Why violets bloom poorly and how to care for them

The continuing interest of flower growers in Saintpaulias is explained by the simple care of plants, in exchange for which they generously delight people with magnificent flowers.
Rosettes grow quickly, violets are easy to propagate, and no effort seems to be required for buds to appear above the foliage. But sometimes lovers of indoor plants are faced with a situation where the violet stubbornly refuses to bloom, not forming a single flower stalk month after month, or forming single, medium-sized corollas. What is the reason for this behavior of the rosette, and how to make a violet bloom?

The main thing that needs to be provided to plants so that they bloom profusely and for a long time is competent and comprehensive care. Mature, developed and healthy rosettes, receiving everything they need for growth, necessarily form peduncles in the leaf axils. If this does not happen, it means that something is bothering the plant, or something is missing.

The reason why violet does not bloom is lack of light

To bloom, violets need fairly bright, but not direct light. Moreover, under natural conditions, the appearance of buds in this crop occurs at a time when daylight hours last for at least 12 hours.

At home, indoor violets bloom poorly when, while caring for them, the owners place pots on the windowsills of north-facing windows. In this case, you can notice not only the absence of buds, but also slower growth, elongation and poor turgor of the cuttings.

On the south side, violets bloom well in the spring, but with the arrival of hot days they are often at risk of burns and rapid drying out of the soil, so Saintpaulias are not too comfortable here either.

On the windowsill, where violets most often grow for novice gardeners, it is reasonable to wait for the formation of peduncles in the period from March to September, when the duration of daylight hours is maximum, but the rest of the time you cannot do without racks or shelves with lighting, where violets will be comfortable all year round.

Black tea

Indoor violets love not only coffee, but also black tea, which fills the plants with a large number of nutritious micro- and macroelements. Fertilizing a plant with it is very simple: just put the remaining tea leaves on the top layer of soil in the pot, and then everything will happen by itself, you will just watch how the leaves of the plant acquire a beautiful green tint, and the number of flower stalks increases noticeably.

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By the way, when you replant a houseplant, you can also add fertilizer to the soil in the form of tea, but this time it’s dry. Simply mix the soil with some tea leaves. Please note that after each watering, the soil in the pot will remain loose, as a result of which the root system of the plant will be better saturated with oxygen, as well as useful elements, absorbing them from the buried tea leaves.

Illuminated shelves for violets

In such conditions, plants not only bloom beautifully, but also grow faster. Lighting is organized using specialized lamps for illuminating plants, providing the plantings with the necessary emission spectrum and luminous flux.

To make violets bloom, for rosettes of standard sizes, the lamps are hung at a height of 20 cm from the pots, and if the collection has miniature varieties, the lamps are lowered to 15 cm.

Such lighting provokes plants to form the primordia of flower stalks. When they appear, the lamps are raised, otherwise, in addition to the buds, the entire green part will also develop intensively, distracting the forks from the flowers.

At the same time, experienced gardeners remind that different varieties have different lighting needs. If the collection contains rosettes with light or variegated foliage, such plants require less light flux than violets with rich green leaves.

Therefore, the best option is if the florist has a specialized rack at his disposal, where on a shelf with backlight the violet can find a worthy place, according to his requests and needs.

When and where do violets bloom?

Abundant flowering of violets with proper care is possible all year long. And the best place to grow them is a windowsill. There are a number of differences in caring for Saintpaulia during the cold period. How to make violets bloom in winter:

• you need to protect indoor Saintpaulia from the cold;
• add lighting with fluorescent lamps for 2-3 hours a day;
• remove all side sockets;
• water 2 times a week.

In summer, more abundant and frequent watering is required.

Pot size for planting violets

Another common reason why violets do not bloom is an incorrectly selected pot for the outlet. Saintpaulia, which produces lush foliage, does not require a large amount of soil. If a gardener, “sorrying” a flower, transplants a rosette into a pot with a diameter of more than 10–12 cm, he should expect that the “grateful” plant will begin to grow, grow fat, and sometimes completely give up flowering.

