FAQ: Page 1

The Violet Barn

Question: We keep our home quite cool at night, about 55f degrees. Will this be too cold for our African violets?

Answer: It won't be too cold, but they won't be very happy about it. Most varieties currently being grown prefer temperatures somewhere between 60f and 80f degrees--much the same as we do. Violets will survive in temperatures a bit outside of this range, but their growth will be adversely affected. Just like people or machines, they won't function as well when too cold or too hot. When temperatures begin to fall much below 60f degrees, growth will be very slow, almost seeming to stop. Foliage will become more hairy and center growth will become smaller and bunched, behaving much like a person bundled up at a bus stop in winter. In extreme cases, one might mistake the tight, hairy, centers for a cyclamen mite infestation.

Foliage will be thicker and more brittle. Varieties with variegated leaves will become more heavily variegated, sometimes becoming nearly totally white. The blooms that may still be produced will be larger and more colorful, but will be less numerous and infrequent. If too cold, the blooms may be damaged or discolored, looking like they've been "bruised". When it's cold, it's more important to keep excess moisture off of the foliage and blossoms, too.

Having said this, some varieties, and many of the species especially, will be quite happy with cooler than normal temperatures. Some of the species, in fact, won't do well if it's not cool. S. goetzeana is one that's been known to bloom only if it's kept quite cool. We like to grow our showplants a bit on the cool side, with temperatures between 60f and 70f, if possible, since this promotes better variegation, and larger, more colorful, and longer lasting blooms. Growth is slower, but prettier.

Question: What's that yellow stuff that you keep brushing on your violets?

Answer: The "yellow stuff" that this visitor to our shop was referring to was powdered sulfur. It is our way of controlling powdery mildew, which seems to be a problem for us in spring and fall. Powdered sulfur is our way of eliminating mildew on a violet without having to spray our entire collection with more toxic chemicals. Since it's our practice to regularly brush the leaves of our violets when we groom them, it's not that much more work for us. We keep a small jar of it at our side, and when we see a plant with powdery mildew, we dip the brush tip into the jar, getting just a very small amount of sulfur, gently tap the brush onto the leaves, then brush off. It kills the mildew on contact, and keeps it from returning to the treated areas.

We should mention that we've tried the method of simply placing containers of sulfur amongst the plants, but found this to be of no use. It must be applied to the plants to be effective. Where to get it? As your local pharmacist. A lifetime supply can usually be gotten for just a few dollars.

Question: I have some very dirty violets. Can I wash them?

Answer: Sure, just be gentle. First, find a working area and sink that is large enough for you to handle your plants without damaging them or making a huge mess. A sink with a sprayer attachment, and easily controlled water flow and water temperature, is best. Next, you want to keep the soil from making a muddy mess of the plant. We find it best to do this when the soil is already moist. Dry soil tends to fall out of the pot too easily when it's tipped. If you can't fit your hands beneath the leaves and over the pot, you might want to make a plastic "collar" that fits around the plant's neck and over the pot rim.

Collect all of your plants to be washed, so that once you find the right water temperature and pressure, you don't have to turn off the water while searching for the next plant. Use room temperature or slightly warmer water--ideally, water the same temperature as the leaves themselves. The water pressure should be just strong enough to wash away the dirt without damaging the foliage. Tip the plant, holding it a bit on its side, so that the water runs off of the foliage and into the sink, not into the pot. Work from the center of the plant outwards, so that the dirt is washed off of the plant, and not into its center. If you need to, you can use a mild soap, like Ivory. Collect some soap suds on your fingertips and very gently "suds up" the foliage by carefully rubbing it between your fingers. Be sure to thoroughly wash the plant of the soap after doing this. When done, blot the excess water from the plant, especially the center, with a soft cloth or towel that won't shed lint onto the plant (like some facial or toilet tissues). Place in a warm, protected, area away from direct sunlight and cold drafts.

Having said all of this, you should never need to wash a violet. Most people see the shiny foliage on our plants and assume that we wash our violets, but we almost never do. For one thing, washing a large showplant can be a lot of work, and can do more damage than good if not done very carefully. We prefer to regularly (once every few weeks) brush each plant's leaves with a very soft bristle brush. If a violet isn't allowed to stay dirty, it won't need to be washed!

Question: How often should I fertilize my violet?

Answer: Every time you water. We like to say "treat your violets like you child". A good parent wouldn't feed her child only when it was convenient, at irregular intervals. A child, at least, will make more noise when it's hungry--"...when's dinner?!". Any growing, living, thing needs regular, predictable, feedings. If you want your plant to grow and bloom continually and regularly, you need to provide for its needs continually and regularly. Use the "constant feed" directions for your fertilizer, or dilute to 1/4 to 1/8 strength if these are not given. Use less for constant-watering methods, since the plant will process more water, and occasionally flush with plain water to wash excess fertilizer salts from the soil.

