Iron Deficiency in Violets
Sooner or later you are going to run across every problem imaginable with growing violets. It's easier if you start out with healthy plants from a reputable grower than to buy them damaged after they have been sitting in cold water and low light conditions for a while in a retail store.
That being said, I have purchased my share of violets in bad condition because I like to occasionally try to save them. Unfortunately, I can't afford to try and save them all and if you're not careful, you could bring in a virus to your other plants. Always spray your new violets and isolate them. Some people dis-bud and re-pot immediately, they are so afraid of thrips that carry the INSV virus. You can lose your whole collection to this virus. It is that bad. And it's carried and spread by thrips. But not all yellowing violets are virus related. So not to panic!
You get good at solving problems as you have to deal with them. This one had yellowy looking leaves and droopy flowers from the start but I thought it had probably been over-watered which means the ph level of the soil is imbalanced.
Most of the time when the leaves of violets start to turn yellow it is an iron or manganese imbalance in the soil that has affected the ph level or from over watering with cold tap water (like they do in the garden stores).
The first thing I do is re-pot it in new soil mix and rinse with warm water from the top to flush the roots. (Because of the overall neglected appearance of this one, I also dis-budded the plant and put it in a plastic sleeve to isolate it from my other violets.) Not because it might have thrips but because I want the violet to put its energy into fixing its leaves, not making flowers bloom. No fertilizer for at least a week to let it recover. Most of the time just that much will do the trick.
But, sometimes no matter what you do, a plant just doesn't do well and at some point you have to toss it. It may have a virus or been neglected too long before you got it. It may already have the start if root rot. Don't feel bad, at some point you will have to be selective with what you grow anyway. You can't save them all. Just do the best you can and enjoy your plants as much as you can. It's still a great hobby.
That being said, I have purchased my share of violets in bad condition because I like to occasionally try to save them. Unfortunately, I can't afford to try and save them all and if you're not careful, you could bring in a virus to your other plants. Always spray your new violets and isolate them. Some people dis-bud and re-pot immediately, they are so afraid of thrips that carry the INSV virus. You can lose your whole collection to this virus. It is that bad. And it's carried and spread by thrips. But not all yellowing violets are virus related. So not to panic!
You get good at solving problems as you have to deal with them. This one had yellowy looking leaves and droopy flowers from the start but I thought it had probably been over-watered which means the ph level of the soil is imbalanced.
Most of the time when the leaves of violets start to turn yellow it is an iron or manganese imbalance in the soil that has affected the ph level or from over watering with cold tap water (like they do in the garden stores).
The first thing I do is re-pot it in new soil mix and rinse with warm water from the top to flush the roots. (Because of the overall neglected appearance of this one, I also dis-budded the plant and put it in a plastic sleeve to isolate it from my other violets.) Not because it might have thrips but because I want the violet to put its energy into fixing its leaves, not making flowers bloom. No fertilizer for at least a week to let it recover. Most of the time just that much will do the trick.
But, sometimes no matter what you do, a plant just doesn't do well and at some point you have to toss it. It may have a virus or been neglected too long before you got it. It may already have the start if root rot. Don't feel bad, at some point you will have to be selective with what you grow anyway. You can't save them all. Just do the best you can and enjoy your plants as much as you can. It's still a great hobby.
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