Indeed, as the rosette grows, Saintpaulia is transplanted into a large container, but a simple rule is followed.

The diameter of the rosette should be two or three times the size of the pot. This volume of soil is enough to support the development of the flower and for its lush flowering.

Thinking about why the violet does not bloom and what to do in this case, the gardener should pay attention to how much space the plant takes up in the pot. After all, excess soil not only provokes the growth of greenery, but such soil can also accumulate salts, become sour, and become a breeding ground for fungi, pests and bacteria.

Violet brings exceptional benefits

Violet is associated with something fabulous and magical:

• Brings harmony to the family.
• Relieves negative thoughts.
• The smell relaxes the body and pleases the soul.
• For lonely people it can improve their personal life.
• It has a beneficial effect on children and calms their emotional state.
• Helps improve mood.
• Treats bronchitis.
• Used for vascular diseases.
• The leaves can reduce the temperature.
• Relieves headaches.

Interesting fact: thanks to this flower, the romance between Napoleon Bonaparte and his lover began.

Violet is an unpretentious plant, but needs proper care. If you care for it incorrectly, the flower may die. There is a sign that violets bloom only in close-knit families.

Temperature to make violets bloom

You can make violets bloom by adjusting the temperature in the room where this ornamental crop is grown. The optimal temperature for Saintpaulia is considered to be between 20–25 °C.

If the temperature in the room is higher, the intensity of flowering decreases, and the flowers that appear quickly, sometimes without even opening, wither. In addition, the abundant formation of peduncles in the heat greatly weakens violets, which then require long-term accumulation of strength.

How to care for a violet to bloom? When it is not possible to move the plant to a cooler place, it is better to cut off the few buds that have formed. This will save the plant's strength for the time when the heat subsides. In addition to this measure, you can place a fan next to the plants, preventing cold air from reaching the sockets, and protecting them from the scorching rays of the sun.

If temperature conditions are met, violets exhibit all their decorative qualities. Fantasy varieties respond especially well to a decrease in temperature, the main charm of which is the bright fringe, border on the petals and unusual color of the foliage.

Air humidity is a necessary condition for flowering

Both high temperature and excessive dry air are a significant reason why violets do not bloom. For comfortable development and flowering, Saintpaulias need an air humidity of about 50%.

In an apartment, especially from autumn to spring, when heating devices are on, the air is sometimes much drier, which slows down the growth of the rosette and the set of buds. Especially young rosettes and “aged” plants, which in the near future need rejuvenation and replanting, suffer from this lack of care for indoor violets, which is why they bloom poorly.

You can provide plants with comfortable conditions for the formation of flower stalks by using household humidifiers, as well as placing trays of water on racks with flowers. In special cases, when the appearance of the plant suffers, the rosette, without affecting the flowers, is sprayed with warm water. If necessary, the procedure is repeated after two or three days.

Correct flower transplant

Once you bring the violet into the house, do not rush to place it with other plants. She loves solitude.

How to properly and carefully replant Saintpaulia? You need to take a pot a little larger than at the moment. Violets need to be replanted twice a year. Now we’ll tell you how to do this correctly:

1. A day before transplanting, water the violet well with warm water.
2. After this, we pull out the plant along with the soil and then plant it in a new pot.
3. We free the roots from the ground and process them if necessary.
4. We place the plant in a new pot and fill it with fresh soil up to the lower leaves.
5. To fill the voids inside, shake the container lightly.
6. The plant should be in a dark place for one day. This is how the violet gets used to the new place and all the wounds heal faster.

Watering as a measure of caring for violets

As for spraying, for watering violets, use only warm water with a temperature 2–3 °C higher than the air in the room. The water must first be settled, leaving it in an open container for 24–48 hours. During this time, volatile chlorine compounds leave the liquid, and salts are precipitated, which do not have the best effect on the quality of the soil and the condition of the plants.

