I have an African Violet that is trying, it seems, to die, but failing. I got it from my mother, and it was blooming when she had it. But as soon as I got it, and ever since, it has had three or four limp, brownish leaves at the top. Periodically one falls off and another appears. But it certainly looks like it’s dying.
I’ve put it in the bathroom (for the humidity) and in a shady spot in the kitchen, now it’s in a sunny spot amongst some cacti and other houseplants which are all doing very well. I water it sometimes but even if I forget, or water it frequently, nothing changes ! I mist it, and water it with warm water, and nothing seems to make any difference whatever. It continues to hover between life and death.
And when I google African Violet I get the homepages of all kinds of Societies, which don’t provide any real useful troubleshooting tips. The tip pages I found are just general ones, and I am following all their general tips re: light and water and so on. I know they’re fussy but come on, this is bordering on the ridiculous !
Well … what window do you have it in? I had some I had to give to my MIL because all I had at the time was a western exposure, which was way too much sun. They do better in the north, or, if that’s not possible, the south.
I know my MIL uses special African violet fertilizer with much success.
I know you said you’d checked out some web pages, but just in case you haven’t seen this one: http://www.african-violets.com/tips.htm.
Hey cowgirl, let me see if I can help. A few questions to get us started:
Are the leaves more brown or more yellow?
Do the leaves curl up on the edges or curl down?
Morning or afternoon light?
Direct or indirect light?
Watering and misting routine?
Filtered light cowgirl and pinch off the dead stuff. Make sure it isn’t overwatered and that the plant doesn’t sit in water - they hate that.
My biggest problem with violets is that my cats love to walk over them so I’m always scraping the cat hair of the leaves.
It’s in a south and east-ish facing window, so it gets lots of light in the morning and less in the afternoon.
siberia:
**Are the leaves more brown or more yellow? **
Brown.
**Do the leaves curl up on the edges or curl down? **
Down
Direct or indirect light?
An hour or two of direct, the rest of the day, indirect. I’ve had it in rooms with no direct light, though, and it hasn’t made a difference - I’ve left it where it is so the other plants can (hopefully) camoflauge its death throes ! I could move it underneath another big leafy plant for some shade, or back to the bathroom (my mom’s suggestion - humid, direct light in the afternoon) or the kitchen (dry, a bit of direct light in the morning). Or until the fall comes I could put it outside on the deck with the tomatoes, if you think it would help.
Watering and misting routine?
I’ve had it for so long that there is no “routine” - it’s sharing space with some cacti and some regular houseplants, so sometimes I water it with the houseplants (once or twice a week - and with warm water) and sometimes with the cacti (once a month or so, maybe less). It doesn’t seem to make any difference, though ! I mist everything when the air gets dry or when I think about it - not often enough, I know, but nothing else is really brown so I guess I do it often enough.
koeeoaddi - I haven’t got cats ! but I’ve put it well out of reach of the bunny. I worry that if I pinch out the dead stuff there won’t be anything left ! Five half-dead leaves are all it’s got - I don’t want to take those away just yet …
Thanks for the tips ! I’m sure the little guy will appreciate it !