African violet symptoms, pests and cures. | |
| Diseases... Common diseases of african violets go hand in hand with excessive salts or the alkalinity brought on by the same salts. Because of the salts, the plant cannot use the necessary minerals and this induces mineral deficiencies which leads to all sorts of symptoms starting with failure to bloom. If not corrected the next stage is discolored leaf margins, bud drop and rotting of the leaf stalks. | |
| Babies slow in growing...? | Old leaves yellowing.... |
| Brown tips, spots or leaf edges.... Bud drop.... Dry shriveled leaves.... Crown rot.... Collapse of plant.... | Pale leaves spindly growth.... Refuses to bloom Ring spot... Limp, mushy, glassy and rot..., Tight centers... |
| Leaf or blossom drop.... Very little growth, spindly.... Leaves curl downward.... | Variegated turn solid green...? White marks on leaves.... Yellowing except for veins.... |
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! I hate BUGS!! | |
| Cyclamen mite.... The most fearsome of all pests. An infection of Cyclamen mites causes the center to become dwarfed, curled and puckered. The Cyclamen mite is too small to be seen with the naked eye but skeletons can be seen as a grey powder resembling ashes. The blades and petioles become very brittle and flowers are distorted with stems gnarled and twisted. The mite is easier to prevent than eliminate. The best treatment is to isolate all new plants before adding them to your collection. The best thing to do is remove 3 or 4 leaves and burn the infested plant. The leaves should be dipped in a weak solution of dimite before rooting. Kelthane and cythion are good miticides. | |
| Thrips... Very tiny insects that are easily seen when striking the plant sharply over a piece of white paper. Thrips cause silvering of the undersurface of the leaves, leaf curl and mottled and distorted flowers. I discovered my first and so far only infestation of thrips when trying to blow the yellow pollen dust off a flower. I noticed a speck moving in the wrong direction. Thrips feed on the pollen and flower buds so disbudding and spraying with cythion, malathion or sevin controls these insects you may also use Topgard dust. Schultz Instant Insect Spray is what I keep on hand.... it is as safe for the environment as it is for sensitive african violets and controls thrips, whiteflies, aphids spider mites and mealy bugs on contact | |
| Aphids(greenfly) greenish colored plant lice that sometimes infest the leaf stalks of african violets and found in clusters on young shoots and under leaves in spring and summer. Leaves are distorted and the plant is weakened. Some leaves may fall, plant is covered in sticky 'honeydew'. Aphids can be controlled with nicotine sulfate, malathion, pyrethrum, Liquid Derris sprays and Topgard dust. A contact spray such as Schultz Instant Insect Spray can also be used. | |
| Black flies... flit around the plants are fungus gnats that breed in the rich organic planter mix. They do no real damage and are easily controlled by drenching the planter mix with seven or chlordane solution I have been corrected on this and "Rose Lady" gave me permission to post her email here. She has a wonderful link in it and I am going go back to visit as soon as I get everything settled on my list.
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| Springtails... are small wingless insects about 1/10th of an inch long, however they can jump a great distance. They are usually gray in color and feed off dead organic matter. Control by drenching the soil with chlordane. | |
| Here are some useful links | |
| Doctor Optimara I doubt you will find any better place than this to discover what might be wrong with your african violets. | |
| National Pesticide Information Centre A very informative and interesting read for anyone who uses the products. | |
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