Warm water for irrigation is extremely important during the cold season. Moreover, the danger lies in the possible rotting of the roots, which threatens plants both on illuminated shelves and on window sills.

When violets do not bloom in the spring, the reason sometimes lies precisely in the fact that the roots have begun to rot inside the soil clod. Therefore, between waterings, if water gets under the roots of the plant from above, the top layer of soil should dry out. If Saintpaulias are watered through a tray, then excess water must be removed 20–30 minutes after watering.

Pests and diseases

A flower rarely gets sick and most often this happens when all indoor plants are massively affected. To remove pests, you can use the drug Aktara, or mix Fitoverm and Bitoxibacillin.

White coating on leaves

Unfortunately, your flower has a fungus - powdery mildew. Favorable conditions for its appearance are drafts and cold (+16º - +17º). If the plant blooms, it is necessary to remove the flowers, and then spray the leaves from the outside and inside with a fungicide with penconazole (dilute Fitosporin ½ tsp per 100 ml of water; Topaz - 1 ampoule per 4 liters of water) several times with an interval of 10-14 days .

To avoid re-infection, move the violet to a warm place, avoid drafts. Also spray the flower monthly with water with potassium permanganate (a faint pink solution) or Fitosporin.

Brown spots on leaves

These are signs of late blight, a fungus that invades damaged parts of the plant that have not healed.

Unfortunately, this is incurable, and the Saintpaulia will have to be burned and the flower pots disinfected: the disease can spread to other indoor flowers.

To avoid infection, make sure that the air humidity is not too high, and when mixing the soil, you can add superphosphate in a proportion of 1 tsp. per liter

Gray fuzzy mold

This symptom is caused by gray rot or botrytis, another fungal disease that affects violets. It is necessary to get rid of the affected parts of the flower and treat the flower with fungicides (Fitosporin in a dosage of 0.5 tsp per 100 ml of water or Topaz - 1 ampoule per 4 liters of liquid).

If the disease develops quickly, the plant will die. Throw it away along with the soil.

To prevent re-infection, avoid sudden temperature changes and try not to flood the flower.

Fusarium or rosette rotting

This is another fungus. Signs: brown leaves, falling leaves, darkening of roots.

It is necessary to cut out all affected areas and treat the soil with Fundazol, 1 g per liter of water.

As a preventative measure, avoid overcooling, flood the plant with especially cold water, and choose a pot that is too large.

Rust

It is expressed in the appearance of rusty-colored pads on the back of the leaves and orange-yellow tubercles on the front. Leaves may begin to fall. The violet must be treated with a one percent Bordeaux mixture or fungicide (Vectra, Topaz).

To prevent the development of fungal diseases, you can spray Saintpaulia with Fundazol once every 2 months.

Violet leaves curl up

Your flower has been attacked by a mite. In addition to curled leaves, some other symptoms may be observed: the green mass stops developing, flowering practically stops, and the flowers that appear have an irregular shape.

Treat with acaricides: Fitoverm is diluted in a dosage of 2 ml per 1 liter of water, Aktofit - 4 ml per 1 liter of water). Wet the leaves generously on both sides. Treatment is carried out four times at intervals of four days. Spraying should be carried out annually.

Sticky discharge on leaves

This is a symptom of the appearance of scale insects or false scale insects. They look like flat brown bumps. Wash off the insects with a swab dipped in a soap solution with the addition of machine oil or kerosene (2-4 drops), then moisten the leaves with Agravertine in a dosage of 5 ml per 2.5 liters of water.

If the buds dry quickly and yellow pollen appears on the petals

Your violet has been attacked by thrips. The flower stalks must be cut off, and the plant itself must be treated with Fitoverm (10 ml per 1 liter of water) or Aktara (1 g per 1 liter of water). A soap solution with 2-4 drops of kerosene will also help get rid of thrips.

