African Violets are beloved for their charming, velvety leaves and clusters of vibrant, jewel-toned blooms. To ensure your Cabbage Patch African Violet thrives, consider the following care tips.
Light
Your Cabbage Patch African Violet prefers bright, indirect light. Avoid direct sunlight to prevent leaf scorch.
Water
Water from the bottom to keep leaves dry. Always use room-temperature water.
Humidity
This plant thrives in moderate humidity. You can group it with other plants or use a pebble tray for added moisture.
General Care Tips
Here are some additional tips to help you care for your African Violet:
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- Pet-Friendly: Yes, African Violets are non-toxic to pets.
- Care Level: Moderate; best for plant enthusiasts who can provide consistent care.
- Acclimation: It is suggested to not re-pot the plants after you receive them for 7 days. The plant will be in transportation shock from being shipped and needs time to acclimate to its new home.
How To Propagate African Violets From Leaf Cuttings
When shipping live plants there are always risks of slight damages. (a few broken leaves, wilting or spent blooms(I cannot guarantee blooms won’t sport. African violets are known for their sporting habits, though the chances of this happening are low, it’s possible. I will not be held responsible for that.) and spilt dirt, it happens.
Gesneriads Family
Gesneriads are a family of plants that include not just African violets, but also Sinningia, streptocarpus, petrocosmea, primulina, aescynanthus, nematanthus, and more. The plants discussed need approximately the same care.
Growing Conditions
Almost all the plants have been grown under fluorescent electric lights which are on 12-14 hours a day. Note that since writing this, most members of the AV club have changed to LED lights which are more cost-effective and energy efficient. They are only left on 7-8 hours compared to the 12-14 the fluorescents needed to be on. The lights emit the same light along the whole bulb, so it isn’t as necessary to move the plants around.
If you don’t have a light stand, placing your gesneriad in an east window is the best option but remember to turn them often to keep them symmetrical. Growing under lights helps with the symmetry, but plants will still need to be turned, as the light is not the same along the fluorescent light as the light is brighter in the middle of the tubes and gets dimmer near the ends. Keep all these plants evenly moist, never allowing them to completely dry out.
Other Gesneriads
Let's look at some other members of the Gesneriads family:
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Petrocosmea
Petrocosmea are mostly grown for their amazing foliage. They do flower but the foliage is the main attraction. There are different types, but check out the one below that looks like it could be petted like a kitty.
Episcia
The most popular episcias though are grown for their fabulous variegated foliage. The episcia below is a small plant with yellow flowers, called ‘Jim’s Daphne’s Choice’.
The espicia below is grown in an open terrarium to raise the humidity, which they prefer. The mostly pink-leaved types need to be in a terrarium.
Sinningia
This Sinningia below is only about 1″ high and the flower was approximately 1 1/2″ long. It was so cute!
Streptocarpus
The grouping below is streptocarpus, also easy to grow, and look at those flowers! They remind me of pansies, my favorite flower. They are more forgiving of drying out a bit, as their leaves are quite thick.
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Aeschynanthus
The beautiful flowers below belong to the lipstick plant or Aeschynanthus radicans and I snapped this picture at Matthaei Botanical Gardens.
Nematanthus
The plant below is a goldfish plant and the one shown is called ‘Tropicana’ I especially love it because of the striped flowers. I’ve found these plants need to be treated a bit like succulents. They have quite thick leaves and don’t like to be overly wet, yet, don’t allow them to completely dry out, either as they will drop leaves.
As you can see, there are many amazing plants in the gesneriad family. I hope you will try some of these easy plants. They flower almost year-round in our homes, as long as they have enough light. Try a couple! You won’t be disappointed.
| Plant Type | Light Requirements | Watering | Humidity |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Violet | Bright, indirect | Bottom watering, room temperature water | Moderate |
| Streptocarpus | Bright, indirect | Keep evenly moist | Moderate |
| Episcia | Bright, indirect | Keep evenly moist | High (prefers terrarium) |
| Nematanthus | Bright, indirect | Allow to slightly dry out between watering | Moderate |
