Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Must I always grow minis in small pots and standard varieties in large pots? I have very limited space, and would like to grow standards in small pots as well.

Answer: Again, the rule for proper pot size is to use a pot the same size as the plant's root system. For minis and semiminiatures, this means pots of 2" to 2 1/4", and about 4" for most standards (when grown as "house" plants, not for exhibition). Using pots that are smaller in size than the root system means that the plant will become "pot-bound" very quickly. These plants will need watering more frequently since the lesser soil volume in the small pot provides less water than the relatively larger plant and root system demands.

To keep soil fresh and to encourage new root growth, more frequent repotting into fresh soil would be necessary. That said, since the objective here is to keep standard-size varieties growing as small as possible in a limited space, keeping them underpotted would be advantageous. By constricting its root system, you would be doing the same as those who grow "bonsai". In bonsai, plant size and growth are in large part regulated by restricting the size and growth of the root system.

Many violet growers are doing this when they grow mini and semimini varieties, that naturally would grow 4-8" in diameter, in 1" thumb-pots. These violets appear to be "micro" miniatures, since they grow only 2-3" or so, in diameter. But these violets aren't true microminiatures. Since it's not their nature to grow this small, they are being "forced" to by constricting their root system. A true microminiature will grow small even when grown in a larger pot. Don't be fooled by those violets in the cute little pots sold in your supermarket! Growing a standard violet in a smaller pot would have the same effect, but to a lesser degree, making it grow smaller, though not quite miniature. But if size is the issue, why not just grow miniatures?

Question: I saw another grower soak his violet in a saucer full of water. The violets seem to grow well. I do the same, but rot my violets. Why?

Answer: What works for one won't necessarily work well for another. Unless every aspect of each grower's environment is identical, the results may not be. In this case, we suspect that your soil is different from that used by the other grower. If the soil is light and porous enough, containing plenty of perlite or coarse vemiculite, it can be kept wetter than a soil containing little of these materials. To give an example, a violet could be grown "hydroponically" in nothing but drainage material (like clay pebbles) without risk of rotting.

Your friend might also be more careful in how much water is poured into the saucer. In addition, it is a good practice to check on the plants after having given them enough time to absorb the water, emptying the saucers of any unused water. From experience, most growers who saucer-water have a sense for just how much water the plant can use, so that very little excess water will be left in the saucers.

Question: Several of my violets have tight centers and hairy leaves. I may have overfertilized when I switched fertilizers. But when I read my magazine, the description of tight centers and hairy leaves seems to come up when describing cyclamen mites. How do I tell the difference? I do have misshapen blossoms on some plants, but thought maybe condensation was taking place.

Answer: It's hard to know for sure, since so many things can cause these symptoms. A cyclamen mite infestation is the easiest conclusion to jump to but, fortunately, it's often the wrong one. If it is only a fertilizer problem, try leaching the plant by running clear water through the soil, then watering without fertilizer for a short period. The tight center growth should begin to loosen. Another possibility is environmental. Both very warm or very cold temperatures can cause tight centers, though "hairiness" of the leaves makes cold temperatures more likely here. Are these plants near a drafty window or in a cold corner of the basement? Too much light can cause tight centers, too.

Cyclamen mites are very tiny insects, visible only under magnification, being less than 1/100th of an inch long. They can be eradicated with minimal plant damage, if the infestation is caught in an early stage. On the occasions that we've had to deal with this pest, we've had to use chemicals to eliminate them (yes, we do use chemicals, but only when absolutely necessary). We've had good success with Avid, which seems to be the miticide of choice among larger commercial growers. Unfortunately, it is costly ($70 or more for 8 oz.) and comes in quantities that most small growers won't be able to use. Given its cost, we wouldn't advise the small, hobby, grower to expose themselves to toxins for the sake of a few violets.

In any event, we'd suggest that you separate your problem plants from your healthy ones. Investigate one possibility at at time. If the problem is bad (i.e. more like mites), root some healthy leaves and throw out the plants. Wash the leaves in a mild soap (like Ivory) and room-temperature water before rooting, and segregate the resulting plantlets until you are sure that they, too, haven't inherited the problem. If you must use a chemical, follow all instructions and take every precaution for safety. Since their life cycle is about 14 days, repeated treatments will be necessary to eradicate them--say, at least 3 applications at weekly intervals.

Question: I purchased 'Rob's Whippoorwill', which originally had variegation on the outermost ring of leaves, but it has now started to turn all green. I feed all of my violets with 'Miracle-Gro African Violet Food' (7-7-7 formula), every time I water, 10 drops per quart. Am I feeding too heavily for a variegate? Do they require more or less light than the average violet? This is my first try with variegates, and I'm not happy with the results. Am I doing something wrong?

