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By Adele Petty

I have grown African violets off and on all my adult life. My mother and grandmother grew African violets, and I always thought they were beautiful. I attended an African violet show sponsored by the First Denton African Violet Society several years ago, and I decided to join the club to seriously learn how the grow and show African violets. I love African violets because they come in various sizes, have beautiful blooms that last several weeks, are easy to grow and propagate.

African violets are easy to grow provided they are given the correct cultural environment. Africa violets were discovered growing in Tanzania in East Africa around 1892 by a German, Baron Walter von St. Paul, and was given the genus name Saintpaulia. Because the flowers had a resemblance to a violet, it was given the specie name, ionantha. Therefore, the Latin name for African violets is Saintpaulia ionantha.

Since the natural habitat of these plants is near the equator, they thrive in temperatures between 68 to 77 degrees with humidity of 40 to 50%, which makes them perfect houseplants since most of our homes are kept around those temperatures.

African violets can be grown in natural light or fluorescent light. They cannot tolerate direct sunlight, so place them several inches away from any window that gets direct sun. An east window is usually ideal. Fluorescent lights are probably the best light source. Double tube fixtures are best with the lights left on 12 to 14 hours a day (do not leave the lights on all day and night—the plants need rest, too!), and the plants should be 8 to 10 inches below the tubes.

The plants should be potted in a soilless mix especially made for African violets. They should be placed in pots according to the size of the plant. There are three sizes of African violets—standard (12 to 14 inches), semiminiature (8 inches), and miniature (6 inches). NEVER POT AN AFRICAN VIOLET IN A LARGE POT IF YOU WANT IT TO BLOOM. An African violet must be root bound in the pot in order to bloom. A regular-size standard violet should never be potted in a pot over 4 ½ inches. The semiminiature and miniature violets should never be potted in pots over 2 ½ inches.

African violets may be watered from the top, the bottom, or by wicking. Unless a wicking system is used, be sure to water only when the top of the soil feels slightly dry to the touch. Most growers use a constant feed method of fertilizing—using ¼ teaspoon of African violet fertilizer to one gallon of lukewarm water each time they are watered. Do not let the pots sit in the fertilizer solution for more than 20 minutes

Be sure to give violets plenty of space to grow. Crowding them together can stop airflow and cause powdery mildew and other diseases to occur. Keep dead leaves and faded blossoms removed.

There are several methods of propagating violets. The most common way is by leaf cuttings. Remove a fresh leaf from the plant; cut the stem to about 1 ½ inches long, and plant in a mix of half vermiculite and half perlite. Many plantlets will come up through the mix and can be separated and started in small pots.

There are excellent web sites that give detailed instructions on growing African violets. Plants, soil, and other supplies can be ordered. One of the best web sites is The Violet Barn, www.robsviolet.com. The web site for the African Violet Society of America is www.avsa.org. Membership in that organization costs $25 per year and includes six issues of the “African Violet Magazine,” which has many wonderful pictures, informational articles on culture, propagation, pests and diseases, and advertisers offering plants, light stands, and supplies.

I love all plants, but I am very fond of African Violets. They really brighten up the indoors, especially in the winter.

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