My African violet has stopped flowering, what can I do?

Question

My indoor African violet was always a great bloomer, but the past month, I've not had any blooms. What can I do to get it going again?

Should I water it with tea?

Answer 1

LIGHT
Insufficient light is one of the major reasons Violets do not bloom well. Violets must have 10 to 14 (16 is max) hours of bright light per day (no direct sun). Variegated varieties usually need more light than the plants with solid green leaves because there is less chlorophyll which is used to turn light into food for the plant. The special yellow blooming violet varieties need less light than all the other violets require. You can enhance the light for certain violets by sitting them on mirror tiles as large or larger than the violet. This reflects the available light back to the violet. If adequate natural light is not available or desired, twin tube fluorescent lights are ideal. Place the tubes eight to ten inches above the foliage for mature standard plants, and six to eight inches for miniatures, leaves, and seedlings. Because violets process nutrients during the "resting phase" (i.e. darkness) they should also have 8 hours of darkness per day.
TEMPERATURE
70° - 75° Fahrenheit is usually ideal, although 60° - 85° Fahrenheit is tolerated for short periods of time.
HUMIDITY
40% - 50% relative humidity is usually ideal. The humidity near your plants can be raised by supporting the plants over water. Wick watering is ideal for this because the plant sits on top of a reservoir of water.
POTS
Use "clean" plastic or ceramic pots. Terracotta pots tend to collect salts, harmful chemicals, and pests. We advice against using them. Don't use a pot which is too large. Never move a plant to a larger pot until the roots fill the present pot. Violets tend to bloom most when they are slightly root bound.
FERTILIZER
Either lack of fertilizer or too infrequent feeding is one of the reasons for lack of blossoms. Most growers use a "soil-less" potting mix with little nutrient content; this requires using a dilute fertilizer solution each time the plant is watered.
WATER
Never use water that has been through a softener. Using distilled water all the time is not good either because it deprives the violet of trace minerals which would ordinarily be present in the water. Chlorine in the water might cause problems for the violet. Let the water stand overnight in an open container to let the chlorine evaporate out of the water. Bottled "spring water" is a good substitute if your tap water is not good. Use water which is room temperature (neither cold or warm.) Keep the violet "just moist", not wet. Never allow the plant to become completely dry. "Wick" watering is also a good technique. Place a nylon wick on the bottom of the pot with the loose end extending out of the pot about 4 inches. Hang the loose end of the wick in a container of fertilizer/water mixture (see above). Never let the pot touch the water - only the wick should touch the water. This wick will keep the violet watered for 2-4 weeks depending on the size of the reservoir.
SOIL
Violets need a light, airy soil mix that will not pack hard and allows for easy root penetration. Be sure the soil mix has been sterilized to eliminate harmful pests and bacteria. Repot at least twice a year by removing 1/3 of the old soil and replacing with new soil.
GROOMING
Remove up to 3 leaves per month from the bottom row. Carefully bend the leaves to the side while gently pulling. The leaf stem will break away clean leaving no stub. This keeps all the leaves new and fresh and promotes a burst of new growth from the crown. Brush leaves with a natural bristle, soft brush to remove dust and dirt. Keep old blossoms picked off and remove the old bloom stalk completely when all blooms are finished.
PESTS
If you find spilled pollen on the leaves it could mean that you have a pest infestation of "thrips". We sell a special insecticide called Conserve SC especially for this purpose.
If you find white sticky flecks on the leaves, or find that the leaves are sticky all over, treat the affected plant with Marathon granules.
If you find soil mealy bugs, lift the plant out of the pot, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of Marathon granules on the bottom of the pot. Replace the plant. Do NOT water in, or do any extra watering. That should take care of the problem!
If you find a "white dust" appear on the plants, they might have "powdery mildew". To cure this use an appropriate fungicide spray such as Captan. Measure 1 tsp to 1 gallon of water, and spray the affected plants. Turn on fans to dry the plants quickly. You also need to provide more air movement on a regular basis, as this will help to avoid any future mildew problems.

Answer 2

All the answers are right. I would add, that all plants like a rest. It is obviously happy where it was flowering and may well require repotting. This is not easy. African Violets are like 194 year old sensitive grandmothers, they find change traumatic. Do it very gently and keep as many other things the same -eg. *position, temperature, light, out of the draft etc.. Don't buy fertiliser, I think that you can over feed as well as over water and weak tea a month after repotting is not only cheaper, but can be bought from anywhere.
To repot water and drain plant. Knock out of old pot, fondle the external roots gently to loosen them. Take new bigger pot (same type as the old one) holding the old pot in the new bigger one fill the new one with fresh moist compost. Take old pot out and add plant. Firm compost around the plant. Place back as it was before repotted*. Do not remove shoots or try to split the plant. Good Luck.

Answer 3

If you take a close look at it you might see the start of some buds. They take awhile to reach the surface. It's not unusual for an African violet to take a rest after flowering, especially in the winter when there is probably less available daylight, even if you have it in the same sunny spot.

I sometimes water mine with leftover room temperature tea. I think they like it.

Answer 4

Its having a natural rest just keep watering from underneath and give as much natural light as you can but dont close the curtains with it behind next to the windows feed about every 2or 3 waterings and it will flower again. To remove dead leaves pull firmly and remove all of stem. Dont overwater or you will get root rot it is better to feel the compost to see if it needs watering.

Answer 5

Check your fertilizer - please don't tell me you have not been fertilizing...... You want a high middle number on the container. ie: 10 - 15 - 10 the middle number promotes blooming.
The other reason it may not be blooming is it may have suckers around the stem??? As in, little plantlets? If so, gently remove them ( can pot them up ) as they are taking the plants energy away from blooming because it has little babaies and doe not need to grow seeds ( as in blooming)

Answer 6

Get some African violet food.Walmart has it for a couple of bucks.

Answer 7

Repot it in a larger container add some fresh compost it should soon recover and don't overwater

Answer 8

mine has just stopped flowering as well I presume that like all plants they must have a rest period

Answer 9

water it