Subject: African Violets

From: [email-masked] (Julia Stone)
Date: 15 May 1995 21:07:24 GMT

Hello!  I have an African Violet that is looking very bad lately.  The
leaves have been turning brown.  Last years I had blooms and the leaves
were very green!  My plant looked very healthy, but now it looks like
it is dying.

I have a few questions:
1) Will any sort of lamp do for giving a plant light (i.e. orchids and
African Violets)
2) How often should you repot african violets?

I use the african violet food, but my plant just doesn't seem to be
getting any healthier.  Any advice will be welcome.

Also if there is a better newsgroup for me to post to please let me know.

Thanks,
Julia

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From: Jennifer Wright <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 16:34:21 -0700

How often are you watering?  You may be over watering it or is it in 
direct sunlight for extended periods of time now that the weather is warmer?
African Violets tend to like being slightly pot bound but if yours is 
still in the original soil it was bought in you should try repotting it.  
One of mine grew much healthier after I repotted it into some new soil 
and out of its original soil.  When you repot it observe the roots and if 
they appear brown and maybe even scarce or look like they were dying back 
that is a sure sign of a root pathogen.  In that case cut off on the 
water a bit.  One other thing, are you watering from above with cold 
water?  That can cause necrosis on the leaf surface.

Good Luck!