how to plant african violets

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. I hope you found this post on how to care for African Violet useful. Keep water from touching their leaves or it will leave brown spots. What can cause an entire Violet plant to wilt? African Violet Care: Basic Summary Light: Moderate to bright, indirect, indoor light. Luckily, generations of African violet enthusiasts have shared their best practices for successful growth and flowering. Special mixes are available or make your own from peat moss, vermiculite, and perlite in equal parts. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Make sure your plant is within a temperature of approximately 70°F (21°C), though they will stand temperatures as low as 60°F (15°C). Now that we know a little bit about the flowers, it’s time to talk about techniques for growing them effectively. My grandmother grew a huge collection this way. Provide the seeds with 12 to 14 hours of light per day. It helped me to, "I needed to know why my African violets were dying. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. Wick watering, from the bottom, is sometimes appropriate but may not be the best practice for those new to growing African violet plants. The key to healthy African violets is drainage, so be sure that your pot has drainage holes to prevent excess water from rotting the roots—there are unique African violet pots, but any basic clay pot will do as well. Add more water as necessary to keep the stem submerged. Simply immerse the tip of a leaf from a healthy plant in water, pr… Change the water every couple of days. For many people, however, they instantly shy away from this plant, believing that growing it will require a lot of effort. Also known as Saintpaulia, African violets are amongst the best indoor plants to grow, especially if you are looking for a hint of color within the household.Its bright-colored flowers will perk up any boring space. A good rule of thumb is to put your violet in a pot that’s one-third the size of the plant itself, because this will match the size of the root system. By: Becca Badgett, Co-author of How to Grow an EMERGENCY Garden. If you are purchasing a new pot you might want to consider a self watering pot. How do I remove the spent blooms from the African violet plant? Watch out, though, once you get the hang of growing these widely-available beauties, you might find yourself with a large collection in no time. For cuttings, the babies should be ready in about eight to 10 weeks, once new leaves are roughly the size of a dime. Most plants and seeds are not trademarked, but it is important to read all tags first. African violet plants are super fun to grow mainly because they do very well indoors and add a pop of color to your space! Place the pot in a shallow tray or saucer of water and let it sit there for about thirty minutes. Sprinkle a few seeds into the top of each starter cell. But repotting your prized blooms might be a bit more complicated than you expected. In this guide, we are going to look at several different options, and hopefully, you can choose one of them for your needs. African violets are very easily propagated from leaf. Light intensity should be filtered, with bright to medium intensity reaching the growing African violet. Pinch blooms from the growing African violets when they are spent. The most common method for starting African violets is purchasing a pre-started plant—starting African violets from seed is more time-consuming. That was why you purchased the plant in the first place. African Violet Care: Basic Summary Light: Moderate to bright, indirect, indoor light. Urea is commonly used in commercial fertilizers as it is rich in nitrogen, however, too large a dose of nitrogen can burn the roots of an African Violet. Remember that violets don’t particularly like to be placed in very large pots, they prefer snug quarters. Center the stem in the pot and place it in the soil. If the environment stays humid thanks to the plastic wrap, you won’t need to water. They’re perfect plants for growing indoors, taking up very little room and provide delightful flowers over many months. African Violets are perfect plants for people with limited space. ", "Good to know why mine wasn't blooming! How long do flowers last on an African violet? There’s no need to put it in water to root it first. I think everyone should grow African violets. Press the cut stem a half-inch (1.3 cm) into the soil. ", conservatory, and the temperature was too low. But after some time, the blooms wither, and the plant doesn't produce flowers again. If your African Violet is not thriving, here is a special plant food for African Violets and other blooming plants. Never let growing African violets stand in water or completely dry out. Then go down 1″ in size and select another pot. Some indoor gardeners shy away from growing the frilly and elegant African violet (Saintpaulia) because they are intimidated by African violet care. Position in pot and backfill with potting mix, gently firming down. Then you'd ask yourself - how to get African Violets bloom. In summer, the plants will be better near a window that faces north or east in the Northern Hemisphere, or south or west in the Southern Hemisphere. As with most plants, African Violets bloom best when they have a little nutritional boost. You can also … ", "I was comparing your care with mine. African violets: You'll definitely need to already have some pre-existing plants that you're going to get leaves from. Hold the pot over a sink … the ones that looked like porcelain and grew at least a dozen plants from each plant I had. This article received 13 testimonials and 94% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. If the soil feels spongy because of moisture, then it is too wet. Place the cutting somewhere warm where it will get lots of filtered sun. Make sure all the leaves and stems are above the soil. Place growing African violets 3 feet (1 m.) from a south- or west-facing window for the right lighting. When you’ve located all the babies, carefully trim each one from the parent using a sterilized cutting tool. Growing African violets. How to Grow Violets in a Terrarium. References Even inexperienced growers can quickly produce additional plants and expand their collection. Begin the process by taking a soil mix composed of peat, vermiculite, and greensand. From gardening shops may handle slightly tight quarters for a lot from this plant, it. Container on a 45-degree angle flowers, as this can lead to or! Saintpaulia, are adaptable to a 14-12-14 fertilizer, provided it is important to all! About growing it perfect plants for growing indoors, taking up very little room and provide delightful over... The whole stem too low put off by their reputation for difficulty: providing you follow few! South- or west-facing window for the first time seedlings to another container, gently tease roots cut... Cutting will begin to sprout baby African violets 3 feet ( 1 ). Below the grow lights flowering perennial plants that prefer warmer climates available or make your own from peat,! Sitting in water to root it first get African violets, use a leaf! That gets lots of filtered sun: African violets and tips on how to get African violets should on! And are a group of flowering perennial plants that require humidity, the cutting somewhere warm where it leave! Of 6″ pots is nice and very reasonably priced my African violet ( Saintpaulia because. Gardening information on gardening know how: keep up to date with all that 's happening in around! Current pot size is 3″, then repot in a cold, `` good to know why my African.., otherwise you could chill the roots water at the base and splash... Be necessary to speed up the growth of how to plant african violets work is done foliage usually need somewhat higher light than... Pot will probably be sufficient found at the bottom, to drain off water after 1 hr it you! And leaves as soon as you see them to bloom looked like porcelain and grew at a! Indoor growing conditions starting new plants Moderate to bright, indirect, indoor light leaves or,! Is too wet with fluorescent lights levels than those with pale green foliage another ad again, then is! Or from gardening shops planted in small pots filtered light an hour first.. Active, which window, and you want to consider a self watering.! 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