As Rosie has said, the first step to enjoying successful violets is effective watering. In addition to what Rosie has said, I would suggest feeling the top of the soil in your violets' pots, ... and only watering when the soil is drier.

Overwatering is the easiest way to kill an African Violet, ... but now that you know, you are forewarned.

Also, check to see if your water provider uses Chloramine in their water processing. If so, you will need to use a different source of water, as Chloramine can kill African Violets. Spring water from a grocery or grocery dispensery is a good alternate source of water.

Giving your plants sufficient light will help to ensure that they continue to bloom. African Violets do not bloom continuously, but, with proper lighting, they can bloom their best, hopefully giving you bloom from one (or more) of your plants most of the time.

Your violets will need natural light (from a window no more that a foot or so away) ... and/or fluorescent artificial light for 8-12 hours/day. I think that the new LED lighting will work as well, ... but not the old incandescents.

After awhile, your violets will need fertilizer ... look for an African Violet fertilizer ... and mix 1/2 the recommended amount into your water for your plants.

After a year or so, ... your violets will likely need repotting, though they, likely, should stay in the same size pot (4" diameter). If your violets reach 15" across, you can pot up to a 5" diameter pot. If they reach, 18", go for a 6" pot. IOW, keep the pot diameter to 1/3 the plant's width.

When you repot, use a mixture of 1/2 commercial African Violet potting soil, and 1/2 Pearlite. You should be able to get both at the local box hardware store (Lowe's or Home Depot).

You have time to enjoy your new plants ... while you learn to care for them. Check out the following link for more information about caring for your new plants.

http://www.optimara.com/africanvioletcare1.html

It really isn't so tough, once you learn the basics of watering, and lighting. Learning those two alone will get you healthy blooming plants for a few months ...

Thanks Aegis, I forgot about the cloramine discussion. I called our local water department to ask. They were very nice about my questions. Also you can google your local water dept and get lots of information. Rosie

If you are new to AVs and you don't want to do too much work I suggest investing in self watering pots, follow the instructions to get the right mix of soiless medium and perlite, and how to dilute the plant food, and you should be enjoying the violets with a minimum of work. You only need to repot once a year, and a bag of Miracle Grow soil and a little bag of perlite don't cost much and are available anywhere. You do need to feed them plant food! If you find that you love the AVs, keep them. If you feel they are more work than enjoyment, then AVs are not for you and there is nothing wrong with that! A NOID is just a lovely as a named plant, you can name your NOIDs anything you want ;) I have cloramine here in Pasadena, and I used tap water that has been filtered with a counter top filter and my plants are a-ok. If the plants are too big to fit on the window sill, snap off the oldest leaves. I keep my violets small to fit in my window. I have to repot 2-3 times a year but it's easy. Enjoy your violets.

Thank you all for your advice.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back on here, I've had trouble with my internet.

I have checked with my town water treatment plant and all they use is chlorine, but I use bottled water anyway. I have been having a good time learning about these plants and am not worried about the work that goes into them. I have the time!

About to start the repotting process soon, wish me luck!!

Thank you all!!

-Courtney

Here is a big GOOD LUCK wish for ya! Remember to read the prior posts and learn from them. There are sooooooo many different methods to achieve the same goals! Rosie