Home and Living

African violets are the ideal houseplant. One of the main reasons that it is the ideal houseplant is because it likes the same temperatures as people do. African violets will tolerate day temperatures up to about 85 degrees F, but like cooler temperatures at night. Sixty-five degrees F. is ideal. The plants will become stunted at temperatures lower than this and will be slow to recover even when put into a warm place.

These plants are also easygoing houseguests because they don’t need direct sunlight. They do need good light, but hot, direct sunlight can scorch them and cause unsightly leave blemishes. African violets need about 1000 foot-candles of light for 8 to 12 hours per day for best growth and flowering. If the light is too low, the leaves are usually deeper in color and thinner than leaves on plants receiving higher levels of diffused light. The plants may grow well but will flower poorly or not at all. If the plants are getting too much light, the leaves become pale or yellowish green, are much lighter than normal, and some leaves may show dark areas where they have been shaded by other leaves. Growth at high light levels is slowed and although flowering may continue freely for a while it will eventually decrease due to chlorophyll destruction. You can test the intensity of the light your African violets are receiving by putting your hand between the plant and the window, with the back of your hand toward the light. The light should be bright enough to cast a shadow but not so bright as to feel hot on the back of your hand. If the light levels are insufficient, you may want to invest in artificial lighting.

The fastest way to kill an African violet is to over water it. For this reason, watering them on a fixed schedule is a bad idea. Instead, feel the soil around your plants, and water if the top is dry. You want to avoid getting the leaves wet when you water because that will also cause unsightly blemishes so the best way to water is from the bottom. Just fill the saucers beneath your African violet pots. Once the plant has absorbed the water (sometimes in seconds), refill the saucer. Be sure to use tepid water, rather than cold, as the plants don’t like water that is too hot or too cold.

You should repot your African violet once you get it home from the nursery. The African violet Society of America warns that the potting mix most commercially sold violets are grown in, which consists primarily of peat moss, can easily drown your plant in water. These prepared mixes have been sprayed with a chemical that causes the peat moss to absorb water, and then release it slowly to the plant. The problem is that the chemical only lasts three to six months, and once it loses its effectiveness the peat moss will tend to either hold too much water or none at all. So if you don’t want to lose your African violet after six months, repot it to save it from drowning.

African violets, like many houseplants, need to be fertilized regularly; in fact, if you’re using a soil less potting mix, you should feed them every time you water them. You can buy special African violet fertilizer or follow the recommendation of the African Violet Society of America and use a 20-20-20 fertilizer at half the suggested dosage. The Society also recommends letting the bottle of fertilizer you’ve mixed stand at least overnight to let the chlorine in the water evaporate, and bring the water to room temperature, a handy tip as African Violets do not like chlorine either.

There are thousands of varieties of Saintpaulia, and a huge variety of flower shapes and colors. You can even get micro-miniature plants that will fit in a wine glass, such as “Pip Squeek” which has single pink bell-shaped flowers.

Generally, though, African violets are one of the easiest plants to share space with in your home. As long as you follow the rules and give them what they need, they’ll provide you with colorful, cheerful companionship for years to come.