Choose a north- or east- facing window for best results. Keep plants away from cold glass and rotate the pot once a week so all leaves receive light. Extend daylight by placing African violets under a grow light during winter months. Keep warm. Water from below.
Fill the saucer using room temperature water. Let sit for about an hour and then pour excess water out. Allow the plant to dry out between waterings. Indoor houseplant food every weeks in spring, summer and fall. Think before replanting. African violets are prone to powdery mildew, a fungus that looks like fine white talcum powder on leaves and flowers. Good air circulation around plants may help prevent this problem. Mealybug and thrips are two insects that commonly attack violets.
Mealybug appears as white, cottony patches on leaves top or bottom and stems. Thrips signal their presence by causing brown edges on flowers, distorted leaves, and pollen trails on petals. Isolate any infested plants, and treat as needed.
Proper care of your violets will result in healthy plants which are less susceptible to pest and disease. Insert the stem into damp cutting mix and maintain higher humidity. New plants form at the base of the leaf. You can also root the leaf in water, and violets can also be grown from seed. REPOT your violet once or twice a year to maintain its appearance and provide fresh growing medium.
As African violets grow, they lose the older, lower leaves. Repotting will enable you to keep the attractive, rosette growing habit that a newly purchased violet has. If your violet has not developed a very long neck, remove it from the pot, and cut off a slice of soil from the bottom of the root ball that is roughlyequal to the length of the neck.
Set the plant back into its pot, and add fresh medium to the top of the root ball, covering the bare neck. New roots will grow out into the medium from the neck. For a plant that has been allowed to grow a long, curving neck, it is best to cut the stem and root the leafy part of the plant. Water that is too cold chills the roots of your African violet.
African violets are native plants of, you guessed it, Africa, and they don't like cold roots. If you notice the leaf edges of your African violet begin to curl downward shortly after watering, it's an indication that the water that hit the roots was too cold. Water setting on the leaves of your African violet is never appreciated, but cold water will almost immediately begin to kill the tissues in the leaves, leaving unsightly brown dead spots. If you do spill water on the leaves, wipe it off immediately with a soft towel.
We'll talk later about misting your African violet, but misting is different than water setting on the leaves. Misting does not leave large water droplets behind and doesn't cause damage, if the water used for the misting is room temperature.
Softened water should not be used for watering African violets. Softened water contains high amounts of saline, which inhibits the African violet from absorbing water and nutrients. If you have a water softener in your home and are not able to take water from a diversion valve before it runs through the softener, you should use bottled spring water or collected rain water.
Distilled water is not the best for plants, as virtually all the nutrients and minerals are removed in the distillation process. Even if your water is not softened but has high chlorine content, you should consider using another water source for your African violets.
0コメント