Whether you are new to African violets or don’t have a room in your house without one, you need to read this article.
These beautiful plants are a lovely addition to any houseplant collection, but there are a few things you need to know beyond their basic care and feeding if you want them to thrive.
We’ve already discussed in great length how to take care of them, propagate new ones and get African violets to bloom in our definitive guide.
But sometimes, it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve. I’ve collected a few ‘secrets’ that will make your African violets the envy of all your houseplant-loving pals.
Read on to get those violets growing!
1. Epsom Salts = Big, Beautiful Blooms
If you’ve got great light, your plant is happy, you’re fertilizing with an African violet specific fertilizer, and you still aren’t getting blooms try a little Epsom salt. (Heck, give ‘em some Epsom salts even if they’re doing great.)
Epsom salts provide plants with essential magnesium and sulfur – two minerals needed to produce beautiful blooms and healthy foliage.
Mix one and a half teaspoons of Epsom salts in a quart of tepid water and swirl to dissolve. Water your African violets (below the leaves) with this solution once a month. Your plants will thank you with beautiful blooms.
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2. Soak Your Violets, Don’t Water Them
African violets are notoriously fussy when it comes to watering. You can’t let them dry out completely, but they get root rot at the drop of a hat if overwatered. When you consider their leaves can develop spots if water is left on them, then suddenly a menial houseplant care task becomes a real pain in the bud.
These Goldilocks need to be just right – slightly moist at all times.
The absolute best way to water African violets is to soak them. Fill your sink with an inch of tepid water and place your African violets in the sink to soak. They will draw up water through the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot (You do have them in a pot with a drainage hole, right?); no need to worry about the crown rotting or spotty leaves.
Let the violets soak for 10-15 minutes, then empty the sink and let the violets drain any excess water for a few minutes before returning them to their usual spots.
3. African Violet Pot
Another easy solution to the problem of watering African violets is to use a self-watering pot, often called an African violet pot. These ingenious pots are made for these finicky plants. They come in two styles; both are two separate pieces.
The first style has two pots, one that fits within a larger one. The outer pot is glazed on the outside, and the inside and smaller inner pot are bare terracotta. There is no drainage hole in the bottom of the inner pot.
You simply plant your African violet in the inner pot, and when it needs it, you add water to the bottom of the larger outer pot. When you place the smaller pot back inside, the bare terracotta absorbs the water.
The other design is similar to the first, only there are two holes at the bottom of the inner pot allowing you to put a piece of twine or cotton rope through it before you plant your violet. You add water to the inside of the larger pot, and the twine hangs down and wicks water up into the soil as needed.
You can easily make a similar setup using a plain terracotta pot that fits inside a larger pot with no drainage hole.
Most nursery and garden centers carry African violet pots, or you can order them from Amazon. You can get a set of plastic self-watering pots rather inexpensively, or if you want something a little nicer, you can go for the more traditional clay self-watering pot.
4. Refresh the Soil Once a Year
Each year you should repot your plant with new soil. However, it’s important to note that you likely do not need to go up a pot size when you do this. African violets won’t bloom unless they’re a little root-bound. You’re just changing out the soil to give the plant a refresh.
And because they only grow from the crown (think of a fountain with the water coming out of the top), they won’t be sprawling and taking up more room as they grow, so a smaller pot is preferred.
Replace the soil with a good potting mix made specifically for African violets.
Regular potting mix is often much too heavy and can compact the roots. You might want to add a little Orchid potting mix in as well to improve drainage.
Once you’ve finished potting up your violet, inoculate it with quality mycorrhizae. If you’re unfamiliar with the benefit of these microscopic fungi, you can read up on them below.
5. A Dozen Leaves
If you want to encourage new growth and more blooms, keep the number of leaves growing on your violet to around a dozen or so. New leaves and blooms only come from the very top crown of the plant.
To remove the leaves, you’ll need to look at the plant from the side for the lowest growing leaf on the stalk. You can simply snap it off with your hands or use a clean Xacto knife or scissors. Continue removing leaves, working your way up until you’ve got roughly a dozen left.
