Hi Blue - welcome to the crowd,

Where did you get your violet from? Home Depot?

Irina

Blue -

if you look back at some of our threads there is a lot of discussions about store bought violets, why they die and how to revive them. Pay attention to Korina's posts - she is very passionate about it.

Basically you need to repot to a significantly lighter soil, do not overwater it and wait to get it acclimatized to you home. Remove all flowers. These plants are grown in a very humid environment, under the lights and in a heavy peat soil. They are expected to bloom for 10 days and then die and be tossed so you get yourself another centerpiece from the same store. With appropriate care they will live and bloom for you for many years. the record old plant is 50 years old - Superman its name.

There is a useful info in the FAQs on this forum, www.rachelsreflections.com site - so you will feel more comfortable dealing with these plants. And please ask your questions. We all are very happy to have a new grower joining us, learning and becoming a pro, sharing with us successes and losses, pics and ideas.

Good Luck

Irina

hello everybody,i have a african violet i have never seen so many buds on my planti was really happy but as soon as they appear they look brown and rusty and never open much .i have had my plant for a few months now and it has flowered before i only water it when it is dry,and it has always been so healthy,its leaves are perfect,HELP

Yesterday at Meijers I saw their AV display. One of the white ones had been stripped of almost all its leaves. I guess someone's rooting them free .

That is a shame. Our meijer is so fastidious about our plant dept that it throws away plants before their bloom is even remotely finished! But for people to "pinch plants" that is stealing. Shame on them if this is the case. Guess it just struck a nerve this morning. Sorry for the rant. Rosie

It's not a rant, Rosie. You're expressing an opinion shared by many. Leon

Pearl -

try to increase your watering a little bit. Do not wait until it is very dry, water when the soil surface dries. Second reason for bud blasting is low humidity - so if it is on a way of AC air flow...the tender buds can get dessicated. What fertilizer do you use? AVs can live long without any fertilizer - but to bloom them - you need to feed them.

Pearl ...

Also make sure that your plant is getting enough LIGHT.

African Violets need 10-14 hours/day of BRIGHT light through a window ... or indoor fluorescent light.

When I finally was able to keep my African Violets alive, ... I next learned that I needed to keep them in BRIGHT LIGHT multiple hours per day to get their flower buds to open. Those plants that I didn't get into a well-lit location would not open their flower buds, even if the plants had flowers and buds when I brought it home. Those buds would just brown and die.

So check your LIGHTING. An easy way to make sure your plant is getting enough light is to purchase an inexpensive desk-lamp and use one of the 60 W fluorescent spiral bulbs in it. Train that light onto your African Violet during your waking hours, and I guarantee that you will get bloom.

Examples of such lighting setups are displayed below ...

Thanks Leon, but I posted it in anger. I was "out of sorts" when I posted and I really should have waited. I am much better now. Going up to my sewing room for some much needed therapy!!! TA TA!!!!! Rosie

Rosie -

I am here with you - Optimaras in a store are so inexpensive... pilfering leaves is realy bizarre... Lets hope - this plant was dropped = and leaves needed to come off because they were broken. No itchy fingers involved.

Irina I doubt it was dropped. Meijer (at least mine) doesn't "trim" broken leaves off and put it back on the shelf for sale. Lowes does,,,but not Meijer. I have watched them unpack (remember I got the sleeves back in April?) and they just keep it so clean and picked up that there is (almost) no hope to get a fallen leaf. HOWEVER!!!! I have been lucky enough to find fallen (and I mean totally broken off, I won't "pinch") leaves. But that only happens maybe twice a year. Veeeery infrequently. And sometimes they are so badly damaged they don't live.

As much as I would like to think it was the way you hope,,,,I doubt it, but because I do not know I will hope also and leave it at that.

Guess I still am a little testy. Hmmm,,,and I even spent 2 hours in my sewing room!! Go figure. Rosie

Rosie -

I am long pass the desire of buying Optimaras... They just do not make my heart beat faster... 19 years ago... I was buying everything HD had. Scaring my hubby that I got some crazy acquisition bug...I was smuggling them into my plant room so he wouldn't see...

i.

Hahahahahahahaha oh Irina I am laughing about the smuggling part ! I have so many things I like to do (let's just call them hobbies!) smuggling is a way of life for me !!!!! hahahahahahahaha!!! Whether it is a plant, a piece of fabric or doll it will be smuggled in! roflmbo!!!!! Thanks for that! Rosie

PS. Optimaras are wearing thin with me also. I have graduated to other violets,,,oh and streps also!