How to Grow African Violet Flower?

African violet flower is a small houseplant flower that you can grow in normal house temperatures.

This flower tends to bloom continuously in clusters of white, blue, or purple blossoms over fuzzy leaves.

Despite their common name, African violet flowers are not a type of violet,

However, they tend to produce vivid, violet-colored flowers.

These flowers are native to East Africa, that stem from the tropical rainforests of Tanzania and Kenya.

In 1892, German colonial officer Walter von Saint Paul Illair identified these plants and then sent the seeds back to Germany.

These flowers tend to thrive best and produce the most blooms in bright, indirect light with regular house temperatures.

Though they are generally easy to care for, they can go through fussy spells.

Keep on reading to learn more.

African Violet Flower

African violet flower is one of the most popular houseplants and for good reason.

These compact, low-growing flowers tend to flower a number of times a year.

And you can find them in a multitude of leaf forms and colors.

Moreover, African violet flowers are distinguished by a rosette of thick, fuzzy leaves, and violet-like flowers that tend to bloom just above the evergreen foliage.

When you provide them with the right growing conditions, they will thrive indoors.

With a little experience, it is possible to keep these slow-growing plants in flower nearly all-year round and grow them to the size of dinner plates.

Quick Facts about African Violet Flower

Some quick facts about African Violet Flower are:

African Violet Flower Care

This flower tends to thrive in bright, warm, and humid conditions.

Make sure to keep water from touching their leaves or it will leave brown spots.

Remove dead flowers and leaves, and as soon as you see them encourage healthier plants.

Make sure to check the plant soil regularly for excess moisture.

This tends to encourage rot. Growing these houseplants is only a matter of balance, you will have to make sure that the different factors that go into their cultivation all are weighted against each other.

You will need to keep them in moist enough conditions that they do not dry out, yet still exposed to a fresh breeze to avoid letting them get too stuffy.

Make sure to expose them to sunlight without damaging their leaf tips.

Do not be discouraged if your African violets suffer from some damage, it is all part of the process.

Light and Soil Requirments

African violet flower tends to thrive in bright, but not direct sunlight.

In most cases, you can grow them under fluorescent light and place them 12 to 15 inches above the leaves.

If the leaves start getting light green, your plant is getting too much light.

While thin and dark green leaves or a leggy plant indicate the presence of too little light.

For African violets, a well-drained potting mix is crucial.

Poor drainage can cause root rot, in which the plant becomes waterlogged and its leaves fall.

So make sure that you never allow the plant to stand in water for an extended period of time.

Water, Temperature, and Other Requirements

Make sure to keep the soil moist with warm water and strive for high humidity.

Do not allow water to come in contact with the leaves of the plant to prevent damage, other than light misting.

Water your plant from below or push the water spout into the soil when watering it.

Do not allow your plant to sit in water.

It is important to note that your African violet flower likes to thrive in warm and humid conditions.

Moreover, they thrive at 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do not allow the temperature to fall below about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and do your best to keep the plant away from any drafts in your home.

Feed your African Violet flower with fertilizer every other week during spring and summer.

Follow the product label instructions for the amount to use for your plant.

Types of African Violets

The original plant, S. ionantha, was introduced in Germany in 1893.

Shortly after the S. confusa were introduced when the grower at the nursery noticed a subtle difference among some of the plant.

Since then, there have been thousands of varieties have been produced.

Today, you can find African Violets in single and double flowers, frilled, and different-shaped flowers.

Moreover, their flowers come in all different colors, and the plants have widely varied leaf shapes.

They come in both single-crown and multi-crown, trailing plants.

These are, however, just a few examples:

‘Persian Prince’: This one is a miniature-sized plant with scalloped medium green leaves and semidouble dark purple flowers.

‘Lyon’s Lavender Magic’: This one is a standard-size plant with medium green foliage.

It has white with light purple colored star-shaped flowers that can either be single or semi-double and frilled.

‘Hawaiian Pearl’: This one is a standard-size plant with dark green foliage and has a semi-double star shape flower.

It is ivory with a dark lavender/rose band.

‘Summer Twilight’: This one has variegated leaves with frilled lilac-purple flowers that have a white-edged border.

‘Lonestar Snowstorm’: it has variegated leaves with single white frilled flowers.

‘Little Maya’: Has dark green foliage with deep crimson red flowers.

In some cases, Gloxinia is mistaken for an African violet flower.

If have this plant, you may also enjoy the closely related Streptocarpus species or the African violet cousin, the Goldfish Plant.

Pruning and Propagating Tips

You will only need to prune any dead leaves and once the blooms are spent, deadhead them.

This will encourage the plant to stay healthy and bloom again.

You can propagate African violet flowers from leaf cuttings or from offsets.

It is fairly easy to propagate from a leaf of an adult plant.

Here’s how:

• select a healthy green leaf from the bottom of the plant
• with the help of scissors, carefully snip it off at the base of the plant
• cut the leaf stem at a 45-degree angle to 1/2 inch in length.
• put the cutting into a pot that you prepare with a mixture of vermiculite and peat, and then water it
• cover the pot with a plastic bag and place it in bright, indirect light
• you will see new baby plants in about 12 weeks
• make sure to wait until they are bigger and separate them from the leaf and then transplant them

It is important to note that adult plants occasionally produce small plantlets or shoots from the side.

Remove these and you can pot them independently.

Removing them tends to encourage better blooms on the parent plant.

Potting and Repotting Tips

It is important to note that your African Violet flower will do better in a slightly underpotted pot.

Repot your plant only when necessary into the pot that is one size up.

And use an all-purpose potting soil or African violet potting mix.

When repotting this pant, simply grab the plant as a whole, lift it, and replace it with a larger container.

Moreover, make sure that there is no damage to the root system in the process.

Only plant up to where they were originally planted and do not cover the crown of the plant.

Furthermore, some common signs that your plant is stressed out and needs to be repotted include falling leaves and overcrowding as well as roots that protrude from the surface of the soil.

Make sure to keep an eye out and repot the plant if you think it will help.

Common Pests and Diseases

Like all plants, your plant can be affected by common pests and diseases.

Common pests include:

• spider mites
• mealy bugs
• cyclamen mites

When you notice them, you can take care of them with the help of neem oil or an insecticide.

Diseases include fungi like botrytis blight, crown rot, and root rot.

In order to help avoid these diseases, do not overwater your plant.

Moreover, provide your plant with proper lighting, fertilization, and air circulation.

Learn more about 9 Flower Garden Pests and How to get Rid of Them here.

How to get African Violets to Bloom?

It is important to note that the African violet loves to show off its stunning blooms and if you care for them properly, it can bloom all year round.

Make sure to provide it with the proper light, water, humidity, fertilizer, and soil.

Moreover, keep it free from pests and diseases, and you will have a happy, and healthy plant.

African violets tend to like to feel cozy and tight in their pots.

However, not to the point of being rootbound.

This is when they begin blooming and flowering for longer periods of time.

When the flowers are spent, make sure to deadhead them as it will encourage the plant to flower more.

And you will see new blooms in about six weeks.

Common Problems

Some common problems your African violet can encounter are:

The plant does not Bloom: In case your plant is not producing flowers, this is because it is not getting enough light and the temperature and humidity are not correct.

In such cases, make sure to place your plant in bright, indirect lighting or use fluorescent lighting.

And make sure that the temperature in the room is at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spots on Leaves: It is important to note that African violet flowers will not have to like water on their leaves and this can cause them to have spots.

In this case, water from the bottom by placing the container in a bowl or using a self-watering pot.