You might notice you’ve got a lot of the stalk sticking out of the pot now.
You can either let the stalk heal over for a few days and top-dress the plant with a little soil or repot the violet.
Keeping the leaves under a dozen means the plant can focus more energy and nutrients on blooms rather than maintaining old leaves.
You can turn your African violet leaf cuttings into brand new plants by learning how to propagate – here’s our step-by-step tutorial for doing just that.
6. Enlist a Little Lighting Help
Violets love light. And if your violet isn’t blooming, nine times out of ten, it’s because they aren’t receiving enough light. This is especially true in the winter.
If you live somewhere that has dark, gray winters, your violet will need a little extra light during the colder months of the year. Lucky for us green thumbs, LED grow lights are becoming easier to find and afford these days.
A good rule of thumb is to turn the lights on once the sun goes down and turn them off before you go to bed at night. Many grow lights have a built-in timer feature, but you can easily purchase a light timer to add to one if yours doesn’t have a timer.
I’ve found that a quality full-spectrum grow light works best, as plants need all light spectrums for optimum health.
Navigating the waters of finding a quality LED grow light can be tricky, but we’ve done our best to make it less confusing –
LED Grow Lights – Know the Truth vs the Enormous Hype
7. Get a Nano Bristle Toothbrush
A while ago, these toothbrushes started popping up all over social media. They have very soft, densely packed bristles, and they’re said to be much easier on your gums when brushing. I don’t know if that’s the case, but what I do know is they are marvelous for dusting African violet leaves.
The bristles are soft enough not to damage the leaves yet stiff enough to whisk away dirt and dust, leaving your plant’s leaves looking great.
Those tiny hairs all over African violet leaves make excellent dust and dirt catchers, but they’re no match for a nano bristle toothbrush.
When you repot your violets, you usually end up with potting soil all over your leaves. This little toothbrush works great for removing bits of potting soil.
If you put these little tips into practice, you’re sure to have African violets that last for years and bloom more often than not. And who wouldn’t want more tiny, colorful flowers to brighten their day?
For more houseplant tips and tricks, you’ll want to check out the following:
10 Things Every Christmas Cactus Owner Needs To Know
9 Houseplants That Are Ridiculously Easy to Propagate
12 Houseplant Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes
15 Rare and Unusual Houseplants to Grow
How To Prune A Jade To Get A Big Bushy Plant (With Photos!)
Grow plants in bright, indirect light for the best color and blooms. A plant stand three feet away from a west- or south-facing window is an ideal location. Plants will still grow when situated right beside north- or east-facing windows, but leaves will be thin and spindly, and plants less likely to bloom.
Generally, healthy blooms indicate that your plant is thriving. The opposite is also true: damaged, limp, or wilted flowers often mean that your plant is distressed. If your African violet's blooms are spent, it's a sign your plant needs some extra care.
Too little light can cause of African violets not to bloom well. They prefer bright, indirect sun. Too little sunlight causes them to stretch for the light and produce few or no flowers; too much sun can burn the leaves. An east-facing window is ideal, especially with a sheer curtain to block the sun's harshest rays.
Miracle-Gro Blooming Houseplant Food instantly feeds for beautiful blooms. It's great for a wide variety of blooming houseplants including African Violets and is easy to apply and simple to use.
Should I water African violets from the top or bottom? Either is fine. It is important not to use cold water; lukewarm or warm is preferred. If you water from the top, be careful not to get water on the leaves when the plant is in the sun; this is to avoid leaf spots.
Only water once a week and allow the plant to completely dry between waterings. One ingenious way of making sure your African violets are never over watered is by setting up a wicking system.
Your African Violet needs fertilizer to stay healthy throughout the year. During the spring and summer, you should fertilize your African Violets once every 14 days. In the fall and winter, you shouldn't fertilize the plant at all to prevent over-fertilizing.
