Plant care guide
Cyclamen Mites on African Violets: How to Identify Them
Updated · First published
How do you identify cyclamen mites on an African violet?
Cyclamen mites are too small to see without a microscope, so you identify them by damage: stunted, crinkled, hairy-looking leaves in the centre of the crown and buds that are deformed or never open. Crown rot, cold, and low light can stunt a violet too, so check for those before you decide.
What to do first
Isolate the plant now and keep it from touching other violets. Discard a badly infested plant and disinfect its pot; treat only a valuable plant, with a product labelled for mites on houseplants.
If the centre of your African violet has turned into a tight knot of small, twisted leaves, cyclamen mites are a real possibility. They are among the most serious pests of African violets. You will not see the mites themselves, so the diagnosis rests on the pattern of damage.
Clemson Extension describes them as about 0.25 mm (1/100 in) long in its African violet pest guide. Missouri Botanical Garden’s cyclamen and broad mite page adds that a hand lens is usually not strong enough. Confirming them takes a dissecting microscope.
Where to look and what you will see
The mites avoid light. Clemson notes they gather in the crown and in leaf folds where the leaf stalk meets the stem, so damage shows there first. While feeding, they inject a substance that disrupts normal growth.
Signs of cyclamen mites on an African violet:
- Severe stunting of the leaves in the centre of the plant
- New leaves that look very hairy and greyish
- Leaves that are thickened, wrinkled, stiff, or brittle
- Leaves curled, often upward
- Flower buds that are stunted, misshapen, or never open
- In heavy infestations, dead buds and a dying centre
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s African violet handbook entry describes the same picture: dwarfed, thickened, wrinkled leaves and plants that do not bloom. Clemson’s African violet factsheet singles out crinkled, tight crowns as a possible sign of cyclamen mites.
Clemson notes the mites develop fastest at 80–90 percent relative humidity and temperatures near 16 °C (60 °F).
Rule out the look-alikes
| What you see | More likely cause |
|---|---|
| Soft, mushy crown and roots; older leaves droop; young centre leaves stunted, then black | Crown and root rot (Clemson) |
| Stunting after nights below 16 °C (60 °F) | Cold stress (NC State) |
| Thin, dark green leaves on long stalks; few flowers | Too little light (Clemson) |
| White or yellow rings and lines on leaves | Cold water on the leaves (Clemson, CT) |
| White cottony masses in leaf joints | Mealybugs (Clemson) |
| Leaves curled downward, bronzing on the undersides | Broad mites, a close relative (Missouri Botanical Garden) |
Press the crown gently. A firm crown with hairy, stunted centre leaves points to mites. A soft one points to rot. NC State’s African violet profile notes that cold nights can stunt the plant, so check where it sits too.
Several violets showing the same crown damage strengthens the case for mites. When the answer matters, an extension plant diagnostic lab can confirm it under a microscope.
What to do
- Isolate the plant today. Clemson advises spacing plants so they do not touch. Handle healthy violets before you handle the suspect one.
- Check every other violet for tight, hairy centres and deformed buds.
- Decide on disposal. Clemson and Missouri Botanical Garden both recommend discarding badly infested plants. The Connecticut handbook warns that badly infested mature plants are hard to control because effective miticides are not available to homeowners.
- Clean the pots. Clemson says to scrub pots from discarded plants, then soak them for 30 minutes in 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water.
- For a valuable plant only, Clemson suggests spraying outdoors in mild weather with insecticidal soap or a sulfur or tau-fluvalinate product labelled for houseplants. Two or three sprays at three-day intervals may be needed. Missouri Botanical Garden stresses that the spray must reach into shoot tips where the mites hide.
- Heat treatment is another option. Missouri Botanical Garden says the mites die when the whole plant, pot and all, is immersed in water at 43 °C (110 °F) for 30 minutes. The temperature must stay steady.
Even after control, Clemson notes the plant only returns to normal over time, as you gradually prune away distorted leaves.
Keep them out
Missouri Botanical Garden advises rejecting new plants with curled or deformed tips. Inspect the crown of every new violet before it joins your collection. Our African violet care guide covers the growing conditions that keep plants strong.
Related guides
Other african violet problems we cover: powdery mildew, leggy growth, propagation, not blooming.
References
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, HGIC 2250: African Violet Diseases and Insect Pests
- Clemson Cooperative Extension, HGIC 1550: African Violet
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Plant Pest Handbook: African Violet (Saintpaulia)
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Cyclamen and Broad Mites
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Streptocarpus ionanthus (African violet)
How this guide was put together: Clemson Cooperative Extension, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Missouri Botanical Garden, and NC State Extension guidance.