So you want to grow African violets well?
The odds are in your favor! No houseplants are easier to handle in the conditions of our modern homes with their thermostatically controlled heating systems.
Light requirements are modest—neither excessive sun nor deep shade. As far as moisture is concerned, saintpaulias are neither teetotalers nor heavy drinkers.
In fact, these popular houseplants owe their rise to fame to their taste in living accommodations—it parallels that of the American homeowner.
Let’s look at ways to improve your African violet care!
What Temperature Do African Violets Like?
In winter, African violets do best in a moderate temperature range of from 65° to 70° degrees Fahrenheit during the day and not more than 10° less at night.
An occasional drop slightly below this does no harm. Higher temperatures are all right, too, if the air is not allowed to become too dry.
Some means of adding moisture to the air must be provided such as humidifiers or pebble-filled trays of water which supply air moisture and humid conditions through evaporation to the plants standing on them.
All this makes for a healthier atmosphere for you, too. What happens when temperatures go too high in summer?
African violets show their resentment by slowing up growth and foregoing bloom. As soon as the thermometer drops, growth and blossoming are resumed.
Which Sunny Window Exposure Is Best – North, East, South, or West?
\All are suitable, providing you know how to use each. Keep the African violet close to the uncurtained window in a north window, so all possible light reaches it.
If the window is screened during summer, your plant may not receive enough light.
You’ll know if the light levels are too low when the leaf petioles become elongated and blooming is sparse. In that case, find another spot with more bright indirect light.
Uncurtained east windows are ideal during winter but admit too much bright light in summer.
A window screen will cut the light intensity somewhat, but a thin sheer curtain may also be needed. Bleached-looking, light green foliage is a symptom of too much light.
Unobstructed direct sunlight through a south window is too much at any season for African violets on or close to the windowsill.
A thin curtain should be used over the pane to cut down light, or the plants should be moved further back into the room. In summer, a window screen and a sheer curtain are needed.
A screened, thinly curtained west window admits sufficient light in summer. Still, the same window must be uncurtained and unscreened in winter to allow adequate light to reach African violets growing on the window sill.
What About Artificial Light Or Fluorescent Light?
Both artificial or fluorescent light is fine for African violets! You can grow them in the basement.
Many an empty basement has been transformed into an African violet sanctuary by using a reflector fixture with two 40-watt daylight tubes.
Plants should be placed, so the foliage is 8″ to 12″ inches from the lights, which means that as plants grow larger and taller, the pots will have to be moved to a lower level or the lights raised.
White cardboard alongside the plants, or whitewashed walls in the basement, will increase light reflection.
Lights should be turned on for 12 or 16 hours per day. A time switch makes it easier to control lighting periods.
How Much Water Should You Give African Violets?
The answer is easier to give than it is for most gardeners to follow until they gain experience.
For proper watering, water when the soil surface begins to feel dry to your fingertip. Use water of room temperature water or slightly warm water.
Never use cold water. The frequency of application will vary—it depends on the following:
- Size of the plant
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Rate of African violet growth
- Season of the year
- Size and porosity of the container in which the plant is growing.
If the plant is allowed to dry too much between watering periods, small tender flower buds just beginning to form will dry up, and you’ll get African violet leaf growth but no bloom.
If you give excess water without allowing the soil to begin to dry a bit, you’re inviting crown rot or root rot.
The happy medium is achieved only through experience gained through regular observation. Therefore, take the fingertip test every day before watering.
Should You Water From the Top or Bottom?
Either is all right. When watering from the top, see that the spout watering can is placed under the leaves.
Water on the foliage is harmless provided it is as warm or warmer than the air and so long as the sun does not shine on the plant until it is dry.
Watering from below is practiced when plants are set in a common tray or in individual saucers.
It is impractical if there are many plants, and each must be moved to a bowl of water.
What About Wick-Fed Containers?
They are fine as long as you give the soil a chance to dry out just a little bit before you refill the reservoir.
How Often Should African Violets Be Fed?