Many successful growers of African Violets recommend repotting with fresh potting soil, twice a year or more. At the very least, an African Violet should be repotted whenever the plant becomes rootbound, i.e., the Violet has outgrown its current pot to the extent that its roots are growing out and around the rootball.
In most locations, tap water will be fine, but the quality of tap water can vary. Chlorine levels may fluctuate, depending on the season. In some areas, tap water may have high amounts of chlorine, chloramines, or dissolved solids. All these things may adversely affect your African violets.
African Violets are prone to cyclamin mites, mealybugs, and thrips. To eliminate these pests, dab them with swabs dipped in alcohol. You should also rinse them off with mild, soapy water and spray your African Violets with a mixture of neem oil and liquid Castille soap.
DO NOT mist the foliage. Water on the foliage may cause permanent leaf spotting. Use water that is room temperature. African violets are susceptible to crown rot, so it is important that the crown (the section of the plant at soil level) is not saturated with water.
Place African violets in a location that receives bright, indirect light. A site near an east or north window is often a good location. (Do not place African violets in direct sun.) If a suitable window isn't available, place African violets under a fluorescent light fixture containing two 40-watt fluorescent tubes.
Epsom salts provide plants with essential magnesium and sulfur – two minerals needed to produce beautiful blooms and healthy foliage. What is this? Mix one and a half teaspoons of Epsom salts in a quart of tepid water and swirl to dissolve. Water your African violets (below the leaves) with this solution once a month.
African violets can bloom nearly year-round. If you are able to provide the correct conditions, expect your African violets to bloom 10-12 months each year. Each bloom lasts for about 2-3 weeks.
Are coffee grounds good for African violets? Coffee grounds are slightly acidic and contain nitrogen, which helps plants grow healthy foliage. Occasionally sprinkling used coffee grounds on top of your African violet potting soil can be good for the plant.
Many growers have the best success fertilizing once a week with a mild fertilizer designed for African violets. A balanced formula such as a 20-20-20 or one that has slightly more phosphorus, like a 15-20-15 will do well in most growing situations.
The good news is that it's easy to root these flowering beauties. The quickest and easiest way I've found to root African violets is in water using a leaf. You can take the leaf from your existing African violets, or even from a friend's plant.
"As the plants grow, they can be repotted into larger pots so that they don't get too root-bound," he says. Once your African violet has doubled or tripled the size of your pot and the leaves have started to wilt, it's probably time to make the move, says McEnaney.
These plants love humid air, so they like being in humid rooms such as kitchens or bathrooms. If they get enough humidity they will grow quickly and flower for a long time. Another way to provide the required humidity is to place a humidity tray underneath your African violets.
African violets can live a long time, as long as 50 years! To get them there, you need to provide good care which includes repotting African violets. The trick is knowing when to repot an African violet and what soil and container size to use.
Can I use ice cubes to water African violets? No, only use room temperature water to avoid damaging your plants. While ice cubes slowly melt and add moisture to the soil, the cold water makes your violets more susceptible to discoloration.
Set the bulbs about 12" to 15" above the tops of the plants, depending on the strength of the bulbs and size of the plants. Use a timer set to 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark each day. Tip: African violets must have at least eight hours of darkness daily to produce flowers.
Deadheading. If you have success getting your African Violet to bloom, be sure to pinch or deadhead spent blooms. This allows the plant to continue to put energy into creating more buds/blooms and beautiful foliage.
The most common reason African violets don't bloom is because they aren't getting enough light. African violets need indirect sunlight, direct can burn the leaves. Choose a north- or east- facing window for best results. Keep plants away from cold glass and rotate the pot once a week so all leaves receive light.
They should be kept in moist enough conditions that they don't dry out, yet still exposed to a fresh breeze to avoid letting them get too stuffy, and exposed to sunlight without damaging their leaf tips. Don't be discouraged if your African violets suffer some damage—it's all part of the process.
They need bright to moderate indirect or filtered light to thrive. They can grow in direct light, but only early in the morning and late in the afternoon. If you place your hand over an African Violet receiving sunlight and can feel the heat or its too warm, then the light is too intense for the African Violet.
