African Violets have stood the test of time as being a favorite house plant and gift to the flower lovers in your life. Known for their deep, velvety foliage and gorgeous pops of colors in their blooms. From the looks of this small and elegant plant, you may be intimidated to start your collection, but these guys are extremely easy to care for. African violets are known for their vibrant foliage, making them one of the world’s most popular indoor plants.
When it comes to caring for African violets, there’s ample dispute between “tried-and-true” techniques and “This usually works for me!”-which can make online forums rather daunting. But first! 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. That said, there’s plenty of disagreement in the fine print.
A typical modern African violet hybrid.
Can African Violets Grow Outside?
While nearly every grower will caution against growing African violets outside, there are always a few voices that chime in otherwise. If you’re bound and determined to take on the great outdoors, there are a few things you need to know: First, why it’s such a challenge and second, what climates are more compatible with outdoor growing (and which are out of the question!).
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African violets are best grown indoors for several reasons, most stemming from the environment in which they evolved. Beneath the jungle canopy, African violets grew accustomed to pleasant temperatures, protection from the sun, and a humid atmosphere. Most regions are too hot or too cold, too sunny or too wet, or have too low or unstable levels of humidity.
It might seem extreme, but we can’t stress this enough: there are very few places African violets can survive outside. African violets do best in daytime temperatures between 70-90ºF and nighttime temperatures between 65-70ºF. Your African violet also needs protection from the sun’s rays. Its sensitive foliage will burn permanently in direct sunlight or if exposed to the sun while wet.
Most of the debate in the plant community centers around whether African violets can grow outside part-time. Some gardeners swear their plants thrive outside during the day or during a warm-weather sprinkle.
Outdoor Showers
As a rule of thumb, African violet leaves hate getting wet. Still, some gardeners like to place theirs outside during light rain to refresh the soil and clean the leaves. If you try this, bring it back inside before the sun comes out!
Pests
Even if you can provide the right conditions, pests are a serious risk-there’s simply more of them outdoors!
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Violet care secrets at home | I know
Ideal Growing Conditions
African violets are native to the rain forest of East Africa. They are found growing on rocks, normally steep surfaces, of the forest floor. Because they are shaded by the taller foliage of the forest, African Violets prefer a bright, indirect light. What does this mean? We hear this all the time as plant lovers, but no one tells us exactly what to do.
The Good Earth recommends that you place your violet to the side of a South or West facing window, or directly in front of an East facing window. North facing windows will not provide enough indirect light for these plants to keep blooming. Direct sun will cause the leaves to spot and will fry the blooms. Not enough light will prevent your plant from flowering.
Watering
Since they do thrive in a rain forest environment, African Violets prefer to always have a moist soil but never soggy soil. Do not allow your plant to completely dry out but also do not drench the plant.
Another way to control soil moisture levels is to bottom water; this can be done by planting them in an African violet pot or potting in a regular pot but filling saucer with water as opposed to watering the top of the soil. Allow the potted violet to sit no more than 30 minutes in water-filled saucer before removing the plant and dumping any excess water.
Our last watering tip; use room temperature water. Cold water can chill African violet roots, which can result in leaves curling down and cold water droplets on leaves can cause spots.
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Traditionally, African violets are watered from below… but that’s really only one possibility. African violet leaves are easily stained when water is inadvertently spilled on them and such stains are hard to remove. If you want to water from above, though, that’s easy enough to arrange.
Just lift the leaves on one side of the plant with one hand and direct the spout of the watering can directly onto the soil with the other. That way you water the plant’s roots from above without wetting its leaves. Just don’t pour water over the top of the plant.
The potting mix of AVs should be kept relatively moist at all times. So, just follow the golden rule of watering: water deeply, enough to moisten the entire root ball, then allow the soil to dry out before watering again. Thus, there is no specific watering frequency you need to learn. Simply sink a finger into the soil every 3 or 4 days. If it appears dry, water the plant; if it doesn’t, don’t.
