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African violet looks miserable.

mooota1514mooota1514 Posts: 74
edited July 2018 in Problem solving
Hi I bought this "African violet" from a well-known and large garden centre about four weeks ago with a lovely purple Bloom.

I've watered it once from the bottom of the pot so the compost is rather moist.

But over the last few days I have noticed that the leaves have started to drop off any ideas please or is this just natural.

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Houseplants generally need watering oftener than once in four weeks.  Has the compost shrunk away from the sides?  If so, it's unlikely to take up water from the bottom, and if you water from the top it will just run through without wetting the compost.  If the rootball has dried out, you need to re-hydrate it by soaking it in a container deep enough to immerse the pot.  After that, try watering weekly from the bottom.  I have heard that African violets should be given hand-hot water, but I don't know what difference it makes.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    African Violets can trick you by looking droopy so you think they need more water but they may be too wet and rotting underneath. So as josusa says, watering is the key to their happiness. Get your fingers into the pot and check if the soil feels nice and damp: you should only water when the top is dry but NOT desiccated. If it needs a drink stand it in about 3 inches of water for a few minutes. If it gets really dried out, leave it for half an hour. However, if it IS wet, especially if it is very wet, you may need to get it out of the pot and look at the crown, where the leaves emerge. If you find soft, slimy bits of stem I am afraid it has been too wet and you are unlikely to save it. Pull away the rotten bits and plant up into fresh compost and keep your fingers crossed.
  • mooota1514mooota1514 Posts: 74
    Hi thank you very much for your kind support I'll follow your advice and get back to you.
  • mooota1514mooota1514 Posts: 74
    Hello I gave the plant a good water but now all the flowers are gone.
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hi mooota. Just remove all of the old flower stems. The leaves look fine and the plant will go on to make more flowers.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • mooota1514mooota1514 Posts: 74
    Ladybird4 said:
    Hi mooota. Just remove all of the old flower stems. The leaves look fine and the plant will go on to make more flowers.
    Ok thanks for kind help
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    You are most welcome mooota.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • mooota1514mooota1514 Posts: 74
    I thought I'd give you an update on my African violet which is starting to produce flower buds...... thank you once again😉🌷🐝🌻
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