Answer: Not necessarily. To begin with, 'Rob's Whippoorwill' is a Champion (or crown) variegated variety that can easily lose its variegation with age. In this case, it's probably the variety, not you, that's the source of your frustration. In explaining further, we're about to say a few things that will fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

Beyond the habits of the variety itself, our personal experience tells us that the single, most important, factor in determining the amount of variegation is temperature. Variegation is always greater when plants are grown in a cooler environment. Variegates can be sensitive to overfeeding, especially since heavily variegated varieties seem more likely to show signs of fertilizer burn on leaf margins and tips. It's also true that, because of the lesser amount of chlorophyll in their leaves, they grow slower and process relatively less food than do all-green varieties. Still, feeding them significantly less, or feeding them low-nitrogen fertilizers, won't necessarily produce heavier variegation--it just means that the green portions of the foliage will be a lighter shade of green. We feed our variegates the same balanced fertilizer as all of our other violets, since our goal is a plant whose leaves have green portions that are dark green, and whose variegated portions are bright white (or yellow, beige, etc.). Conventional wisdom also says that variegates require less light. We suppose, in theory, that they do. But in practice, we've grown them precisely the same as all of our other violets with no noticeable difference.

If you really want to grow heavily variegated varieties, simply grow them in as cool an environment as possible. By cool, we mean night temperatures as low as 60-65f degrees, and day temperatures less than 70-75f degrees. For those varieties whose foliage tends to turn green with age even when grown in moderate temperatures, here's a trick we use for growing showplants. Remove all but the center row or two of foliage, and remove all but a third of the root system. By "starting over" these all-green variegates, the new growth (assuming, again, that your conditions aren't too warm) should be variegated, at least long enough to show. For those not growing for show, is it really that important? After all, are the blooms on an all-green "variegated" plant any less pretty than those on a non-variegated variety?

Question: Several months ago I ordered several plants. One of the violets was supposed to be 'Cherries 'n Cream'. As I've grown this plant, it has bloomed well and is very healthy, but the blooms are single to semidouble reddish stars with "no edge at all". The foliage is as described. What can this particular plant be, if it's not 'Cherries 'n Cream'?

Answer: This is a question received by one of our mail-order customers, since we guarantee all plants to be true to description. Since the plant was true in every way except for the absence of the white edge on its bloom, we guessed that cultural conditions, the summer heat in particular, might be to blame. Many edged varieties, particularly those with blossoms thinly edged white, tend to lose this edge when grown in very warm conditions.

It seems that her growing conditions, particularly the heat were, indeed, the problem. This is the reply we received from her. "I'm relieved to know that it is just a matter of growing conditions. What you said makes sense because I have been growing this plant in my kitchen (much warmer) with natural lighting versus in my basement (much cooler) under florescent lights. 'Cherries 'n Cream' doesn't seem to appreciate a lot of direct light like some of the other violets. I've also noticed that my variegated varieties have turned more green with the warmer weather. I wonder if this affects all bicolor blooms as well?"

All of these symptoms are consistent with growing in a very warm environment. Much, sometimes all, of the of the variegation can be lost in foliage, and many multicolor blooms can turn solid. Fortunately, the variegation on most varieties will return with the cooler weather. Unfortunately, this may not be the case with those having multicolor blooms, such as "fantasy" (i.e. spotted or splashed) and edged blooms, that have turned a single, solid, color.

Question: In the winter, with the furnace being used, the air in our home tends to be very dry. What problems might this cause for my violets? How can I increase the humidity?

Answer: This can be a problem for many of us. Though they don't need very humid, damp, conditions to thrive, violets won't be happy when the air is very dry. At relative humidity levels below 30% or so, they, and you, can become uncomfortable. Symptoms can include premature bud loss, or smaller than usual blooms, or brownish edges to blooms and foliage. We've also notice that leaves on many varieties will tend to "spoon" (edges cupping upwards) under very dry conditions. Keeping plants properly watered can be a problem too, since so much moisture is quickly evaporated from the leaf and soil surfaces.

If one grows enough plants, lack of humidity is rarely a problem. Since water evaporates from the soil and the plants themselves, grouping enough of them together increases the humidity for all of them. If this isn't possible, or isn't enough, another solution is to place the plants on a damp surface which will evaporate water and increase humidity. This might mean placing plants on a wet tray of gravel. The gravel serving to keep the pots above the water level. Watering plants with capillary mats also provides additional humidity as water is evaporated from the wet blankets. Using a community tray to wick water a number of plants does the same. Of course, if you're just as uncomfortable as your violets, using a humidifier, or installing one on your furnace, might be the best idea.

Question: I grow some of my violets under artificial lights on a light stand very close to my kitchen window. My miniature violets are about 10" below the tubes. How many hours should I keep the lights on?

Answer: We also grow our minis about 10" below the tubes, with our standard-size varieties about 18" below. Our lights remain on about 13 hours each day. These plants, however, receive no supplemental natural light. We do have two growing areas that receive a great deal of natural light as well.

The first of these are standard violets that we grow under florescent lighting on the lower shelf of a large bench in the glasshouse. During the summer, especially, these plants get a good deal of additional indirect sunlight. Because of this, we give them only 10 hours of artificial light during these months. We also grow many of our plants, including all of our showplants, in a room with many very large windows--the south and west walls are nearly all glass. Because we need to equalize our electricity usage throughout the day, we keep many of the lights turned on at night. As a result, the plants never really have a period of total darkness. From experience, we've learned that most of these plants do well only if lights are kept on for 10 hours or less, sometimes as little as 8 hours, a day.

A precise answer can't be given, since it depends upon that particular growing environment. But it is safe to say that less artificial light needs to be provided in the presence of supplemental natural light.