Humidity and Temperature
To assist in creating the desired humidity level, place saucers of pea gravel near your plants and keep water in them. As the water evaporates, the immediate air around them will be more humid. Place African violets away from drafts and heating air vents. If humidity continues to be an issue, consider a humidifier.
The African violet is a tropical plant and doesn’t like cool conditions. Keep temperatures above 60 °F (16° C) throughout the year. And be careful: a spot too close to a cold window, even in a well-heated room, can be cold enough to harm the plant. Extreme heat is not to their liking either.
You can’t really see the damage dry air does to an African violet, as it has thick hairy leaves that are quite resistant to dry air. You can’t say as much for its flower buds: they often abort when the air is too dry. As a result, the plant seems to stop blooming and you might figure it’s resting, while in fact, it’s trying to bloom, but its blooms are being killed by the dry air.
To achieve that, you may want to place your African violets on a humidity tray, also called a pebble tray, especially during the winter months. As the name suggests, it raises the humidity to more interesting levels.
Soil and Fertilizing
African violets are a little picky about what substrate they grow in. They prefer a well-draining, lightweight mix that contains peat moss or coconut coir. We recommend Ferti-Lome’s African Violet Potting Mix supplemented with Bonide’s Liquid African Violet Plant Food.
There are fertilizers designed specifically for African violets you can use if you prefer, but pretty much any fertilizer will give good results. Ideally, for good symmetry and bloom, consider adding soluble fertilizer each time you water, diluting it to one eighth the recommended monthly dose.
Pruning
Pruning your violets should be part of your monthly maintenance routine. You should prune African violets regularly by removing old or dying leaves at the base of the plant to encourage new growth and maintain an even appearance.
Trailing African violet, ‘Cirelda’.
Additional Tips for Thriving African Violets
- Lighting: Forget the warning you may have heard that African violets can’t take direct sun. No, they don’t like hot sun for hours on end, but a bit of direct sun is highly appreciated, especially during the winter months. The rest of the year, an east window is an ideal choice: it gets some direct sun early in the morning, when temperatures are coolest, and bright light for the rest of the day.
- Artificial Lights: Like many African violet enthusiasts, I grow my plants under artificial lights, moving them into regular light only when they are in full bloom and I want to put them on display in my living or dining room. By setting my plants with their top about 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm) below a two-tube fluorescent lamp (one Cool White tube, one Warm White) and lighting them 14-16 hours a day, I can assure my violets summerlike conditions at all times and in return get more or less nonstop bloom.
Repotting and Propagation
If left to grow at will, your African violet will slowly increase in height, producing new leaves at the top, but losing its older, lower leaves over time. That leaves a bare stem (neck) that eventually bends over … and there goes your plant’s symmetry!
When you repot an African violet, cover any bare stem with soil. New roots will form there and the plant will regain its symmetry. When you do so, cut a slice off the bottom of the root ball equal to the height of the plant’s bare neck. So, if your plant has, say, a ½ inch (1 cm) bare section at its base, you’ll need cut off a ½ inch (1 cm) section of root ball.
Now place the shortened root ball in the bottom of a clean pot (you don’t necessarily need to increase the size of the pot) and add fresh potting mix to the top, covering the neck. New roots will soon grow from the covered stem and will replace those you cut off. Presto!
Starting an African violet from a cutting is as simple as sticking a healthy leaf in moist soil and covering it with a plastic bag. Remove a healthy leaf with its petiole (stem), simply snapping it off near its base. Now recut the petiole with a sharp knife so the wound surface will be even. Although you may have been told that you have to cut the petiole at a 45°angle, that is actually of little importance.
Insert the petiole into a pot of moist soil. Repot the babies into separate pots. After a month or so (cuttings root faster in spring and summer than in the fall or winter), small plants will appear at the base of the leaf. When they were about 2 inches (5 cm high), separate them and repot each one in its own small pot.
Join the Community
For further information, why not join an African violet club? Their experts will be able to answer all your questions. There are local African violet clubs all over the world and quite probably one in a city near you. There are also national and international African violet societies you’ll want to consider joining as well.
Ready to start your African violet adventure? Fun fact, these beauties can live up to 50 years!
