African violets were the first houseplants I remember
growing as a child. Walk into any garden center or supermarket floral
section these days and you are liable to see a nice display of African
violets. These traditional flowering houseplants not only make a great
Holiday gift idea for the gardener, but also have a place in every home.
These plants do well in low light, (even artificial light), and come in a wide
variety of flower colors and leaf style and texture.
So, you bring your African violet home and wonder where to
place it so that it gets the correct amount of light. These plants will
do best with indirect light. African violets will tell you if they are
getting enough light. Too low of a light intensity, and the African
violet will not flower well. Too much light will result in leaves that
are pale or yellowish-green. The literature indicates that an African
violet needs about one thousand foot-candles of light for eight to twelve hours
per day – in other words, bright, indirect light.
Hand-in-hand with light requirements is making sure your
plants receive the proper temperature. Try to keep your night to day
temperatures between seventy to eighty degrees F. Temperatures over
eighty degrees F can affect growth and flowering. Air conditioning can
help provide an even temperature. In association with temperature of
course is humidity. Humidity can be maintained by placing pots on
pebble-filled trays of water. Make sure that the pots do not touch the
water directly.
Ready-to-use African violet potting soils are usually
available at any retail garden center. The soil medium is generally made
up of peat and perlite (volcanic material) which provides water retention and
good drainage. Water African violets from the top or the bottom with room
temperature or warm water. Using a good liquid fertilizer at intervals
recommended on the package label will ensure good growth and frequent
flowering. Good leaf color and normal flowering are signs that your
feeding program is working.
Even novice gardeners will find that African violets are
very easy to propagate. In as little as six months you can grow a new
plant ready to flower! Leaf cuttings (with the petiole - leaf
stem-attached) are made by snapping or cutting a leave from the original
plant. Make sure that the stem is about one and one half inches
long. Insert the leaf stem into a sterile potting medium. Insert
this leaf into a pre-dug hole made with a pencil and firm the medium gently
around the cutting. Expect roots in three to four weeks and leaves in
about another month.
Pest control will include monitoring your plants for pests
and always quarantining new plants to prevent introducing infestations.
Cold water can cause spotting on leaves - use warm water as mentioned
earlier. Soluble salts that accumulate on pot rims can cause problems to
leaf petioles from chemical burns. The cure for this can include watering
from the surface to flush excess fertilizer salts away or by using fertilizer
less frequently.
African violets are real gems of the houseplant world – give
one as a gift this season! For more information on all types of
houseplants, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline
on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening
help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Don't forget
to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area. Please check this
link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.
Resource: Park Brown S. (2013) African Violets, The
University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS.
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