Hi, Sorry you're having so much trouble with your violets! I'm "new" to this forum. I used to have tons of violets a bunch of years ago, lost some/gave some away during a move, then had children, etc...now I'm back! :) Anyway, there are a few things you could try. 1. Grocery store violets are risky, as are the ones from Lowes and Home Depot. Be careful that you don't bring home any with bugs or worse. Not every pest is obvious. Most of us order them through the mail and are very happy with them. Of course, you can get some nice plants anywhere! There is a small family owned nursery by my house that I got some lovely Optimara Violets from but they only had like 15 of them and took care of them. They were not cheap either. Think of it as getting a dog from the pound or a dog from a breeder. 2. It may not only be that you're 'watering wrong'. Are they in direct sunlight? I have mine in a north window and they are ecstatic. Lighting matters alot. If you have a good spot, they're tickled pink and will let you know. If you're using natural light, try and turn the plant every day or so 1/4 of a turn to get even growth. 3. What do you pot them in? Alot of people don't like Miracle Gro. I planted one of my houseplants in it and it is so hard it's like cement! The little roots will get strangled. Everyone has their own opinion on this but the potting mix you decide on should be somewhat fluffy, have a little bit of perlite in it and have good drainage. It shouldn't pack down like concrete. I lost a spider plant in Miracle Gro because only the surface got wet. The water sat on top and didn't drain. 4. Repot your plants at least annually (in the spring or summer is best, IMHO) and ensure you put somthing for drainage in the bottom of the pot. A few pebbles or broken old clay pot pieces is fine. The roots should not sit in the water. 5. People have successfully raised and watered violets from the top, the bottom, wick, self-watering pots and what have you. I used to always gently water from the top with a small watering can with a skinning spout. Use room temp or tepid water. The water here is high in PH, heavily chlorinated and hard so I let it stand a bit. (overnight) A rule of thumb is to stick your finger in the soil. If it feels damp and sticks to your finger, let it go. If it is on the verge of being dry, it won't stick to your finger. Water the plant. If you want to water from the bottom, place the plant in a tray, fill it up so that the water covers the bottom inch of the pot, leave it for 20 mins or so and then remove. 6. If all of this is too much work, you can try a self watering pot. I recently bought 10 Oyama self watering pots to try them out. It's almost idiot proof and I like them. There is an insert which you fill perlite up to the line, then your potting mix with the plant. The outer pot has lines for water. You fill the bottom of the the outer pot up to the line with your water and maybe a weak fertilizer (I loved Granny's Bloomers, can't find it anymore!) and then you set it and forget it! So far, my plants have been doing well and drinking normally without my attention for 5-7 days. The only con I have is that the pot is kinda big and takes up space. 7. Some people who have a few plants have them in pots set in a tray of pebbles and then they water the pebbles until they see the water. The plants get some more humidity that way. I never tried that. 8. Most importantly - no hot burning direct sunlight, don't splash the leaves. don't use cold water and if you water from the top, water the soil, not the crowns or the stems. Hope that helps a bit!

Update! Four of the babies have been removed from the momma leaf*, who is back in her materinity ward to see if she wants to give up any more. (because I totally need more unidentified plant babies) Three had good roots, one was like a little sucker on another. I don't hold out a whole lot of hope for it but it's in a wee cup, under a dome to see if it will grow roots. Sadly because it's soooooo tiny and rootless, I fully expect it to die. Anyway, I'll try to get pictures later on. ~ I have to (shamefully) admit that two of the babies were removed about a week ago and were probably a little bit too small but I was so impatient with my first attempt! So far they don't appear to be doing much except not dying, and not dying is a good thing.

Hi Abigail, Welcome to wonderful AV (african violets) world. I remember my beginnings and it was a great time - learning more and more about these great plants. "v" means that foliage is variegated, not simply green but with some sort of non green coloration - variegation. There are few different kinds of variegation. You will find more info about it(and many other subjects) on web. Try to read FAQ for the start. Good luck and enjoy your beautiful hobby. Alena

I love to share Leon. And I have shared back plants also. And thanks for offering me the Alchemy Bells! Hope we can make that work! I can't believe in this entire county there are NO people that are interested in violets! I almost have to rely on this group exclusively to "share". Otherwise I would be over run with violet children! I would be one huge violet orphanage! Sorry,,just can't toss them! Rosie