Sandra,

It could be root rot. Look at the roots and if they are not white, they have begun to rot from too much water.

You may need to cut off all the roots in order to save the plant. There is an AV forum mostly for newbies to African violets but very helpful to all in that it shows much of the basics of culture including rerooting a plant.

Nancy

Sandra

Good job on posting anew, but you didn't answer my question?

"Is there drainage in that little pot? It looks like it has been planted straight into it and no drainage.... does water come out the bottom? Root rot could be your problem.... But maybe not?

Outside in the morning sun is much different than inside in the morning sun. Your sun in the Philippines is much stronger than ours further north. Might have been too much for the plant! I'd think full shade is in order for AV's outside.

The leaves ARE dying, from what I can tell, either from rot or too much sun.(or both) AV leaves do not generally recover from wilt."

Please answer,
Diane

Diane,

yes, there is a hole at the bottom of the pot. actually, the plant is in a fully shaded area, outside of the house. I am going to try Nancy's advice. but, do you think it would recover? I have tried growing vioets and it seems i have no success. the plant i showed you is the nth batch i had. they always die and everytime i buy a new one i keep my fingers crossed hoping they would live.

sandra

Also AV's don't like a lot of heat. Maybe it is too hot. Maybe your soil is too heavy and holds too much water. You did good to repot if you took it out of that peat they sell them in but what kind of soil did you repot it in. They can also suffer from shock of being transplanted and maybe be kept covered in a large plastic bag, out of the sun for a few days and then taken out slowly to readjust to environment. Once wilted, mine have only come back if wilted for need of water. If it isn't root root (and you can take it out and tell pretty quickly if that is the case), bring it into a cooler place and put in a baggie...if it is root root, cut off the rotting part, getting it all and take off some lower leaves and put that into soil up to the leaves and put in a baggie, cool, out of the sun and it will send out more roots. Maybe you can try another plant with wicking. A lot of us lost violets when we first started and got better at growing them. We're just guessing cause we can't actually look at the plant.

here is what i did with my plant....i got rid of all the roots and repotted it. while handling, some of the leaves fell off, the other one is a sucker i removed. tried to put them down on soil to see if it will survive, since i am so desperate to successfully grow african violets. you think they will?

{{gwi:373184}}

Did you add perilite to the soil mix? I do not see any in your photo and you Need to lighten up the soil. You've got the right idea there but you are going to have the same problem with the roots if you don't fix the soil. It will stay wet too long and rot again. Mix it 1/2 periltie and 1/2 peat(soilless mix)

Your sucker looks like it has the best chance to survive(and it can't hurt to try to propagate the leaves)but I would put all of them in plastic bags (the main plant too) or find something that you could use as a terrarium/mini greenhouse to add humidity. Keep them in there for 2 or 3 weeks (the leaves must stay in there much longer!)

Check out this great site for more info and How to photos.

Good luck
Diane

Here is a link that might be useful: Rachels Reflections

Sandra, two things.

1. Your soil mix is *much* too heavy. Violets need lots of air in their roots. Use a mix of 1 part Av soil or peat, 1 part vermiculite (kind of looks like gold), 1 or even 2 parts perlite (little white globs that always end up on top of the soil).

2. African violets (Saintpaulias) actually come from a temperate zone in Africa. They prefer temperatures in the low to mid 70's F, but can adapt to somewhat higher. I don't know what your temps are like, but they start stressing in the 80's and will die. You might have to adapt your growing techniques to this.

Also, if your humidity is near 100%, those leaves have a chance; just don't water them.

If worse comes to worst, you may have more success with the tropical members of the Gesneriad family.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Korina, Av killer

thanks a lot Diane and Korina for enlightening me about the soil mix. actually, i used purely soilless mix, since i dont know where to find perlite and vermiculite. everytime i ask from the plant stand owners- where i bought my african violets, they don't seem to know what they are. they just tell me to use ordinary soil. I got my soilless mix from a hardware store, but can't find perlite or vermiculite. but, will still try to look around, maybe they have another term for it here. :-)btw, temp here is around 90 degrees F, and humidity around 90%, do i still have to put my leaf under a terrarium?

thanks,
sandra

Sandra,

Nope, I wouldn't think that you'd need a terrarium.... You need an air conditioner and perilite! Without either I think you might be doomed to failure.

