Donna,

Just an idea: do you have another good growing spot? Many people put their violets on display when they are blooming. When they have finished their bloom cycle they go back to the growing area until they are in bloom again.

Linda

Hi Linda and Donna
Linda, does that mean that once the bloom cycle has kicked into gear, the AVs can be placed in lower light or non-optimum growing conditions?

Donna,
Not to be a spoil sport, but if you have prior experience with AVS and know what to look for regarding whether or not a plant is thriving, it might work. However, if you are experimenting, and relatively new, I will offer a few words of caution to avoid disappointment. Minis are harder to grow, they are fussier about light and watering conditions. As long as you can constantly monitor the plants and move them if they do not do well, you can learn from the experiment.
Joanne

Joanne,
Yes! I wait until my blooms are fully open and then bring them to a 'show-off' spot, usually my breakfast table. When they are finished blooming, they go back under the lights.

Linda

Thanks, Linda,
When they are finished blooming, do you feed them
with a fert that promotes green growth or just use
plain water? I have some that are winding down on
their bloom cycle. I have been using plain water
(spring) for now. For those that are flowering, I am
using a fert that promotes blooms. I know they need
to rest when they finish blooming, just not clear if
they need support to recover from their output.
Joanne

Joanne,

I use my regular fertilizer Dyna Gro balanced with plain water every fourth, or so, watering. I tried a blossom booster at one time but my plants did not like it. Irina turned me on to Dyna Gro and my violets responded very nicely to it.

You need the bloom promoter, (if you are going to use it) before your plants blooms. The extra P helps the formation of buds. Once a flower is blooming the need is over.

Plants need fertilizer even when they are resting. (The word 'resting' is a bit misleading. It just means 'not in bloom'.)They are still photosynthesizing, producing new growth, making hormones, etc. One of the reasons fertilizer is given in constant, small doses is that the food is there if the plant needs it but it is not there in large amounts if it does not.

Linda

I am here with Linda - better maintain the routine - and good growers rotate the fertilizers to take advantage of the different micro elements and formulas. I believe that it is better than using bloom fertilizer unless you are preparing for the show and try to soup-up the bloom head. It comes at a cost for the plant. If it has hundreds of blossoms on the show - it is so exhausted afterwards - it is better to take a leaf or reroot the crown. It will never do that well again.

Thank you, Linda and Irina!!
For years, I used Schulz AV Food, purple box when
blooming, green box when not blooming. However, I
read here that Schulz has urea.
At the store where I get Schulz, they (ACE Hardware)
had Eleanor's VF-11. It's formula is Nitrogen .15, Phos Acid .85, Potash .55. From what you wrote, it sounds like the P in the middle is the bloom booster, so I should switch to another formula.
I have Miracle Grow All Purpose 24-8-16. I also have Optimara 14-12-14. And Orchid food by Miracle Gro 30-10-10. Would the Optimara be best for now? I will look for the Dyna Gro.
Thank you so much! (It is pouring rain here, so I am glad
to be home for the day! ;)
Joanne

Joanne,

N-P-K=Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium. Roughly, N is for leaf growth, P is for root and flower growth and K is for disease resistance and system maintenance. I would use the Optimara especially since it is formulated for violets, (I would suppose since it's Optimara).

The high P I was using, though I was rotating it, killed my centers and gave my variegates a strange brown edge to the leaves. I re-potted with fresh soil and started on Dyna Gro and now they're fine. I am still looking for another to rotate with, but for now everything's looking good!

I hope you're feeling better soon!

Linda

Dyna Gro, Optimara fertilizer from their site, Plant Marvel without urea...- if you can handle a 25 pounder...

A lot of formerly good brands started using urea because it is a cheapest form of nitrogen. Too bad...

At some point there was a lot of excitement about Eleanor VF-11 - but seems that it is lacking something- and if you use exclusively this brand - the plants eventually deteriorate. Probably some microelements. I think that alternating VF with something else would do the trick.

Linda and Irina, Once again, to the rescue! I so much
appreciate the info! One of my variegates developed brown edges, so it must be due to the Eleanor fert I just started using, trying to persuade them to bloom. I will switch to Optimara until I can get Dyna Gro. I had another "sick day" today, so I curled up with the book, Growing to Show and read about fert. I also dusted and washed AV leaves and potted up some babies that were ready to be separated. It was a "spa day" for my AVs.
I am wondering if it is ok to use chloramine laced city water in pebble trays for humidity now that the heater is on and the air is more dry. Or should even the pebble trays have spring water.
Also, probably an Irina Question--on a neck that has two suckers on either side (the crown had broken off), when the suckers are big enough, should I pluck them both off, even though they won't have roots, and pot them? Or, should I cut the larger sucker with a portion of the neck attached and repot the neck with the sucker, burying the neck? If I do that, should I scrape the neck, dust with cinnamon, and bury it to form roots? I couldn't find info on that in the book I was reading. The two suckers have a few more weeks before they will be ready to remove. I have a leaf started from this plant, so it won't be a total loss if the suckers don't survive. (The crown did not make it, I did not remove enough leaves when I put it down.)

Once it stopped raining here, I slipped outside for a little while and helped the gardener bury the daffodil and narcissus bulbs! It is so rare to have soft, muddy soil to work with! They are both for beauty and gopher deterrent.
Joanne

Joanne,

If it were me, I would remove the suckers and root them without the neck. Although, since you have two suckers and also leaves from this plant, it might be fun to experiment with both ways,

Linda

Linda This puts my mind at ease. I have recently successfully rooted other suckers that had no roots following the instructions on this forum. To my joy, it worked!
Thanks,
Joanne

No cinnamon.

Yup - you can use whatever water for humidity trays.

Suckers = of the are large enough root immediately. You do not need to cut a chunk of mama stem - if they have at least 4 leaves.

It stopped snowing here

TGIF

irina

Hi Irina, I guess your snow was our heavy rain. Today was clear and beautiful. thanks for the advice! It puts my mind at ease.
Joanne