Table of Contents
African Violet Care Light. Bright, but not direct sunlight. Soil. A well-drained potting mix is essential. Water. Keep soil moist with warm water and strive for high humidity. Temperature and Humidity. Do not allow to fall below about 60ºF. Fertilizer. Feed with an African violet fertilizer every other week.
Do African violets need direct sunlight?
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. Extend daylight by placing African violets under a grow light during winter months.
How often should African violets be watered?
An important point to remember when bottom watering African Violet plants is to top water at least once a month. This way you are flushing out any extra fertilizer salt build up and refreshing the soil/roots from the top too.
Where should African violets be placed indoors?
African violets are strictly indoor plants in North America, largely because their leaves need to stay dry. 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.
Can you keep African violets inside?
Tips for African Violet Care. When you learn how to grow African violets, you can add several to indoor spaces for bright and cheerful blooms when the outdoor landscape is mostly brown and bare. Growing African violets takes little indoor space; grow them in small pot groupings for a showy display.
What is indirect sunlight?
Indirect sunlight is when your plant is in a shady area within an area that receives bright sunlight. It may be behind another plant or a piece of furniture. Partial sunlight is when the light is direct only during certain times of the day, such as in the morning or late afternoon.
Should you deadhead African violets?
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.
Should African violets be watered from the top or bottom?
The roots of the African Violet need aeration, so keeping them moderately moist but never soggy is the key. Watering from the bottom so they can soak the water up, over an hour or so, will help to keep water out of the crown of the plant. African Violets like warmer water, around 70 degrees.
How do you bring an African violet back to life?
If a majority of the roots are still white or light-colored, prune off the rotted roots, and re-pot the plant in soil for African violets in a container with several drainage holes. You can water from top or bottom with water at room temperature or slightly warmer.
What do you do when African violet leaves turn yellow?
Warm the water and eliminate the salt if your African violet has limp leaves that eventually yellow and drop off. Use room temperature water to avoid cold damage to the leaves. Then check for a white crusty substance on the soil surface or plant container.
How long do African violets live?
Repotting these blooms is so important due to their long lifespan. “Remember that African violets have a very long lifespan and have been said to last up to 50 years,” says Ryan McEnaney, public relations and communications specialist for Bailey Nurseries.
When should I repot my African violet?
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.
What causes brown spots on African violet leaves?
The leaves of your African violet may start to turn brown if the soil is too moist or too dry. You may water plants from the top or bottom to keep the soil consistently moist. Excess water on the leaves can lead to brown spots and disease.
Can African violets grow in low light?
When they get ample indirect light, African violets grow well, stay healthy and produce abundant flowers. In too little light, they will have few or no flowers and will have leaves that become darker green and thin with long, weak stems. African violets are easily grown under artificial lights.
Do African violets need drainage?
8. Soil: Again, drainage is very important in keeping your African violet healthy, so choose a commercial mix of sterile potting soil and perlite, If you need to re-pot, make sure to use sterile potting mix.
What is the best light for African violets?
African violets need bright light to bloom, but cannot tolerate hot, direct sun because their leaves are easily scorched by intense light. Violets bloom best at temperatures from 65 to 75 degrees.
Is sunlight through a window indirect?
If the sun’s rays shine directly through the window and land on the plant’s leaves – this is direct sunlight. Most areas in your home, except for south-facing windows, receive indirect light.
Where do I put my plants for indirect sunlight?
Shield plants that require indirect light from the harshest of the sun’s rays by placing them a few inches to a few feet away from a window. Hanging a sheer curtain in a window enables you to filter out more light.
How do you make sunlight indoor plants?
Seedlings and mature plants growing indoors need more hours of light than you may expect. As a general rule, provide 14 to 18 hours of artificial light with a few hours of darkness each day. A timer set to turn on and off at specific times makes this lighting task easier.