Once a month is enough. I like to use 14-12-14 liquid African violet fertilizer diluted according to the manufacturer’s directions.
A balanced fertilizer is also fine. If growth seems to be at a standstill in winter, skip feeding for a month or two and begin again when growth is apparent, which will probably be in February.
If white fertilizer salts accumulate on the soil of plants watered front below, water from the surface for several weeks to prevent high concentrations.
How Can You Clean the Fuzzy Leaves?
Get the softest camel’s hair brush you can find—about 5/8″ inch wide—and gently brush off each of the individual leaves.
Bracing each one with one hand while you stroke the brush in the direction in which the fuzzy leaf hairs grow—that is, from the base toward the point of the leaf.
You can give your plants a gentle shower with water slightly warmer than room temperature.
No leaf spots will occur if you allow the foliage to dry thoroughly before placing the plants in sunlight.
A gentle summer rain is also beneficial—but don’t forget your plants outside when the clouds roll away to let sunburn through.
Can You Grow 2-Foot Exhibition Beauties?
Yes, if you carefully prune out any side growth, the parent plant has but a single crown.
To keep the green leaves or variegated leaves growing as evenly spaced as the spokes of a wheel.
You’ll need to guide them gently in the right direction with matchstick supports. Some African violet cultivars and varieties conform to training better than others.
Should Multiple-Crown Plants Be Divided?
Not if they are growing and blooming well. If you prefer single-crown plants, the crown may be cut apart carefully.
Expose cut ends to the air for an hour until a callus forms, and then pot each crown individually.
When Should You Repot African Violets?
With mature African violet plants, only repot when roots become overcrowded. Usually, growth slows up considerably when this happens.
(Don’t attribute the slack winter season to this cause.)
With young plants, keep shifting to larger pots as they increase in size, and the African violet root systems grow until a 4 -½”-inch pot is reached. Some larger varieties will need a 6-inch pot.
What Kinds of Pots Are Best for African Violets?
African violets will grow well in any kind of container, from tin cans, porous clay pots, plastic, pottery, glass, or what have you.
The important thing is to suit the water supply to the porosity of the container. You won’t have to water a plant in a nonporous container as frequently as one of the same size in a porous container.
For my African violet potting mix of choice, I like to use equal parts sand, peat moss, and perlite without any fertilizer. I supply that by monthly feedings.
What Pests Most Frequently Bother African Violets?
Here are the following African violet pests and diseases to lookout for.
Mites
Mites—one of the worst African violet pests—cause hard twisted leaf growth at the center of the plant.
One treatment is Neem oil drenches or sprays. The contents Azadirachtin is the most active ingredient.
It acts as a repellent and reduces insect feeding. When used as a drench, it is gradually absorbed into the plant system, killing the mites that feed on it.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs—small cottony white insects that suck the plant sap—may be cleared up by touching each one with a cotton-wrapped toothpick dipped in rubbing alcohol.
Be careful to keep alcohol off the foliage.
Root-Knot Nematodes
Root-Knot Nematodes cause dull leaves, which turn down at edges, and stunted growth. Therefore, it is best to discard infected plants.
New plants may be had by cutting off healthy leaves and starting them in sterile vermiculite.
Be sure to avoid contamination with soil in the pot lest nematodes are transferred to these healthy leaves. Instead, destroy old plants and soil and disinfect the pot.
Springtails
Springtails are those white “worms” which seem to jump about on the soil surface or in a saucer when the plant is watered.
They cause no injury but are a nuisance. The easiest remedy is to dump them out of the saucer or off the surface of the soil when water is applied.
Avoid setting pots in the same bowl of water, as this contaminates each pot from the common container.
A teaspoonful of Lysol in a quart of water is an effective remedy sometimes used to wash them from the soil.
Crown rot
Crown rot is present when the whole plant suddenly goes Iimp and, in advanced cases, comes loose at the soil level.
Often a plant whose roots have rotted can be trimmed off at the base and started anew as a leaf cutting. Keep from overwatering the root ball of plants to avoid this disease.
44659 by Ruth Marie Peters