How to tell if your African violet is overwatered. Droopy, soft, and mushy leaves are telltale symptoms your plant is suffering from too much water. These additional signs can help confirm overwatering is the source of your plant's struggles.
If powdery mildew on African violets doesn't improve, try spraying the plants lightly with a mixture of 1 teaspoon (5 ml.)of baking soda in 1 quart (1 L.)of water. You can also spray the air around the plant with Lysol or another household disinfectant but be careful not to get too much spray on the leaves.
Some people swear that hydrogen peroxide encourages African Violets to bloom more often. Add a capful of hydrogen peroxide to 4 cups of room temperature water and then water as usual. If the plant has any kind of fungus, the peroxide will also kill it.
Mix 6-8 tablespoons of banana peel powder and one teaspoon of Epsom salt in a gallon of water and stir well. Use it on annuals, roses, African violets, peace lily, anthurium, clivia, crown of thorns, orchids, flowering succulents, and azaleas for more blooms.
Fungus Gnats are tiny insects, grayish-yellow to dark brown in color. They swarm around your Violet when the leaves are disturbed. Their appearance and behavior is similar to that of Blackflies, Mushroom Flies and Sciarid Flies.
Answer: The white material on the foliage of your African violets is probably powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that is common on indoor plants, such as African violets, begonias, and poinsettias. Outbreaks of powdery mildew on houseplants typically occur in winter or early spring.
Blackflies are grayish-brown or black in color and swarm around your African Violet whenever the leaves are disturbed. Their appearance and behavior is similar to that of Fungus Gnats, Mushroom Flies and Sciarid Flies.
Plant sizes, depending upon variety, are classed as miniature (6 to 8 inches or less in diameter); semi-miniature (6 to 8 inches); standard (8 to 16 inches); and large (over 16 inches). Several hundres varieties of African violet exist.
It's important to know that African violets prefer to be root bound and usually won't flower until they are, so don't just do the typical move into a larger pot. If your plant is starting to look like a fuzzy version of a palm tree with a bare stem and all the leaves at the top, it's time to do some surgery.
The short answer: Don't count on it. In most cases, African violets cannot survive outdoors. Although they're fairly hardy plants, you need to get their conditions just right. And since African violets hail from the rainforests of Tanzania, your backyard probably isn't up to the challenge.
Plant violets in an actual African violet potting mix or any light, loose, fast-draining potting mix that's 30 to 50 percent perlite or vermiculite. You can mix up your potting soil, too. Keep them planted in small pots and re-pot once a year to give then fresh, nutrient-rich soil.
Are coffee grounds good for African violets? Coffee grounds are slightly acidic and contain nitrogen, which helps plants grow healthy foliage. Occasionally sprinkling used coffee grounds on top of your African violet potting soil can be good for the plant.
Epsom salts provide plants with essential magnesium and sulfur – two minerals needed to produce beautiful blooms and healthy foliage. What is this? Mix one and a half teaspoons of Epsom salts in a quart of tepid water and swirl to dissolve. Water your African violets (below the leaves) with this solution once a month.
African violets do best when they are slightly pot-bound, so choose a pot that's on the smaller side. Professional Tip: If you have a standard African violet plant, your starter pot should be about 3-4 inches in diameter.
Whatever the cause, African violet symbolism is devotion, commitment, and faithfulness. The gift that keeps on growing: African violets make a thoughtful, loving present on Mother's day, special anniversaries, and any milestone event.
This too can give the plant a leggy look. The best way to combat leggy African violets is to repot to give it a fresh space and fertilize with Espoma's Violet! liquid plant food. This will help keep your plant growing new leaves to help keep it from becoming leggy and will enhance the colors of your flowers.
You know that last bit of coffee that always seems to be left in the carafe? Don't just pour it down the drain — you can use it to fertilize your plants, both indoor and outdoor. Coffee grounds (and brewed coffee) are a source of nitrogen for plants, producing healthy green growth and strong stems.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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