Why violets turn yellow leaves: causes and consequences

Violet, or Saintpaulia, is one of the most common indoor plants. It can be found on almost every windowsill. The secret of the flower's success is its unpretentiousness, long flowering period, bright, multi-colored inflorescences. Since the plant is very popular, breeders are constantly working to create new hybrids. Today, there are more than 8,500 varieties of Saintpaulias. Florists admire the delicate flowers throughout almost the whole year. But it often happens that problems arise with the leaves - they turn yellow or become covered with specks. To eliminate this trouble, you need to find out why the leaves of violets turn yellow. Only by identifying the cause can the problem be solved.

Basic principles for caring for violets

For inexperienced flower growers, it may seem that as soon as the leaves of a violet turn yellow, it needs to be urgently treated. For this, chemical preparations are most often used - fungicides. But the yellowing of the leaves of a plant is not always associated with a disease, most often the problem is in improper care.

Exhibition of violets

Saintpaulia care rules:

• The plant should be protected from direct sunlight, otherwise the leaves will first begin to dry, and then they may completely fall off, having received serious sunburn. For violets, partial shade or shade is preferable.
• The correct choice of soil is also of great importance for the flower. When transplanting, be sure to see if the plant is doing well in a new place. Most often, a special primer for violets is used, which is sold in all flower shops.
• Wick watering. This is something that many growers do not know about, but it is this lower type of water delivery that will provide the violets with a sufficient amount of moisture. With top watering, there is a high likelihood that the plant will rot.
• Regular fertilization during the growing season and throughout the entire flowering period. At the very beginning of the growing season, when the flower comes to life after a short period of dormancy, it needs nitrogenous fertilizers, but as soon as the buds are laid, potassium-phosphorus compounds are added, which will ensure lush and long flowering. Fertilizers are also applied during wick irrigation. Complex liquid solutions are simply added to the water.
• Change the potting soil annually.

In violets, you also need to periodically cut off the lower leaves, regularly remove dried flowers.

Why do violets turn yellow leaves

When identifying problems with the green part of the plant, it is very important for the grower to immediately find out why the leaves of the violet are lightening. Leaf discoloration can occur from improper care or fungal diseases.

Wick watering violets

How to find out the reasons

In order to save the flower, it is very important to identify the causes at the initial stage of the discoloration of the leaves. Since violets are not the most unpretentious plants, it is best to inspect them every day.

A healthy violet looks like this:

• the leaves are collected in the correct form of a basal rosette in the middle of which there are flowers;
• the position of the leaves is extremely horizontal - if they are even slightly raised or, conversely, drooped, this indicates the presence of some problems;
• the color is saturated, depending on the variety, it can be bright or dark green.

If plaque appears on the leaves, they turn pale or turn white, dry at the edges - these are signals to think about it. Raised leaflets also signal problems.

Violet leaves turned yellow

The main reasons why violet leaves turn yellow:

• natural causes - the leaves of any plants grow old and die off;
• fungal diseases, insect pests;
• incorrectly selected plant placement;
• unsuitable substrate;
• the regime of watering and feeding is not observed.

After purchase, the flower must be quarantined in an isolated room.

Excessive watering

Excessive watering is something that violets cannot stand. Because of it, dangerous fungal diseases develop. First of all, the development of various types of rot.

• Watering rules

Watering violets should be carried out by the wick method, that is, through the lower part. The roots themselves must absorb as much liquid as they need. Watering them in a different way can be easily overpowered, and water can get on the leaves, causing nasty stains on them.

• Plant rehabilitation after over-watering

The land should be properly dried, it is better to transplant the plant into another pot. And do not water at all for a while. Remove damaged plant parts. This applies to the leaves and parts of the root.

Brown spots on violet leaves

Wrong ground

It is important to know what to do if the violet leaves turn yellow. Most often, this process starts from the bottom tier. One of the reasons for this phenomenon is soil depletion. If the violet has not been transplanted to a new place for a long time, the lower leaves turn yellow and gradually die off. Every year, the plant is transplanted into new soil, most often using the purchased option.

It is required to make a composition suitable for the plant

Baking powder must be added to any ready-made mixture. But you can prepare a soil that will be more suitable for the plants. The first option is the simplest: peat and baking powder, which can be coarse river sand or perlite. But there are other options as well.

The first version of the soil mixture for violets:

• soil + peat 50%;
• perlite 20%;
• moss 20%;
• nutritious soil + charcoal 10%.

Second option:

• nutritious soil 70%;
• moss 10%;
• perlite 10%;
• charcoal 10%.

Third option:

• peat and nutrient soil 3: 1;
• perlite;
• charcoal.

In addition to the main components, dolomite flour, eggshells, compost, river sand, and coniferous soil can be added to any type of substrate.

