The center of my African violet is dwarfed, furled and puckered. What is causing this to happen?
The mite that caused this is too small to be seen with the naked eye, but the skeletons are cast off and can be seen as a gray powder resembling ashes. This is the fearsome pest called cyclamen mite. The best thing to do is to remove three of four leaves for rooting, and destroy the rest of the plant. The leaves for rooting should be dipped in a weak solution of dimite before rooting. Kelthane and cythion are also good miticides. These little mites are transferred from plant to plant by arms and hands (especially sleeves).
