12 inches across, it should be in a 4-inch pot. Join us on the African Violets forum.
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my african violets are not flowering :-(
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Comments (4)
Mine flower almost constantly. I just stick a flowering grow-stick in twice a year, spring and autumn, and off they go. I think they're manufactured by Manutec and are readily available in places like K Mart. I've had one plant the best part of 15 years, it's been repotted once I think. I've had two others for between 5 and ten years. Unfortunately they have a big tap root which grows out of the pot and curls around which makes the plant a bit wobbly. I experimented with pulling the plant out and cutting off most of the tap root and repotted it. It looked poorly for a while, but then recovered. They thrive on a bit of neglect. I think most die from overwatering. People put them on their kitchen windowsill and water them every time they think of it, until they're just a big bog.
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irina_co
3 years ago
I am thinking that the plant is still adjusting from a relocation shock, it is needs to be groomed, repotted and it looks like it has multiple crowns that can be removed. After that... use the guide Aegis provided.

I am not sure that I will go the drying route. You can scare them to bloom probably... but well cared AV blooms 10 months out of the year anyway... Right now Rory' s plant needs some time and TLC,

I.
fortyseven_gw
3 years ago
Aegis & Irina, To the rescue! Great descriptions! Always fun when you share your experience. We all benefit. I learned that allowing the plant to flourish by blooming naturally is best. Joanne

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