Turn to professionals

Soils for any indoor plants, including Saintpaulias, can be very different compositions. And a professional potting soil can be very different from what is purchased at a regular flower shop.

Professional breeders, as a rule, buy special soils, which are more expensive but of higher quality. Most often they are sold only in bulk. The most popular professional mixture is the German Klasman TS 1. Such land is usually available for sale in a volume of 200 liters (weight over 40 kg).For one grower, this is a lot, but you can find like-minded people on the Internet and buy such a package for several people.

You can also look for those who have already bought this soil and can sell part of it. This substrate is perfect for violets, it has an ideal balance of nutritional value, friability, acidity level, and the ratio of components.

Rehabilitation after transplant

The transplanted Saintpaulia should not be watered immediately. Cover it with a bag and put it in a warm place for a couple of weeks. After that, the bag is removed and moderate watering gradually begins.

If there are problems with the leaves, it means that the roots have not yet managed to fully grow back and cannot allow the flower to be saturated with water. Then the greenhouse returns for a few more days.

Also, the appearance of peduncles during the rehabilitation period should not be allowed until the roots are fully formed, otherwise the violet will not have enough strength to form vital systems.

Violet transplant

External factors

It is external factors that have a huge impact on the state of the leaves. If you do not violate the rules of care, then the plant will always look good and delight the grower with green foliage and lush flowering.

Heat

Heat, overheating, scorching rays of the sun affect the plant negatively. If the violet stands on the south window in the heat without any protection, then you can say goodbye to all the leaves at once. At first, they just turn pale and gradually fade, and later they burn out completely.

Such conditions also lead to drying out of the soil, which is also unacceptable when growing Saintpaulias. To prevent this, it is worth choosing a window with the least illumination. If this is not possible (this happens, for example, in dorm rooms), it is necessary to provide the delicate flower with protection from the sun's rays. You can cover the plant itself, or you can purchase a special foil that will protect the violets from the scorching rays of the sun, but at the same time let in enough light.

The best option for placing flowers in the summer is the shelves, slightly distant from the window, but sufficiently lit. If it so happens that the earthen lump has dried up, you need to take the following actions:

1. Fill a basin with warm water.
2. Put a pot of violets in it for 30 minutes.
3. Get it out and put it in a good place.

Violets in the heat

Cold

If violets get cold, then fungal infections instantly come to them. First of all, we are talking about different types of rot. All parts of the plant are affected by these diseases. Yellow round spots appear on the leaves, while the decorative effect of the flower suffers greatly. The optimum temperature for violets is +18 .. + 24 ° С.

What else can happen to the leaves with improper care

Improper care is harmful to violets, as well as to any other indoor plants. The results of such care can be:

• with a lack of light, new leaves become lighter and smaller, the petioles are stretched, the edges of the leaves are bent up;
• increased acidity or excessive salinity of the soil leads to twisting of the leaf plates, the same problem occurs with a lack of nitrogen or overflow;
• light spots on the leaves or their tips hint to the grower that the flower is watered with too cold water or suffers from sunburn;
• with the development of root rot, wilting appears, and the color of the leaves is lost;
• gray rot provokes a process in which the leaves can become covered with a gray bloom;
• late blight is manifested by the presence of brownish, brown spots on violet leaves, turgor is lost;
• due to non-observance of the temperature regime, rust may appear on the plant, characterized by unpleasant rusty bumps and dots on the leaves and cuttings;
• with excessive watering and hypothermia, black rot may develop on the violet, the leaves will darken and turn black.

Violets are quite whimsical plants that will not be so easy for an inexperienced florist to cope with.

Correct care

Proper care of Saintpaulias is the key to success. If you follow all the recommendations of professionals, you can be sure that the flower will grow and develop.

Lush violets

The main provisions that must be observed at different stages of flower development

1. At the very beginning, after purchasing a violet, she needs to provide a two-week quarantine in a separate room.
2. At the stage of the onset of vegetative development after a dormant period, fertilizing with nitrogenous fertilizers is necessary.
3. During the budding and flowering period, potash-phosphorus fertilizers will come to the rescue.
4. During the flowering period, it is necessary to remove wilting buds and flowers.

Regardless of the stage of development, wick irrigation is recommended for all violets. Fertilizers are added to the soil in the same way.

What kind of violet to change if nothing helps

If no methods help, and the leaves still turn yellow and become pale, it is better to change the variety of violets. Experienced growers are advised to purchase a hybrid variety that blooms almost all year round or, conversely, produces buds only for a short period of time. It depends on which varieties you fail to grow.

It is not difficult to grow a violet at home if you follow all the rules for caring for it. But for an inexperienced grower, it is better to purchase a more modern hybrid variety that is less demanding in care. Now different varieties have been bred, which are adapted to different conditions.