african violets

i have heard those are hard to grow and require a lot of work. it doesnt seem like it, is that true?

 

my grandma always had one of those on her table... and she would never get a plant that wasn't easy to grow .

 

Hey Acorn (you little nut, HaHa), I love your sig line. And my african violets are STILL alive. I think that says it all.

 

And oh, btw, it's 'They're', not 'Their'. (I'm not trying to be mean)

 

A friend of mine gave me hers because she couldn't take care of them. They're still alive, but I can't get the damn things to bloom!!

 

Hey acorn,

My mom got one as a gift from my aunt about 11 years ago, it died this winter though, it got really huge in the pot it was in so she transplanted it(she had did this bunches and it never hurt it) but I think it was the dirt and it killed it.

It isnt very hard to keep, just keep it in a window, Ours was in the east window above the kitchen sink, and just dont water it on its leaves, that will kill it, get a pot where you water it from the bottom, and it will soak the water up through the dirt, and dont use fertilizer or anything, just pure water, and water it about once or twice a week, dont need a whole lot of water but some, and ours always bloomed, it was beautiful, I miss it.

 

would i be able to get a regular container and saucer and put the water into the saucer?

 

I think you can just as long as the water can get into the dirt so it can suck it up.

 

Any idea why mine won't bloom? The leaves look great, but no flowers or buds even in sight.

 

They are easy to keep if you have a warm window sill and never water onto the leaves. I have heard that sometimes plucking off the largest leaves can encourage them to flower.

 

Hi Ya"ll,
the secret to blooming violets is to fill a jar up with eggshells and then fill it up with water. Let it sit for a day or so. Violets need lots of water and they love the minerals from the egg shells. As you use the water, then just fill the jar again. Not a lot of direct sun, cause they naturally live on the jungle floor and the trees overhead keep them in indirect sunlight. If you have a sunny window, just put it behind a taller plant. Happy gardening.