Question
HELP!!!  After several years of beautiful, blooming  African violets, two are failing fast.

After being repotted a few months back, three are okey but two are sad looking.  I think they are in appropriately sized containers.  Both of the ones doing badly were returned to  their same Wal Mart pots which   is a large outside bowl for the water and a smaller pot with the plant sits inside and absorbs water through the bottom.  I try to keep the bottom of the inside pot touching a little depth of the water and the top of the soil never feels wet or even damp.  They did well in the same pots for quite a while.

The leaves have yellow edges and dead spots.  Yet the underneath side of some of the leaves has  a reddish look. The lower larger leaves feel somewhat limp and are probably dying.  The plants put up plenty of buds, but most  of them seem to just dry up and die.

After looking carefully, I see a tiny little white speck about the size of a pinpoint on top of 3 or 4 of the leaves.  When I looked into the water, however, there are definitely some minute things living and moving there.  After changing the water, in a few days, I can see tiny little things about the width of a hair that look grey in color and seem longer than wide.  They can definitely move and navigate in the water and also  move up the inside of the water bowl.  They seem to multiply as there are more of them after a few more days.

The last time I repotted, the "African violet soil" was from a bag that had last been opened and partially used a year or so earlier.  Was something maybe in the soil????  Does it go bad??  I use an "African violet" fertilizer in the amount recommended.  I usually mix up a batch and water the violets out of it for a month or so with the container being kept covered in a cabinet.

They are in the same sunshine situation as a year ago.

Any recommendations will surely be appreciated as I hate to lose two good friends.

Thanks much,  

Answer
Pat,
I feel your distress over these plants. It sounds as if you have white flies or aphids, or another sort of insect. Sounds as if they're sucking the life out of your violets. Thankfully, it does not sound like a fungus, though. It may go back to the soil, which you said had been opened. Ordinarily one wouldn't have to worry about that, but nowadays there are just so many bugs, germs, viruses around. (Have you heard about the recent resurgence of BEDBUGS???  It's quite a crazy time to be living)!

That said, I think it was a combination of the soil and also the stress of being repotted. Violets prefer to be a little pot-bound, because that makes them use their energy for flowers rather than to grow more roots.

There are several insecticides you can use to hopefully end this problem before it kills your "friends". Go to a Lowes or Home Depot or a flower/garden shop. Look specifically for sprays which are to be used on AFrican Violets. As you know, they are very sensitive and temperamental, and you can't use just anything on them. There are also sprays and fixes you can get that are natural and non-chemical. I have heard that placing one clove of garlic into the soil of a plant (ANY plant) will deter insects and pests, though I've not tried it. But first you must get rid of this infestation before it spreads to other houseplants, and you'll need a 'big gun' to do that. I can't think of any brand names to recommend, but a good garden supply store will have a decent selection, including natural remedies.

If you need further help let me know. I'll help all I can.