Violet Love

I have grown violets most 

of my adult life.

My first violets

were from my Grandmother

many years ago.

I like to think that

perhaps some of the ones

I have today are

offspring's of those first ones from her.

Through the years

I have had good luck with violets

and they always bloomed beautifully

for me.

Then, I moved into my current house

a couple of years ago.

Evidently they were not happy with

the move.

Violets that had been outstanding

at my previous house,

suddenly decided they

were merely green houseplants.

For almost a year I did not have

a single blooming violet.

So I started giving them regular doses of 

a bloom booster

and I gave them more light.

Although my house is quite bright

they wanted a more direct light.

The window in my kitchen is western exposure

and in the dining room I have the morning light.

Between these two windows

I started to rotate all my violets regularly.

And guess what?

Last spring they started blooming

once again

and have not stopped since.

I do have the occasional pot 

with no blooms.

But after a few days in one of the

"violet" windows

they reward me beautifully.

Here are some other tips that work for me

to keep violets happy and healthy -

-good drainage is essential

-water from below

-let them dry out between watering

-they like to be root bound,

so keep their pots small.

Baby them a bit 

and they will reward you

with blooms

year around!