Alternatively, you can spray with garlic infusion. To avoid the invasion of these pests, special attention should be paid to indoor air humidity and limit feeding.

Nematodes

These are small worms that infect the roots of the plant. They will be indicated by swellings on the roots, cuttings and veins, resembling beads. Leaves can also be affected. In this case, spots appear on them, which then darken and begin to rot.

Unfortunately, there are no suitable nematode preparations for indoor plants yet; those used in agriculture are too toxic for residential premises. Therefore, it will not be possible to remove the pest, and you need to get rid of Saintpaulia.

However, if you find an untouched leaf, use it to re-root the violet. Just rinse the cut with water and root the leaf.

To NOT infect other plants:

1. Do not keep violets in one tray. Each one should have an individual one.
2. Maintain good hand hygiene: when you check the soil moisture with your finger before watering, you should not use it to check other pots, as this can easily transfer nematodes.

Violets have a white coating similar to cotton wool

Appears on cuttings and is caused by scale insect parasites. Treat the plant with Fitoverm at a dosage of 10 ml per 1 liter of water. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times every 5 days. You can also use a soap solution with a few drops of machine oil added, or prepare an infusion of calendula, tobacco or garlic.

If you find plaque on the roots when you replant your violet, these are root scale insects. The substrate is watered three times with an interval of 1.5 weeks with Mospilan or Dantop at a dosage of 1 g per 1 liter. After completing the procedures, transplant the plant into a new pot with a complete replacement of the soil; before transplanting, remove the affected roots.

Aphid

They will be indicated by the sticky liquid on the foliage and peduncles, deformed leaves and the insects themselves, which like to be located on the underside of the leaf. Spray the violet with Actellik 2-3 times with a break of one to two weeks.

Woodlice

These are insects up to 15 mm long that destroy foliage and roots. They look like small white armadillos. Treat Saintpaulia and substrate with Actellik or Fitoverm.

Flies and mosquitoes

Their larvae injure the underground organs of the plant and destroy the substrate, which becomes compacted and becomes air- and water-tight. As a result, Saintpaulia rots.

It is necessary to spill the soil with Fufanon (1 ml per 1 liter of water), and treat the edge of the pot with chalk to prevent cockroaches. Adults are destroyed with Dichlorvos or Raid. Do not leave water in the pan or flood the plant.

Springtails (springtails)

These are tiny whitish insects with antennae from 2 mm to 1 cm in length, crawling along the soil. They destroy the roots of the plant. To destroy them, spill the substrate with Pyrethrum (2 g per 1 liter of water). These pests are also attracted to high humidity, so watering should be adjusted.

Whiteflies

They are small white butterflies that can be seen on violets (Saintpaulia). Because of them, the leaves turn white and then turn black, and the stems stop growing.

To get rid of them, it is necessary to treat the plant 2 or more times with an acaricide mixed with an insecticide. To do this, mix Aktara (1 g per 2 liters of water) with Fitoverm (1 g per 2 liters of water) or Mospilan (1 g per 2 liters) with Aplaud (1 g per liter of water).

No flowering

For a plant to bloom, it needs to have well-developed roots, and this is impossible in a pot that is too large. Choose smaller pots, reduce fertilizing and provide good lighting.

Spots on the foliage

Perhaps it's sun exposure. It is enough to move the plant to a less lit place, or provide shading.

Leaves may also turn yellow due to lack of watering, fertilizing and improperly selected soil. The violet needs a transplant.

Light spots on the plant appear due to drafts. At the same time, at first glance it seems that everything is in order with the violet, and its leaves remain juicy. It is impossible to get rid of this scourge, but you can prevent it: when ventilating the room, cover the flower with film or newspaper.

How to feed violets to make them bloom?

When asking what to do if violets do not bloom, lovers of indoor plants often force the plant to behave in this way. It's all about illiterate or excessive feeding, which causes serious damage to the health of the rosette and its ability to produce flowers.

