African violets are compact, pretty house plants that produce clusters of jewel-like flowers on and off throughout the year. They have soft, velvety green leaves that are often burgundy on the undersides. While the flowers look like violets, they’re not related to them. They’re often sold by their botanical name Saintpaulia, but have recently been incorporated into the Streptocarpus genus.
African violets were popular house plants in the 1960s and 1970s and therefore might be considered a little old fashioned. But they’ve come a long way since then, and a new generation of house plant fans are falling for them once more.
African violets are very good value, especially if you buy them as plug plants. They’re very collectable and look good grouped together. They have a reputation for being a little tricky to grow, but with the right care and conditions they will thrive.
How To Care For African Violets Indoors
Although African violets are among the easiest plants to grow, their care still requires some attention. They need a temperature of 70° – 75 degrees Fahrenheit during daylight hours and 60 degree-nighttime lows that don’t drop below this range or they will suffer from root fungus problems.
They prefer a high humidity environment so low moisture levels can cause the plant some issues.
During winter if temperatures get down much below 60° move plants away from windows for the night time and close any window open at night to keep them warm and accumulate humidity inside your house or office space.
In nature, they live in moist African jungles, so if you want to recreate this environment for them, set them in an inch-deep pan or saucer filled with water and pile stones on top.
The best soil for African violets
The best soil for an African violet is actually a “soil-less” mix that stays moist, but isn’t too dense, allowing air to circulate around the roots. You can mix your own from one part brown sphagnum peat moss, one part vermiculite, and one part perlite. You can also buy commercial African violet potting mix, but, confusingly, these aren’t always a good choice. Look for a light, fluffy mix. Many people recommend amending commercial mixes by diluting with half perlite. And as with most houseplants, a pot with drainage holes is necessary.
How To Water African Violets
One of the most important parts in caring for African Violets, is watering. One “best practice” many follow when it comes to caring for their violets and strengthening roots includes using self-watering pots that allow you water from below!
One of the major troubles that home gardeners run into with Saintpaulia is white spots forming on their leaves. In order to prevent this issue, it’s important to water from below so as not to splash your leaves, and also make sure you don’t over-wet them either by leaving pots sitting in a soak all day or giving too much water all at once.
The white leaf spots usually come from cold water splashing on the leaves. To prevent this, always use room temperature or warmer when watering your plants and a wick system will work too!
Fertilizing African violets
Fertilizer is important to help keep your African violet healthy and blooming. If your potting mix doesn’t contain any, feed regularly with a standard balanced fertilizer or a specialized African violet fertilizer.
Repotting African violets
One of the keys to keeping African violets healthy for decades is repotting once or twice a year by refreshing the potting mix. This doesn’t mean potting up into a bigger pot, because most mature African violets generally need to stay in a 4-5″ pot. You’ll know it’s time to repot when your African violet has lost its lower leaves, forming a bare “neck.” Remove the plant from its pot, and with a clean, sharp knife or shears, cut away an amount from the bottom of the roots equal to the length of the bare neck of the plant. Put the plant back in the pot so that the bottom of the leaves are level with the rim of the pot. Add fresh potting mix to cover the neck to the pot rim. Water the plant less than usual while it’s developing new roots from the neck.
Common problems/pests
One of the most common issues with African violets is root rot from over-watering. You’ll notice droopy stems even after the plant is watered. Only water them when the top inch of soil is dry and don’t let them sit in water. Make sure the pot has a hole in the bottom for excess water to drain out.
If the leaves are a light green or appear bleached, your little violet is getting too much sun. Move it to a location with less direct sunlight.
Rust spots on the leaves is a sign that you are fertilizing too much. Water with plain water for a few weeks to flush excess fertilizer from the soil.
African violets can sometimes succumb to fungus or powdery mildew. This often happens when the plant is over-watered and/or too cold. The best way to treat the plant is to remove all of the infected leaves with a sterile pair of scissors and to spray it with a fungicide.