Happy African violets (African Violet)

Member Name: kiran8

Product:	African Violet
Date:	15/10/08 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fairly easy to grow

Disadvantages: none

Botanical information about African Violets:
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Botanical name: Saintpaulia ionantha

Common name: African violet

Origin: south Africa.

The first African violets were discovered in 1890 by Baron Walter von Saint Paul, a German explorer who found them growing in the crevices of rocks in East Africa, in what is now known as Tanzania. He sent some of the plants back home to his father, who gave them their botanical name, Saintpaulia ionantha (which in Latin means "with violet flowers") - ( information from the web)


African Violet is an ideal houseplant. It likes the same temperatures as most people are comfortable with, around 20-22 degrees C.

They need a lot of shade and no direct sunlight.In fact direct sunlight tends to discolor and shrivel the leaves ..

It is very easy to grow and maintain African violets inside ones home.It grows well on shaded window sills and any shaded part of ones garden.
I got 2 small plant in a deep pink and the namesake Deep Blusih Violet color.Initially i did all the wrong things like keeping them out where there was sunlight and wet soil.I started noticing that the plants were not doing well and that there were hardly any flowers even after a month ..

Later on advice from some friends, i moved both the plants on to a stand in my balcony and repotted what was left of the plants. This time i used a mix of Sand and mulch mainly consisting of powdered dry leaves and wood chippings and bark and very little potting soil.I would say in the proprtion of 40:40:20.I watered the plants very sparingly .Within a month of this the plants started growing extremely well and began multiplying and flowering.The flowers were large and plentiful.It was such a heartening and happy feeling ..

It is very easy to multiply the plants , one can do it with a single healthy leaf, i am constantly doing it.I have a pot filled with just sand.I take out a single healthy leaf from the plant with a good bit of stem and insert the stem into the sand press it carefully so that it remains firm and leave it for about a month..keep sprinkling some water every day, and you get a new plant after a while..

They look beautiful on ones coffee table instead of the usual flower arrangement.I feel that if one grows them in a decorative clay pot it looks very ornamental on the table or a corner stand inside the house.

Some basic requirements
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Watering African violets is very easy. To prevent crown rot it is always better to water from the bottom until very moist, then let the soil dry out until the next watering. There is no need to keep them wet all the time. African violets appreciate humidity. I am told that it is not good stand water on the leaves, however i do it at times to wash the dust from the leaves and have not found any adverse effect so far..

The soil should be right for the growth and sustenance of the plant. a good mix of sand and mulch is ideal with some garden potting soil..and when the plant is in bloom a few drops of any liquid fertiliser can be added..

Care should be taken to give them a warm temparature but at any time direct exposure to sunlight should be avoided.

After the violets have grown for a while one notices a little second plant growing out of the side of the first one.One can remove the plant from the pot carefully and divide the two plants and re-pot both these plants with fresh potting soil . Water the plants and they will grow and establish well within a month or two. You can also start plants from leaf cuttings as i mentioned earlier..

It is better to grow them in small medium pots that are not too high as the roots don't penetrate down.It is better to have a pot that is wide but shallow, so that there is enough room for the plant to spread and grow within the pot for a considerable length of time..

They generally dont get any fungus or pest attacks, even if that happens it is easy to control it by washing and cleaning the leaves..

If proper care is taken they last for a long time, The original plants i bought are nearly four years old and from the original two plants i have been able to multiply a few dozen plants which i have gifted to friends and relatives and have a good number of plants with me. They have all been kept together and while in bloom they look absolutely beautiful..

Summary: A lovely indoor plant that is easy to grow and maintain