Question: I have florescent lights in my office. Can I grow African violets there?

Answer: Yes, but if your office is like most, a violet probably won't bloom very well, or often, there. Violets grown in these conditions will rarely bloom, leaves will be less firm and succulent, and growth will be more sparse and upright in habit. Florescent lights that are 6 feet, or so, above a violet on a desk top won't provide enough light for good flowering, unless supplemented by good, indirect, natural light from a window. If artificial light is all that is available, it would need to be much, much closer to the violet for it to bloom well. This means within at least 18" for a two-tube florescent fixture.

In the interest of a more pleasant working environment, why not consider mounting a small florescent light fixture underneath a bookshelf, of putting a small, table-top light stand on top of those filing cabinets? Of course, this may mean more frequent interruptions from staff wanting to view your beautiful plants--"What a beautiful plant! May I have a cutting?".

Question: Is there any way to keep variegated foliage from getting brown spots along the edges?

Answer: Though beautiful, variegated foliage can present some problems. One of these is the ugly spotting or "bruising" that's referred to here. Usually, the more heavily variegated the leaf, the more susceptible it is to such problems. Just this morning, for example, we moved none heavily variegated plant to a different spot on the same shelf. When we looked at it again, not more than two minutes later, nearly an entire leaf had turned a shade of brown. You only need to breathe on some plants for them to bruise this way.

Fortunately, not all varieties are this sensitive and, with a few precautions, this problem can be minimized. First, avoid over-handling the plants. The less that you touch the foliage, the less likely the chance for bruising. Be especially careful not to handle these plants with cold and/or wet hands. I once handled one after having a pickle as a snack, turning the entire plant brown within a matter of minutes! Second, try not to keep these plants too soggy. When the plant tissues are holding a lot of water, they seem especially prone to bruising. Third, be careful when watering not to get water, particularly cold water, on the foliage. Morning "dew" can be a problem, also. This is the moisture that often appears in the crown, or on the leaf edges, the morning after a cool night. For this reason, it's best not to water in the evening, and to minimize the difference between nighttime and daytime temperatures. Lastly, be careful in using fertilizers and other chemicals, since overuse of these can be toxic to the plant and damage the foliage.

Question: Most of my collection of violets at home have very light leaves, almost white. They aren't variegated, and they were all green-leaved when I first got them.

Answer: A question we were posed by a visitor to our shop. She claimed to be an "experienced" grower and mentioned this more as a curiosity than as a problem. At first, we thought that she was talking about the reappearance of variegation and, given her description, likely heavy crown variegation. We figured that she might have gotten the plants during the summer, when the warm temperatures may have caused the variegation to disappear. With the onset of cooler weather, perhaps the variegation was returning. This wasn't the case.

After talking some more, we realized that by "white", she meant that the leaves had lost all of their color--i.e. a nearly complete absence of green (or any other color). This was a serious cultural problem, not a harmless curiosity. Wanting to know what could have gone wrong, we asked her how she cared for her plants. It seemd that her violets were being "starved" to such a degree that they were no longer willing, or able, to produce chlorophyll (the green leaves). Of course, she insisted she was doing everything properly (we knew better). She listed all of the things she did, including regularly feeding all of her plants with an "African violet fertilizer", in this case "Granny's Bloomers". There, of course, was the answer.

We've always suggested that growers always use a "balanced" fertilizer, meaning a formula (N-P-K) containing approximately equal amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). For example, we use fertilizers with formulas of 15-16-17 and 17-17-17 on all of our plants, all of the time. It's not necessary to use "bloom boosting", high phosphorus formulas, even for blooming plants like African violets. Far, far, more important to good blooming is a good environment (i.e. adequate light, moderate temperatures), and good care (i.e. watering, soil, etc.). A well cared for plant, in a good environment, will bloom. It does not need to be "forced" to bloom. this is even true for "show" plants, where and abundance of bloom is needed. this is spoken from more than 25 years of experience (and hundreds of shows)--we've never had to use high phosphorus fertilizers. They're just not necessary.

"Granny's Bloomers", as the name implies is a high phosphorus fertilizer. What's more, with a 0-6-5 formula, it has NO nitrogen! A fertilizer with this formula should never be used as the primary diet for the plant. Nitrogen is the most important part of your plant's diet, the basic fuel, lich starches (or carbohydrates) are for people. Without any of it, your plant will eventually starve. In this case, no nitrogen, means no chlorophyll. No chlorophyll means no green in the foliage. This is a perfect, though extreme, illustration of why a balanced diet is so important in growing healthy, blooming violets. Always feed your plants enough nitrogen. If you do use high phosphorus fertilizers, do so sparingly and when needed--never as a sole diet.

