African violet care guide

African violet care at a glance

African violet care for beginners.

How to water African violets

Water when the top of the soil feels dry to the touch, usually every 5 to 7 days. Use room-temperature water; cold water leaves pale rings and spots on the leaves.

Bottom watering is the easiest method: set the pot in a saucer of water for 20 to 30 minutes, then pour off whatever it hasn't absorbed. If you water from the top, pour onto the soil, never onto the leaves or crown.

Self-watering and wicking pots work very well. A cotton or nylon wick draws water from a reservoir into a light, airy mix, so the soil stays evenly moist. Refill the reservoir before it runs dry, and flush the soil from the top every month or two to clear fertilizer salts.

Light and getting African violets to bloom

Lack of light is the number one reason African violets stop blooming. Give them bright, indirect light, like an east window or a few feet from a south or west window, or 10 to 12 hours a day under LED grow lights about 12 inches above the plants. Direct sun scorches the leaves.

To keep them flowering, feed with a bloom-boosting African violet fertilizer at quarter strength with most waterings, keep them a little root-bound in a small pot, and pinch off spent flowers. Remove any side shoots (suckers) so the plant keeps one crown.

After blooming, just keep caring for the plant normally and pinch off the old flower stalks. A healthy violet will start new buds within a few weeks.

African violet winter care

In winter, days are short and windowsills get cold. Move violets a little closer to the window or under a grow light, keep them off cold glass, and keep them above 60°F. Water a little less often, and use room-temperature water.

Common African violet problems

How to read an unhappy African violet.

• No flowers: not enough light, a pot that's too big, or not enough fertilizer.
• Pale spots or rings on leaves: cold water or water left on the leaves.
• Drooping, limp leaves: either very dry or root rot from too much water. Check the soil.
• Yellow bottom leaves: normal aging, or too much direct sun. Remove them.
• Bleached or sunburned leaves: direct sun.
• Leggy, long-necked plant: older plants grow a bare neck. Repot it deeper so the neck is buried.
• Gray, fuzzy mold: botrytis from poor air flow and wet flowers.

Propagating African violets from leaves

African violets are easy to grow from a single leaf. Cut a healthy leaf from the middle of the plant with about an inch of stem, and plant the stem at an angle in moist African violet mix or perlite. Cover with a clear bag or dome to keep it humid, and keep it in bright, indirect light.

Tiny plantlets appear at the base in 6 to 12 weeks. Separate them and pot them up once their leaves are about the size of a dime.

African violet types

All share the same care. Size changes pot size.