Wow those are beautiful NOIDS @anon-cdn!. so there is hope for T8 shoplights after all!. and here I was debating on if I should put a layer of window screening under the tubes to help dapple the light lol. but as we can see t8 does work just the way it is! thanks @anon-cdn! now I feel much better about splurging on T8 lol. I just wish T12 didn't die out they worked so well for me and everyone else on violets and u can keep those T12 shoplights lower-10 inches lol. Im doing wall shelving-where u have a shelf on the wall. above that do another shelf where u hang your shoplight from. I can do several shoplights that way and at the same time doesn't take up floor space. got the idea online lol! here is a pic of where I got the idea from, pretty good idea. this way you just take up wall space and leaves your floor space free. notice in the pic, its just a simple wooden shelf with a wall bracket. and directly above that at the proper height you do another shelf, same size and that's where u hang ur shoplight under then the chain suspends it. good idea, simple. leaves floor space totally free and same time doesn't clutter your room up with stands! not to mention this is by far the cheapest method ($3 each if that for a simple 48x12 wooden pine board cut at home depot. two bucks for shelf brackets. $20 for a t8 shoplight) where as if u use stands u got to buy a stand first (usually $40 or more...some are $119 at home depot for the edsal 48x24x74h storage shelving unit five tier) add to that shoplights. tubes. ur pushing $200. so choice is clear this is the cheapest route! :) plus I have all my floor space FREE

Hi Seth, Heres some info on the basic care of AV's, If you have any questions you can ask them here or email me privately. Fred in NJ Some basic African violet care 1. African violets are very much like human beings. They prefer growing in similar conditions. The plants prefer temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of approximately 50%. They enjoy bright indirect light as opposed to direct sunlight. 2. African violets grow well in light airy soil less mixes. The mix should be one that allows the roots to penetrate to the edge of the pot. It should not be so heavy that it retains so much water to make the mix soggy. More African violets are killed by over watering than any other method. A simple recipe that many growers use is equal parts of peat moss (or potting soil without any fertilizer), coarse vermiculite and coarse perlite. A handful of horticultural charcoal may be added to sweeten the mix if desired. 3. Light plays an important part in violet culture. Plants need between 10 and 12 hours of indirect light a day. This may be obtained either naturally or by artificial means. East or west exposures are good. Northern windows frequently are not strong enough but can be adequate if some artificial light is added to extend the light period. Southern exposures are much too hot in the summer and tend to burn leaves unless the are shaded by a sheer curtain or dappled light from an outside source. Fluorescent lights are ideal. Plants should be approximately 12 inches from the top of their crown to the light bulbs. Cool white, Gro Lux, Gro Lux WS, Vari Lux and combinations of cool and warm bulbs make plants grow beautifully 4. African violets need a constant source of food since they are potted in a soil less mixture that has little or no nutrient value. Most growers keep their plants on a constant feed system. They fertilize every time they water with a dilute mixture of fertilizer usually about half the manufacturer recommendation. The fertilizers use a three number system. The first number is for nitrogen, which promotes leaf and plant growth. Second is phosphorous which helps promote bloom and the final number is potassium which is included for general health. 5. Standard size violets should be repotted every 9 months to a year while semis and minis every 4 to 6 months. The rule of thumb for pot size is to go up a size when the crown of the plant is more than three times the size of the rim of the pot. So if the crown is 9 inches across it can go into a 3-inch pot. A large 18-inch plant can be put into a 6-inch pot. Most minis and semis do best in 2 to 2 inch pots. Since violets have shallow root systems, squat pot or azalea pots are ideal. 6. There are some diseases that can give a grower problems so it is always advisable when bringing a new plant into your home to ISOLATE the plant for at least a month before putting it with any of your other plants. Some of the problems that can occur are thrips, soil and foliar mealy bugs, cyclamen mites and powdery mildew. Each problem has its own cure from spraying to a systemic.

I never quite understood why you'd need vermiculite if you're wicking. Except it gives you a bit of a buffer between the reservoir going dry and the pot drying out completely... I use sulfur powder (garden sulfur from Canadian tire) against mildew and it's quite successful. I've also read you can microwave your soil or rinse it before use and that'll get rid of mildew. Haven't really tried it myself... My wicking mix is about half and half perkite and potting soil. Have tried several and wasn't 100% happy with any of them. Seed starter makes your plants stay small, promix A/V and MG have too much fertilizer etc. My best results yet were with the blue bag of potting soil from Schultz. Moisture control I believe. A friend of mine uses it straight up for wicking. I don't dare.... As for 2 or more ply yarn, I don't believe that should make a difference. If your mix is light enough, anyways. If it isn't, limiting the water supply via small wick might help, but it wouldn't be dependable. Fwiw, your brown spots look like water marks to me... the curling under may be a reaction to PH or light...

After the plant is stressed, bagging or doming it is wise and will help. However, you have the plant seriously over potted. With a pot disproportionately large it is difficult to keep the soil from staying too wet. Ideally the pot size should only exceed the spread of the roots by about 1/2 inches to an inch at most, which leads us to the usual saying that the pot size should be about 1/3 the size of the plant. That is more applicable with an adult plant than a baby, however. I would suggest repotting it into a small pot that is less wide than the spread of the leaves. Also, your soil looks heavy and has little perlite in it. African Violet roots thrive best where there is tons of light airy soil. I use 1/2 potting soil mix with 1/2 perlite myself though usually 2/3 soil mix to 1/3 perlite can also suffice. If you get a lot of condensation accumulating on the inside of your bag, open it slightly or cut tiny slits to allow some evaporation. It does not need to be entirely sealed. After it's been bagged about a week you should be able to start opening the bag slightly and getting the plant re-acclimated to your normal open air growing conditions. Provide the brightest light you can that is not full sun and it should do well. As for the broken leaf? Simply stick the stem tip down into a tiny bit of soil and bag it separately. It will need to remain bagged or domed for a couple of months but if the soil is only damp and not wet, and if your light is bright enough, your odds of it growing entirely new plants are not bad at all! For more information on propagating African Violets from leaves, or potting sizes, or potting mixes, Google is your friend. Keep reading! Once you learn a few basics, they really are pretty easy to grow and enjoy. ;)