Question: Chirita 'Vietnam' (usbrg #98-083) grows very well for me, but I've never been able to get it to bloom. Perhaps it's just a poor bloomer. Is that true?

Answer: This was a comment overheard in a showroom last fall. We've seen this particular plant more than once in shows, and it always looks terrific, with perfectly symmetrical rows of pointed, fuzzy, leaves and, usually, attractive stolons displayed around the main plant bearing those same leaves. Like this exhibitor, we've never seen one shown in bloom. From personal experience, however, we know much differently--it's a very easy and free bloomer. Most all of the chiritas are.

The secret, as it is for any gesneriad that produces stolons, is to remove the stolons! We've grown this particular plant both with, and without, stolons. Those grown without stolons are almost always in bud or bloom. Those allowed to produce stolons almost never flower. Episcias are another gesneriad that usually are not seen exhibited in bloom, and many growers have difficulty getting them to bloom heavily. Because they have such beautiful leaves, and are such vigorous plants, most growers don't bother to groom them properly. Most swill bloom heavily, and regularly, if their growth is controlled properly. This is what we do. First, remove all stolons until the main crown fully matures and begins to produce flower buds. Then, allow the first set of stolons to mature and produce buds before allowing those stolons to produces stolons, and so on. By doing this, you will have a full plant with many large, fully developed, crowns, each producing bloom.

Question: All of my violets are showing very crowded centers. The center leaves are small and bunched together. I'm worried that I might have mites. Is that likely?

Answer: Probably not. It's more likely that these were the symptoms of too much light and, to a lesser degree, too much fertilizer. This grower had her violets under artificial lights--4 florescent tubes above each 2'x2' shelf, less than a foot above the plants. The lights were kept on for 12 hours per day. This amount of light is far too much for most varieties of African violets, about twice as much as they need. Two tubes, about 10-12" above miniature violets, and 15-18" above standard-size violets, for 12-13 hours a day, would be sufficient for healthy growth and good blooming.

This grower also used "Oyama" pots and fertilized at the full, recommended dosage for regular, periodic, watering (i.e. "if you feed every time you water, use this amount....."). This type of pot is part of a constant-watering system where an inner pot, with a "slotted" bottom is placed inside an outer water-holding pot. Of course, this not only provides water to the plant at all times, but also fertilizer. Because the plant processes a greater volume of water when using this kind of pot, it will also process a greater volume of fertilizer. For this reason, fertilizer dilution should be cut to perhaps 1/3 or 1/4 of the regular amount, which hadn't been done in this case. The same would be true for any constant-watering system, such as "wick" watering or the use of self-watering "violet pots".

Question: Is there any way that I can keep the water in my wicking reservoir from turning green with algae?

Answer: Since the algae won't grow in the dark, one solution is to use a dark, light-blocking, reservoir. Another is to add about 1/4 teaspoon of Physan 20 for every gallon of water. Physan 20 is a popular, easy, and relatively safe to use algaecide. About once every three weeks, we add it to our water to deep our capillary mats from turning green--it works wonders and, because it's als a bactericide and fungicide, it's a good preventative measure against more serious problems. We've also learned to use dark colored, acrylic, blankets (they can be hard to find), since algae is less likely to grow on dark surfaces and, when it does, is less visible.

Question: What's the best remedy for suckers?

Answer: A simple question with a simple answer--blooming! A sucker, of course, is an extra growing point (crown), usually appearing as a pair (or pairs) or leaves within the leaf axils beneath the original growing point in the uppermost, center of the plant. Unless this is a trailing variety, on which extra crowns should be encouraged, or a species violet, which you can choose to grow multiple crowned, these suckers should be removed at first sight. Allowing them to develop not only distorts the symmetry of the plant, but will also delay and/or discourage production of buds and blooms.

Your violet produces suckers as a means of reproducing itself. If unchecked, those suckers will eventually grow into entirely new plants, leaving you with a multiple-crowned plant that will then need dividing. True, it may continue to sporadically bloom, but it will bloom much more if not allowed to sucker. Why? By not allowing your plant to reproduce vegetatively, it must try to reproduce itself sexually by flowering. It will bloom earlier and more, if not allowed to sucker. In our experience, varieties that seem to sucker the most when young also seem to bloom the most once suckers are removed. 'Rob's Jitterbug', is an excellent example. It is a terrific propagator, producing lots of plants, very quickly, from a rooted leaf. Once potted, it grows quickly--and produces lots of suckers! Once they are removed, however, it will produce lots and lots of bloom, continuously, without producing another sucker. It doesn't need to, since it's much too busy blooming! The moral? Suckering can be a good thing, so long as they are removed in a timely way. It's evidence of a vigorous plant with a strong survival instinct. You only need to tell it how!

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