African Violet leaves turning yellow???????
TOM KAN PA
is turning yellow. They're not falling off, just turning yellow. The plant is
flowering well. It's in the same location, receiving the same care. What is
causing this yellowing to suddenly happen?
paghat
A few old leaves yellow normally & just need to be trimmed off. If it's a
clear & sudden even for this speicmen, though, the culprits for yellowing
leaves, in order of likelihood, are:
1) sudden drop in humidity
2) overfeeding, or using a higher concentrate of A.V. food than this one wants
3) overwatering (& risk of crown rot)
4) chlorosis from high pH (time to replace soil)
5) natural gas exposure (check your furnace! African Violets are like
canaries in the coal mines)
But MOST frequently it just means it's time to repot the plant. African
violets "tell" the gardener they want to be repotted by letting the lower
leaves fade. Even if it is not yet rootbound, the regular feeding that is
so essential does in time build up salts that are more like contaminants,
or alter pH, so that freshened perfect soil is needed. It's the rare
African Violet that stays in the same pot for longer than a year without
demading to be repotted. When translpanting, the soil has to be shaken out
of the roots as much as possible (& discarded), then check the root for
any black unhealthy bits, & trim out any part of the root that has
blackened, but avoid as much as possible even injuring the fine hair-thin
roots.
Then again, the worst-case scenario is crown rot either from using
unsterilized potting soil or from overwatering or both. It's always the
outer leaves that go first -- the fungus cannot be stopped & will
eventually kill the plant. If a couple healthy leaves can be gotten from
the center of the plant, she may be able to start it over from scratch, &
discard the fungally infected plant, & don't even re-use the pot without
boiling or baking it thoroughly. I doubt that's it because if it were
crown rot, even the leaves that haven't yellowed would be drooping very
soon. I think it just wants transplanting, or the change of seasons made
your humidity go way down.
-paghat
--
"Flowers are commonly badly designed, inartistic in
color, & ill-smelling." -Ambrose Bierce
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl:
http://www.angelfire.com/grrl/paghat/gardenhome.html#top
jammer
This is what i found:
Yellow/brown leaves - It is getting too much bright light. The sun
bleaches the leaves. Move the plants to a North window, where the
light is more to it’s liking.
I keep mine in the west window always and mine hasnt stopped blooming
in, i dont know, 15-20 years?
>
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
jammer
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸
TOM KAN PA
the leaves. >>
But why would this only effect the lower leaves? The ones that are shielded
from the sun by the upper leaves? Seems to me that if the sun was bleaching
them, the top leaves would be the ones to get yellow.
jammer
If you dont believe that is it, what *I* would do is re pot in african
violet mix and after the first initial watering, always water through
the bottom. Good luck!
TOM KAN PA
violet mix and after the first initial watering, always water through the
bottom. >>
I'm not questioning you, I was just wondering why the leaves most exposed to
the sunlight would be effected/affected.
BTW, when do you use affect, and when do you lose effect?
jammer
I will go find some websites for you. I have no idea why my monster
plant has survived so long. I have started countless new plants off of
it. I have it in actual african violet potting mix, in the kitchen
window for years until it was just too big and now in another low
light location. Kitchen windows seem perfect. I water from underneath,
always have. Don't ever splash water on the leaves, either.
http://www.cas.psu.edu/docs/CASDEPT/PLANT/ext/afviolet.html
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1550.htm
http://www.gardensandflowers.com/Container/Container_02_02.asp
http://www.a-garden-diary.com/house_plants.htm
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2000/12-15-2000/growav.html
Ann
>BTW, when do you use affect, and when do you lose effect?
Effect is a noun. Think 'the effect'. Affect is an action word, a
verb or an adverb. Or at least that's how I keep them straight.
--
Ann, Gardening in zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************
TOM KAN PA
an adverb. Or at least that's how I keep them straight. >>
So I could ask, "How did the effect affect you?
anne p
Always water from the bottom, leave for approximately 10 minutes and
empty any excess water from the tray below. I have been lucky in that
the problem of African Violet leaves turning yellow has not happened
to mine. Fingers crossed!
Ann
>So I could ask, "How did the effect affect you?
>
You got it!! <G>
Joan
I like your signature very much. What is it supposed to be? It looks
like a mosquito or bee flying around. I tried to duplicate it but couldn't
find the little square piece.