Ummm...don't water at all unless the soil is dry 1/4" deep down, and even then don't water from the top. If your drain tray won't allow you to water directly into it then get wider drain trays and water directly into them with Miracle Grow's african violet mixture. Fill as close to the top of the drain pan as you can, and let the plant do the rest. I never paid attention to the potassium and zinc, but only fed them once every ten to 20 days.

If you have to, keep a log so you know when you are watering and how much lighting they are getting. Try not to get water on the leaves.

African violets are my specialty, and they need full summer diffused lighting and use plant lights during the fall, winter and spring.

I guess I need to get some again, to show everyone how easy they are to grow. You just really need to be attentive to their needs. My cat's, that are no longer with me, made a meal of mine.

Good luck!

any other sugestion??????????

Siracuzi,

If it was my plant, I would take ALL the blooms off the plant. They are undersized anyway, so what do you have to lose. Then each time you see a bud forming, remove it. Do this for a month and then let it bloom.

I disbudded all my plants in mid-January. They weren't doing anything spectacular anyway. I left town on March 20, so that was two months. When I got home, they had bloomed heavier than ever before.

I know you hate to remove flowers, but it will probably be food for the plant.

When is your next AV club meeting? I joined a club that is 90 miles from me (the closest). What a nice group of people, with a lot of knowledge and LOTS of leaves to share!

Good luck.

Barbara

Also, in regards to the fertilizer frequency, my plants have always done much better if I continuously feed them. When I was only feeding on a schedule, I could never remember the last time I fed them. I do have them on wicks and reservoirs, so this is much easier for me.

Different things work for different folks.

Barbara

"I know you hate to remove flowers, but it will probably be food for the plant"

Nah, not food for the plant, I meant good for the plant.

Barbara

I agree with Barbara. If you are wick or mat watering and using a soil-less mix, you need constant weak fertilizing. Caveat: With the occasional flush with plain water to remove any built-up salts/fertilizer.

I also agree you need to disbud. Did you do that when Nancy told you that was one of the steps in successfully combatting thrip? You left the impression you didn't.

However, to get the correct diagnosis, you need to get to a meeting. And tell them *everything* you've done to your plants: Treated for thrip, treated for mites, etc.

Digress: I am a retired dog trainer. Years ago a lady called another dog trainer about her dog "showing her teeth." This trainer didn't see the dog; he made an over-the-phone diagnosis and told the woman this was intolerable and a precurser to a bite. The owner should smack the dog and if the behavior continued, probably put to sleep. Owner calls me and says the more she smacks, the more the dog shows her teeth; I insist on a face-to-face meeting.

Dog is a Beagle named Maggie. Maggie greeted me with the biggest "smile" (which is submissive in doggie language) you've ever seen. The owner went crazy and yelled "DON'T PET HER; DON'T PET HER!!! SHE'S GOING TO BITE YOU!!!!"

First trainer went by the owner's interpretation of what Maggie was doing; not what was actually going on. Without that face-to-face, poor Maggie would still be smacked today or have been euthanized for aggression.

We want you to be successful with your African Violets and, after a time, you'll be the one *answering* questions. :-)

Get to a meeting; take your plants and see what is going on.

Best of luck.

Linda

Did your flowers just open? If yes, they will get bigger in a few days -- at least on my plants, flowers are small when they open, and then in maybe a week they get much bigger. So maybe you are trying to compare current blooms that just opened to old blooms that you remember fully opened and fully developed. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I would wait a bit before doing anything drastic...

They are already fully opened and they are small.
I disbuded my AV like within 2 month and I have to do to to 1 month more?