90F if far to hot to try to grow a healthy AV, never the less a sick AV! Why do they sell them there I wonder?

I'm sorry to say this but.... you should just toss those AV's and find a nice plant that likes your climate and wet feet! You are just beating your head on a brick wall right now and that is just frustrating! Try growing something else.

Sorry,
Diane

Sandra, 90 deg. and 90% humidity is *much* too much for an Av. You would definitely have better luck with the tropical Gesneriads; I can find out some names and suppliers for you, if you're interested.

You can use straight soilless mix, you just have to be careful with your watering. Let it dry out a bit before watering it. Also, when you pot it, don't pack the mix in the pot and around the plant. Spoon it in, and sift it around the roots; you want it very loose. It will probably compact over time, but you can loosen it up again by poking a thin stick, like a bamboo skewer, into the soil.

Good luck.

Korina

That is so discouraging....but, I am still not giving up hope, if others can grow them here, why can't I? :-)

Sandra,

Good for you in your persistence. If all of us that participate in this forum added up the dollars we spent on violets we killed, we could retire at least 10 of us.

I strongly encourage you to read everything you can get your eyes around regarding african violets. I spent a whole evening going through all the past postings in this forum. You will find certain topics resurfacing frequently, and a wealth of information from knowledgeable people. And I can't speak highly enough of the Rachel's Reflections website. She covers just about any topic there is regarding AVs. And simply 'googling' african violet yields more information. My favorite way to kill time but get valuable knowledge.
Please continue to ask questions, and posting pictures is a great help in trying to reach a 'diagnosis' when you have a problem. And we all love to see success stories too!

Your last post would indicate you know of others that grow them successfully in PI. Pick their brains and find out their secrets.

So hang in there, where there is a will.....

Barbara

Sandra, check the following site for info about Perlite. They seem to have it in the Philippines.
I don't know how to post a link, so you should cut and paste: www.perlite.net
Hope you can get it. Cheers

Ha Xuan

I'm also betting the heat and the potting soil are the problems...please keep us posted on how your babies are doing! :o)

thanks Xuan for that site. now i know it's brand name here in the market. avsforme, potting soil may be the problem. guess what i found today? kompost-based seed startng mix, composed of kompost, coconut coir dust, perlite and vermiculite. its the only one on the shelf with perlite so i guess this is the right medium. i will be transferring my leaves and av to this medium, hope it's not too late.

Some of the others may be irritable with my reply, but:

1) I think your violet has had a little too much water and not too much sun.

2) Those babies more than likely will be fine in the soil. Every time I've ever made a cutting I've never put any mix on the end of the cut or anything. I usually cut, stick in water, and wait. They should be okay if treated well, but might take longer to grow. It probably is best to do as they say though. i'm sure they will grow quicker and healthier.

3) I don't think the lighting is too much there (but I could be wrong) Where I was living my room was 85 plus degrees in the summer. The violets got continuous light throughout the day because of my massive window that took up and entire wall. The conditions were perfect. We also have a lot of humidity too. (I live in South Carolina. About the middle of the state)

hi sandra, am also from phlippines can i ask where did you bought your african violets? tnx

Can you take a photo of the center of the plant. Are leaves from the center graying or are they misshappened, twisted?

Nancy

I have the best luck with getting AV to grow and bloom on my kitchen counter, under the fluorescent light. Lights on from 7am to 11 pm. and plants are about 12 inches under the lights. I have most in self-watering pots (sold especially for AV plants). I have violet fertilizer which I put in the water bin of the pot once a month. The violets I have in regular plant pots are having the same problem you have.....and I attributed it to too much water. Being in the Midwest USA, I do not put my AV's outside. What I have found out from my experience, once a AV has had too much water and the bottom leaves get mushy, it is very hard to save the plant. Right now I have one blooming, two healthy looking and two that look BAD. I am about ready to toss the bad ones.

sandra
perlite is available at manila seedling bank, located at Edsa cor,Quezon Ave, i want to grow AV's but i don't know where to buy, i live in antipolo city Philippines, where are you in the Phils.? where did you bought your AV's, please let me know. thank you.

Wena,

Have you looked into EBay? There are great sellers, and lots of varieties of plants. I have bought plants that were in transit for two-and-a-half weeks and arrived just fine.

Linda

thanks linda...

thanks linda...