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The Ever Popular African Violet

By Jos Van Hage

A pretty little houseplant that can be found in many homes is the African Violet (Saintpaulia). One reason for its popularity is that it can bloom for many months at a time and has no particular bloom time. Plants are small so are easily placed on a window ledge or any other small space, which is especially true for the miniatures that grow in 2 ½ inch pots. The fuzzy flowers are single, semi-double, fully double, and can be fringed or ruffled and grow in clusters on stems that rise above the foliage. They range in color from white, purple, blue, coral, pink, yellow, and come in a mixture of bi-colors (two colors on one flower). The leaves are fuzzy and heart shaped and come in various shades of green and can be variegated (green and cream).

The care of African Violets has become easier when they came along with some of the newer varieties. One thing that is necessary in healthy growth and flower production is providing the plant with enough bright light that is either indirect or diffused as they do not like direct summer sunlight which causes leaves to pale and scorch. Placing the plant in an east or south window in the winter is good or a west window during the summer. When placing the plant on a window ledge do not let the leaves touch the windowpane. If light is insufficient, African violets do well under the use artificial light. Temperatures should be room temperature between 15 and 20 Celsius and plants should not be placed near a draft or vent.

The trick to growing a happy healthy African Violet is in the method of giving it water, the amount of water, and keeping the humidity high around the plant. If the plant is kept too moist it will cause crown rot and in addition, dry will cause it to dry out so you want to find that happy medium. When the top ¼- ½ inch top of the soil is dry to the touch, the plant should be given water. The best way to water it is from the bottom and this is done by either putting room temperature water in the saucer or placing the plant in a sink filled with an inch of room temperature water. Allow the plant to soak for 30 minutes and then drain out any excess water before placing it back. Always avoid getting any cold water on the plants leaves as this will cause spots that can be removed so the leaf has to be taken off. African Violets also like a high humidity so putting them in the kitchen or bathroom works well or placing them on top of rock filled saucers filled with water that is level to the top layer of rock is equally good. The rock filled saucer creates its only little microclimate by having the plant sit on top of rocks but not soaking in water and the water under the rock slowly evaporates increasing the humidity around the plant.

Like all flowering plants you want to remove the old flowers once they have finished blooming so that they do not form seed which takes away important energy that could be used in the producing of new flowers. Also, remove any damaged or diseased leaves right away, which could cause problems as well as take away from the beauty of the plant. African violets like to be slightly root bound before they are transplanted into a bigger pot. When you are ready to re-pot the plant, choose a pot that is half the width of the plants spread. Quite often the older plants will produce side shoots and these should be removed and can replanted in another pot as plants do best with only one crown. If you want to propagate, more plants take leaf cuttings but be patient as these can take a long time before rooting. When plants are in bloom, they should be fertilized once a month but when they are not in bloom they only need to be fertilized once every 2 months.

-Jos 

-Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp's Garden Centres in Prince George
-Highway 97 South at the Old Cariboo Highway
-Highway 97  North
Highway 16 West






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