As our stint of warm weather has diminished and I escape back into the solace of my home, I am back to surrounding myself with more items that remind me of the colorful and warm summer. So I immediately headed over to my collection of African Violets. For years I was nervous to buy them, I was always told that they were so hard to maintain, let alone keep alive. I now have found this to be so untrue! As my 2 ½ year old daughter, and I looked them over, she pointed out that none of them were her’s. So to appease her we headed out to Waterloo Gardens, in Exton, and we purchased her, a miniature African Violet, to call her own. (See above picture)
There are two main things to remember when maintaining African Violets.
- 1) Water them from underneath
- 2) keep them from direct sunlight. (If you are concerned about lighting, an East-facing window is usually best, but not necessary.)
Around 8 to 12 hours of light per day is adequate enough to help them bloom. One of the benefits of having African Violets is that they do not need too much water; over-watering is actually one of the easiest ways to kill them. On the other hand they do need to be fertilized regularly. Since it is not very often that I have to water them, I fertilize them at each watering. I just place a saucer under the plant and fill it up with water, usually within seconds the plant absorbs up the water. I refill the saucer again and then walk away. The way I check to see if they need water is to simply stick my finger in the soil and feel how dry it is.
Another way to keep your African Violets healthy is to repot them. The Rule of Thumb is every 6 months. I for one am a busy mom, so I do it maybe once a year, sometimes longer, and I have never had a problem. I also cheat and repot them with Miracle Grow’s African Violet potting soil. If you have any concerns or issues with your African Violets feel free to ask me or you can also contact the African Violet Society of America. Enjoy!
Philaburban Mom 