Hi Al/plantcrazed/et. al., I thought I should come back and share some results from my "experiment" that I started at the end of April. The controls in my little trial were almost non-existent, but I think that actually makes the results more relevant to me and my growing conditions (and hopefully others will get something from this too). Back in April I got an order of leaves of 19 varieties of AVs. 14 came as pairs of leaves, so I decided to try growing them in different media. As I described in my post in mid-May, 14 leaves went in 100% vermiculite and 19 leaves in 100% turface fines (the smaller stuff left over after sifting for other mixes). The planting tray is an old kit I had leftover from years ago that has a clear cover for germinating/propagating. I had grand plans to carefully measure watering, leaf condition, first sign of roots/new leaves, etc. (like a good experimenter would), but the same day I planted the leaves my toddler ended up in the ER, kicking off several weeks of stress and doctor's visits, not to mention usual life events and adventures when working full time and caring for a small child. My plant care regimen settled in to, basically, watering when I noticed they looked dry. After the plantlets started to appear I took the covers off the trays, but otherwise I've just watered and left them under fluorescent lights and hoped for the best. Here are my results. Vermiculite 4 have plantlets, all of which seem to be growing alright 5 are mostly-dead or all-dead 1 formed a nice-looking plantlet that subsequently died, tho the leaf is still there and has roots 4 have roots but no sign of new leaves (yet?) Turface fines all 19 leaves are still alive 16 have multi-leaf plantlets 1 has a new leaf just beginning to appear 2 are strongly rooted and some gentle investigation revealed new leaves that just haven't broken the surface yet (I had just finished watering when I took this photo, which is why the turface shows wet and dry spots. This is what my usual watering of this tray looks like) A few other observations: the leaves of the new plants in the vermiculite are larger than any in the turface the leaves of the new plants in the turface are much smaller, but there are many of them, they are a strong green colour, and have a vital appearance (my experience tells me these are stronger plants than in the vermiculite) one variety was not in very good shape when it arrived. I considered complaining to the store owner about the quality, but see above re: bigger life priorities right now. That variety didn't survive more than a few days in the vermiculite. The leaf just rotted away. In the turface, it slowly rotted up the stem towards the leaf, but then rooted from the remaining piece of leaf and now has a lovely little plant growing: What these results say to me is that, for my horrible, neglectful treatment of these leaves, the turface was a better growing medium. I'm sure Al or Kevin/ewwmayo would have the correct terms for the properties of the two media, but I would say it seemed like the vermiculite contributed to a less stable environment - it went from a soggy mess when I watered to very dry, very quickly - and the turface was much more stable and allowed these poor things to survive despite my neglect. I've read some of the very lengthy threads about the properties of the various gritty mix ingredients and it makes sense to me that a plant like an AV that doesn't like to dry out but also hates being soggy would appreciate the turface's qualities of holding water but allowing for drainage and air movement through the medium. I think from now on the turface fines will be my preferred method for starting AV leaves (and likely other similar plants like episcias or begonias). I also moved two other AVs (a standard and a mini) into a modified gritty mix (1:1:1, but perlite in place of bark). So far nothing meaningful to report, though neither plant has bloomed and the mini seems to be happier than the standard. But with my neglect of the plants lately I don't think these results are meaningful, beyond saying that AVs can actually survive in the gritty mix even with an inconsistent and sub-optimal care routine. If there's anything interesting to report as these AVs continue to grow and I pot them up (likely into a gritty mix of some sort), I'll be sure to come back with an update. I would happily accept comments/questions/criticisms of my results, but please be kind in your criticisms of my care routine. I might be bad with my plants, but this little one is thriving: Thanks everyone, Melanie

Probably the most important thing now is to make sure of your diagnosis. Pictures might help to make sure. Botrytis Blight or Gray Mold has a gray, fuzzy coating on older plant material. Spores begin the infection and can remain in the soil during the winter. At times the young center leaves turn grayish and hair may become abnormally long. Botrytis can kill the plant. First thing to do would be to isolate the plant or plants from your main collection. Increase air circulation to the area. Remove all fading flowers or leaves. Lower your humidity if possible. Keep room temperature even and warm. Do not over fertilize. Leaves of plants should not touch. You can use the homemade treatment as suggested above. One tablespoon bleach in one gallon warm water sprayed over foliage. If you have only a few plants affected just remove them and see what happens. If many are affected in your collection you may want to buy Benomyl. You can also purchase sulfer from the drug store. Put this in little pots around your plants. Check your rootball just to make sure this is not root or crown rot. Nancy

I find that any AVs that is already in bloom when I have picked it up, need to be repoted right away. It has been in that that pot and soil for at least 4-5 month to bring it to bloom. Then there is the problem that most store bought plants are in soil that just to heavy for growing at home. A good book is" You CAN Grow African Violets, by Joyce and Kent Stork". You can pick it up for $18.00 at the AVSA web sit http://www.avsa.org/shop/books-publications/books-publications/you-can-grow-african-violets-1 You need to get it out of the pot it is in and into a lighter soil mix which is explained in the book . Also it is better to repot into a small pot than a big pot. The plant should be 2/3 size of the pot (smaller). If The pot is to big the roots will rot. AVS also like to be root bound and they will not start blooming again until their roots have filled up the new pot The fast way to kill a African Violet. TO MUCH LOVE! ( water) Here is a link that might be useful: American African Violet Society --book store

Thanks for sharing the information. All your AVs look very happy. I had hard time finding the right jar coz the mouth is not wide enough. I end up using a 13 Oz jar which is quiet tall for a mini.