Caring for African Violets

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Caring for African Violets

By Brenda Hyde

African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) have a reputation of being

hard to grow, but if you can meet a few requirements they will last

for years and become one of your favorite plants.

HEAT AND LIGHT: They need a temperature between 60 and 80 degrees.

Anything in-between works fine, as long as it's not above or below.

They need a bright light, but not the direct sun. They grow under

artificial light too, which is a big plus. You can grow a little mini

garden under florescent lights if you wish, or place them here and

there where it's a combination of natural and artificial light. Keep

the florescent light about 10-15 inches from the top of the plant.

African violets need about 14 hours of light and as a general rule at

least 8 hours of darkness. This doesn't have to be exact, but it

gives you an idea of what they need. Also in the winter try to give

them more light if possible.

 

 

WATER: I had always heard the leaves of African violets should NEVER

get wet. This isn't true-they should never be placed in direct

sunlight when they are damp, but you can wash the leaves with a soft

brush or dip them in tepid water then allow them to dry away from

sunlight. Never allow them to dry out completely-try to keep them

evenly moist but not damp. However, one of mine dried out for a very

short period of time, and it came back just fine after I soaked it

and removed a few leaves.

 

 

African violets should never be watered with water from a softener,

or water with a large amount of chlorine. You can use spring water

from the store, or let tap water sit out overnight before watering.

Watering from the bottom is fine-it's a good practice to keep the

crown of the plant from getting wet on a regular basis. But do water

from the top, underneath the leaves, as well as from the bottom.

Simply rotate every few times you water. Also, don't use cold water-

it should be room temperature or warmer. This all does sound rather

complicated, but it's really not! I keep my violets in the kitchen

and bathroom which seems to do the trick for adding humidity. If your

house is extra dry place them on a tray of pebbles. You can group

them together to do this.

 

 

MORE TIDBITS: African violets don't like a stuffy room, but at the

same time keep them away from cold drafts. Each plant should have one

crown-where all the leaves meet. If there is more then one you'll

need to cut it away with a very sharp knife and replant it. See the

picture below for the one I divided.