The most common mistake is an excess of nitrogen in the soil, which causes the violet not to bloom, but to produce more and more new leaves and form stepchildren, which, as they develop, take away strength from the parent rosette. Doomed to excess nitrogen consumption, the violet plant is less resistant to diseases spread by fungi.

You can make a violet bloom only with very moderate and competent use of fertilizers. Plants that have just experienced a long and abundant flowering experience the greatest need for feeding. In this case, complex formulations are used for flowering crops, and the content of phosphorus and potassium in them should be twice as high as nitrogen.

You can hear the question from flower growers: “How to feed violets so that they bloom after transplanting?” But in this case, it is better not to rush into applying fertilizers at all, since plants that require acclimatization will not be able to correctly absorb the minerals that have entered the soil, and besides, fresh soil necessarily includes everything necessary for growth.

By slightly increasing the acidity of the soil at the stage when violets are laying buds, you can achieve brighter flowering in varieties whose petals combine contrasting shades, have a fringed border and scattering splashes of color.

Orange peel

A huge amount of vitamins is contained in orange peel, from which you can also prepare an effective fertilizer for indoor violets.

To prepare the product, you need to pour a liter of boiling water over the peel of a large orange, and then let the mixture brew for 24 hours. The finished broth should be filtered and then diluted with clean water in a ratio of 1:10. Violets need to be watered periodically with this fertilizer so that their leaves do not turn pale and are healthy.

This fertilizer helps strengthen the immune defense of a houseplant, as a result of which it will become more resistant to pests.

Selection of soil for lush flowering of violets

The reason why the violet does not bloom may be untimely replanting of the plant or incorrect selection of the soil mixture. Typically, Saintpaulia rosettes are transferred to another soil after approximately two flowerings, that is, twice every 1–1.5 years. If this is not done, the plant does not have enough nutrition, it weakens and eventually refuses to bloom.

But what to do in a situation where the florist makes every effort to care for the violet so that it blooms, but there are practically no buds? The error may lie in incorrectly selected soil. Violets react extremely poorly to dense soil that accumulates a lot of moisture. In such a mixture, the plant has difficulty forming a root system, and existing roots rot.

To ensure that the soil retains its lightness and looseness, but does not lose its ability to retain moisture, vermiculite and perlite are added to it, and natural antiseptics are used - sphagnum moss and powdered charcoal.

Sphagnum in the form of a crushed mass is added to the soil, and whole stems of the plant, along with expanded clay and foam chips, are used as drainage, which is mandatory for violets.

When planting violets in ready-made or self-selected soil, be sure to check its acidity. For Saintpaulias, soil with a slightly acidic reaction is most suitable. The acceptable level can vary from 5.5 to 6.5 units. By taking advantage of all the recommendations for caring for indoor violets, the gardener is sure to get luxurious blooms of his favorite Saintpaulias.

Why is there no flowering?

There are several main reasons why Saintpaulias refuse to bloom. They can be divided into four categories:

• conditions;
• care;
• pests;
• diseases.

Poor growing conditions

Poor growing conditions include:

• Wrong soil. Since Saintpaulias have a very vulnerable root system, they cannot be planted in heavy soil. Acidity is also important, which should be in the range of 6.0–6.5. And if there is an excess of nitrogen in the soil, then the violets will feel good - they will actively grow strong and richly colored foliage, but they will not bloom.
• Wrong pot. Unlike other indoor flowers, Usambara violets do not like spacious pots in which they begin to disappear. But at the same time, a container that is too small will not work, since the soil in it quickly loses nutrients.
• Lighting. On the one hand, the violet loves light (it will not bloom in a dark corner), but on the other hand, it does not tolerate direct sunlight at all, especially in the afternoon (the leaves burn, which does not stimulate the formation of flower stalks at all).
• Unsuitable temperature. Violets do not like to freeze or overheat. She doesn't like sudden changes in temperature even more.
• Low humidity. For Uzambara violets, the ideal humidity is 60–80%. And in apartments in the summer it is 40–50%, and during the heating season it is generally 25–40%
• Drafts. Saintpaulias do not tolerate drafts. If a light breeze blows them from a window or vent in the summer, this will not cause much concern. But if there is an air conditioner nearby and cold air blows from there, then the violets may not only refuse to bloom, but also begin to disappear. The same applies to blowing frosty air from the street in winter.

