Secrets of My Success
OK so, I've not been THAT successful and I've only been seriously growing violets for several months now, but I feel like I've learned so much in that short time. I don't know why I'm so attracted to growing violets. All I know is that when I'm interested that much in something - I have to do it.
I have never had so much success with any violets I've grown any other time in my life. And I've tried to grow violets several times with limited success before losing interest. I don't know why but this time seems to be different. My collection is growing, not dwindling ??? I call that success when I'm not killing them on a regular basis. I seem to be "in tune" with them this time.
The main thing I've learned about violets is that you have to be consistent. I think back over the years and what happened to my other violets and I know the key to success is consistency. You have to keep them constantly slightly damp, letting the top soil dry out between waterings. Not too wet and not too dry. You have to check them nearly every day because they can go downhill so fast when something goes wrong. If you do those two things, you will have success with them.
I'd like to say that's all there is to it but you also have to know what to do when something goes wrong. If you see a bug - you have to know how to treat that kind of bug without killing your plant. If the flowers and leaves are drooping - you have to figure out why. Too wet or too dry?
Violets have to have good light or they will not produce flowers. It can be natural light coming from a window or light from a bulb, but they have to have a certain amount of light to be happy. I wish I could give you a magic formula for all this but each group of violets is different in what it likes. You just have to trial and error it.
I bet you didn't know that violets are very sensitive to temperatures and natural gas leaks. They are sort of like canaries in a coal mine. If your center leaves are very tight and gray colored, you might want to provide more humidity and/or check your gas appliances for a leak. Seriously, gas leaks can kill them.
Don't forget to propagate your favorite violets. All it takes is one leaf put into dirt or water to make more babies and keep your violets growing. That's the biggest secret of all violet growers. Keep propagating them to have more and more violets. That's the real secret.
I have never had so much success with any violets I've grown any other time in my life. And I've tried to grow violets several times with limited success before losing interest. I don't know why but this time seems to be different. My collection is growing, not dwindling ??? I call that success when I'm not killing them on a regular basis. I seem to be "in tune" with them this time.
The main thing I've learned about violets is that you have to be consistent. I think back over the years and what happened to my other violets and I know the key to success is consistency. You have to keep them constantly slightly damp, letting the top soil dry out between waterings. Not too wet and not too dry. You have to check them nearly every day because they can go downhill so fast when something goes wrong. If you do those two things, you will have success with them.
I'd like to say that's all there is to it but you also have to know what to do when something goes wrong. If you see a bug - you have to know how to treat that kind of bug without killing your plant. If the flowers and leaves are drooping - you have to figure out why. Too wet or too dry?
Violets have to have good light or they will not produce flowers. It can be natural light coming from a window or light from a bulb, but they have to have a certain amount of light to be happy. I wish I could give you a magic formula for all this but each group of violets is different in what it likes. You just have to trial and error it.
I bet you didn't know that violets are very sensitive to temperatures and natural gas leaks. They are sort of like canaries in a coal mine. If your center leaves are very tight and gray colored, you might want to provide more humidity and/or check your gas appliances for a leak. Seriously, gas leaks can kill them.
Don't forget to propagate your favorite violets. All it takes is one leaf put into dirt or water to make more babies and keep your violets growing. That's the biggest secret of all violet growers. Keep propagating them to have more and more violets. That's the real secret.
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