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I finally realized I was overwatering my African violets for 2 years
I had a pot of African violets on my kitchen windowsill that kept getting yellow leaves and never bloomed. Last month I mentioned it to the lady at the garden center on Elm Street and she asked how often I watered them. I said every other day and she just shook her head and told me to stick my finger in the soil first. Turned out the soil was staying wet at the bottom even when the top looked dry, so the roots were rotting. She told me to only water when the top inch is dry, and now three weeks later I finally see new flower buds forming. Has anyone else made this mistake with indoor flowering plants?
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ericj4511d ago
My neighbor up the street killed three peace lilies in a row before she figured out she was watering them the same way... every day like clockwork. I'm curious though, did you change anything else besides the watering schedule when you switched, or was that the only fix? Because sometimes people swap out the potting mix at the same time and that can mess with drainage too. Also, what kind of pots are you using, are they terracotta or plastic with drainage holes? The lady at the garden center sounds like she knows her stuff, but I've heard conflicting advice about letting African violets sit in their own water from the bottom...
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jamesroberts10d agoTop Commenter
Funny enough, I actually managed to drown a cactus once because I thought "low water" meant "a little splash every day." Turns out my brain just doesn't do moderation with plants. So yeah, the watering change was the only fix for me, but I'm curious if you've ever accidentally overwatered something that's supposed to be drought-tolerant?
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