Improper care at home

Uzambara violets require care and do not tolerate negligence. Incorrect actions include:

• Watering . Violets react equally poorly to both drought and flooding, that is, to overdrying of the soil or waterlogging of the soil, which happen regularly. One-time cases can do without consequences. They also do not react well to too cold water. Violets should not be watered with tap water. It is also better to dry out the soil sometimes than to constantly overwater it.
• Feeding at the wrong time . When the soil is oversaturated with nitrogen. The violet will grow beautiful leaves, but there will be no flowers at all. If the foliage, on the contrary, is too pale and small, then the plant generally lacks any nutrients, so you won’t get flowers from it either. It is also better not to feed the plants from November to February.
• Injuries . Saintpaulias love to be treated with care and do not tolerate any mechanical damage at all.
• Extra neighbors . Sometimes Saintpaulias produce one or more offspring from the main cutting. The plant, trying to feed itself, spends all its nutrients for this purpose; it has no strength left to form flower buds.
• Stepsons . They act in the same way as children, only they are formed on the main stem.
• Old leaves . The lower level leaves age over time, becoming too large and pale. They not only spoil the appearance of the flower, but also take away most of the nutrients, which depresses the plant and prevents it from blooming.
• Incorrect transplantation . Uzambara violets require regular replanting, since the soil in a small pot becomes salty, depleted and excessively compacted. But it’s also not worth doing this procedure often, since in this case the plants do not have time to recover.
• Old age . It is believed that violets over four years old stop blooming. It is easy to recognize an old Saintpaulia - its stem thickens and becomes bare due to falling or special removal of the lower leaves. Such plants require rejuvenation. Although, with proper care, many violets bloom beautifully for ten or more years.

Diseases and their treatment

Lush flowering should not be expected from the Uzambara violet if it is weakened by disease. The most common plant diseases:

• stem rot;
• gray rot;
• brown rot;
• root rot;
• rust;
• fusarium;
• powdery mildew;
• spot virus.

If the plant is sick, you need to determine the reasons using the reference book, and then act in accordance with the instructions for each specific case. But in any case, the following steps will help:

1. carefully remove affected leaves;
2. treat with a fungicide (Fitosporin, which is a biological preparation, works well);
3. isolate the diseased plant from others;
4. if necessary, replant into fresh soil;
5. create comfortable conditions.

In most cases, these actions will be enough to help Saintpaulia cope with the disease. Otherwise, you will have to try to save the variety by rooting the cut top (if it is healthy) or leaves.

Important! A sickly appearance in Saintpaulia is not always a sign of some disease; most often it is caused by unfavorable living conditions.

Pests and their control

Pests:

• aphid;
• whitefly;
• mealybug;
• mites;
• nematodes;
• thrips.

Just as with diseases, you must first identify the pest that attacked Saintpaulia. Most of them are visible to the naked eye or through a magnifying glass. After this you need to act like this:

1. isolate the plant (examine neighboring ones to see if there are any signs of pests on them);
2. Gently rinse the leaves, petioles, stem from all sides (preferably with any alcohol solution);
3. treat with a fungicide or insecticide, acting strictly according to the instructions and paying special attention to the lower surfaces of the leaves (Fitoverm, Aktara);
4. place the pot with the plant in a plastic bag for a couple of days;
5. repeat treatments several times if necessary;
6. withstand Saintpaulia in quarantine.

Important! Saintpaulias with wet leaves should be kept in the dark until completely dry.