Dan, the leaves look a lot like they're sunburned. You might try lowering the light levels a bit. Not sure about the flowers -- sunburn is more streaky than spotty.

For brushing leaves, I use a makeup brush from the dollar store or a *soft* artist's brush. The brush you used is probably for grooming soil.

Good luck.

Korina

Thank you for the info Korina. I have them on a window shelf in a southeast facing window. It gets mostly morning sun, the sun comes in on an angle so I will try moving the AV's to the other side of the shelf where they will get less light.

Yes, you are correct; the brush I used is for sweeping dead leaves and debris from the soil.
Thanks,
Dan

I don't know! The whitish stuff looks like pollon but it is not yellow. Could they be eggs? Do you have a 30 X microscope or jeweler's loupe? You can see them for sure with that and you can get either for $10 or so on Ebay.

I didn't SEE any thrips. Do you see them flying around the plant or anywhere in the room? Put up Yellow or blue No Pest Strips or put one in a garbage bag with this plant and see if you catch any thrips.

I wouldn't venture a guess at this. I've never seen a bloom with brown spots on it. How does the center of your plant look. Could this be the beginning of mites? I say this because the leaves look hairy. Send more pictures including one of the center.

Nancy in Montreal

Dan, do the flowers have the whitish stuff on their bases? Because looking at it again, it looks a *lot* like powdery mildew. Check the post with that title for more info.

Good luck,

Korina

Dan

Just out of curiosity, how long has it been since the plant was repotted? Maybe your ph is "out of whack". If it has been quite a long time, remove the plant from its pot and check the roots(for mealy bugs or rot) and repot in fresh AV soil, removing any damaged leaves. Unless the roots are totally filling the pot, you can repot into the same size container. If the plant is rootbound, move up to the next size.

I also agree with Korina that it looks as if you could have powdery mildew, and some plants are just more susceptible to it than others. She mentioned in another post about air circulation being very helpful in preventing it. I've found that during the spring(not sure we can call this time of year spring yet?) and fall I seem to have more problems than other times of year.

Nancy also gave you great information about looking for thrips. When I've had them in the past, there wasn't any doubt in my mind as they are very visible. They crawl all over the blossoms, and if you blow gently on the blossoms, you can see them scurry around.

Many times it is just a process of elimination in determining the problem(and extremely frustrating at the same time)! Good luck with your detective work! - Elaine

Good to see you, Elaine. I was just about to email to make sure you were okay.

Linda

Thanks, Linda.

My daughter had back surgery and had some complications which have lasted quite a while. She has two small children, and I was lending a helping hand. I would read the forums but just didn't take time to post. She is improving quite a bit, and I'm happy to be back.

Thanks for your comments and concern. :)

Elaine

Nancy,

I think I do have a jeweler's loupe type thing somewhere; I have to look for it though. I will try and find it and check if I can see anything.

I donÂt see anything flying around the plants or the room, I will have to go buy one of them pest strips and see if I catch anything.

I do not have a picture of the center of this plant; however, I do have a picture of the center of another plant with the same problem. I posted some pictures of the hole plant in the AV Gallery. I am attaching a close up of the Optimara Seurat in this post. There is a full picture of the Optimara Seurat in the AV Gallery.

Korina,

The only part of the flower that has the whitish stuff is on the top of the flower like the one in the pic. Not all the flowers have the whitish stuff on them, probably more donÂt then do.

Elaine,

I am not sure how long it has been since the plant in the picture has been repotted because I havenÂt had it all that long. Just about all my plants now have this problem, so I donÂt think it could be because it needs to be repotted.

Another Rhapsodie Patsy bloom
{{gwi:362315}}

Optimara Seurat bloom
{{gwi:362316}}

Unknown Mini African Violet "Picture of entire plant in my AV Gallery post; itÂs the first picture in the post."
{{gwi:362317}}

Thank you everyone for the information,

Dan

Hi Dan,

I was just wondering if this happens too all of your buds as soon as they open or is it just affecting older ones. The reason why I'm asking this question is that as blossoms age, they do start to get this appearance before dying. However, if this is occuring on newly opened blossoms then, of course, the reason is something else.

Although I have noticed that some varieties, such as my Irish Flirt, occasionally gets some brown around the edges but the blossoms don't die right away. But I haven't noticed any brown spots either.

Are you getting other symptoms such as hairy, gray centers in the crown area? I know Nancy mentioned about mites, and this could be a possible problem. Good luck with your detecting. - Elaine

It was suggestsed: "I didn't SEE any thrips. Do you see them flying around the plant or anywhere in the room?"

Thrips don't do that.

Instead, follow another poster's advice to gently blow into the center of the flower. Doing so disturbs the thrips which will then scurry on the petals where you can see these very slender insects.

Doubt that you have powdery mildew. In my experience, PM is visible on the back side of the flower, also on the green calyx. But verify that powdery stuff in the flower's center with a handlens -- I find that using a 10x loupe is adequate.

As for the discoloration on the leaves -- I doubt it's sunburn as it lacks the correct pattern. Could be spotting from cold water when you water the plants, even if the water never touches the leaves.

Lainielady,

I haven't really noticed it happening to newly opened buds. I don't see any gray in the crown area. So do you think the cause of the brown spots could be normal aging of the flowers?

Jean001,

Thank you for the clarification!

I can't see any bugs scurrying around when I blow on the plant. I have done this to all my plants and haven't noticed anything.

I haven't been able to find my hand lens yet; therefore, I haven't been able to look closer at the white stuff on the flower.

I have gallon jugs of water that I use to water my plants, so the water is always at room temperature. Could this still be to cold for the plants? Only one of my AV's has the discolored leaves.

I moved my AV's to the other side of the shelf where they get less light. They now don't look as good as they did and the buds seem to be taking longer to open. Could this be a coincidence; or do you think itÂs because they are no longer getting enough light?

Has anyone had experience with Safer Insect Killing Soap; is it effective? Could I use this to prevent infestations? It isnÂt easy for me to quarantine new plants because there isnÂt really any other suitable place for plants in my house other than where I have all my plants. Therefore, if I were able to apply Safer Insect killing Soap to my new plants to reduce the amount of time I had to quarantine my plants it would be extremely helpful. Because the only place I have to quarantine my new plants is less then adequate for even low light plants.

Thanks for your help,
Dan