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How To Grow
African Violets
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 My experience. Years ago my
wife and I wanted to start a business. We never really did, but we
explored many options, one of which was growing plants. We
loved plants and our one favorite was the African Violet. What a glorious
plant with its symmetrical form and halo of flowers! It was
very enjoyable watching them grow. Green leaves never looked so good
and the thought of green money was even better. Being it was more
of a hobby than a business, I am sure that
we spent more than we ever made. Anyway, with the violets we
started with seeds, cuttings, and nearly dead plants from the store (stores kill
them). African Violets are misunderstood, they require care
that is not typical of other varieties of plants, even some of the
commercial growers don't care for them properly. Our success
began when I built racks
in our kitchen in multiple sections so that I would have room to spread
the violets out as they grew. The shelving units were 6 ft. long,
2 ft. wide and 7 ft. tall, the shelves themselves were about 22 inches
apart. We used large stainless steel pans, sized to the shelf and
1 inch deep, on the top of each shelf to sit the plants in and make
watering easy. We attached shop lights to the underside of the
shelves to provide light to the plants. Timers were used to
control the amount of light they received on a regular schedule. We bought a few packs
of seeds and a few plants and began planting & rooting leaves.
We started the seeds and the cuttings in little peat pellets that are
available at most garden centers. This is the only time we advise
planting in peat! We
bought plants that were nearly dead from our grocery store to see
if we could revive them. Within a very short period of time the seeds came
up and leaves sprouted. Or cuttings were taking off and within a 6
week time period the struggling violets from the grocery store were
taking shape! The little plants needed to be
transplanted into bigger pots. As they grew they had to be spread
out so the leaves did not touch each other. They grew more, and had
to be spread out more and more and more... they were taking us
over! We started with about 350 small plants, which wasn't all
that space consuming, but as mature plants each over 12" in
diameter, imagine our crisis! We were selling them as
hard as we could, and we had to start giving them away just to avoid
being run out of our small home. When the weather turned cold and we had to bring all of
our other outdoor indoors, we really had a problem. Our house was
full and my
mother's house was full of plants too. No one cared much about plants in the winter,
so selling them was not so much of an option, and we did not have a greenhouse.
When we finally got rid of most of our plants and it was all over, I said "NO MORE!". I guess I
went overboard. It was a business experiment that had a lot of
potential and we
couldn't handle it. I must say though, that it was worth the
effort just to see the beauty of these violets when taken care of
properly. One year we went to the State Fair and during our visit
we saw the African Violet exhibit . Compared to the violets we
grew, these blue ribbon winners were pitiful. I'll continue
to tell you how we did it, but take my warning,
five or six plants are enough.
How to grow African Violets
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| Things you DON'T do to an
African Violet! Don't let water get on the leaves, it'll cause
dead spots. Water that is room temperature is not so bad, but I
don't do it at all. Don't allow sucker plants to grow on the main
stem of the plant. Don't try to grow them outside. Don't place them in direct
sunlight. Don't keep them in dark areas. Don't use any other
pot other than a cheap 4-inch plastic pot. Don't use peat
moss. Don't keep your plants' soil
wet. Don't let the plant stay dried
out. Don't leave dead flowers or leaves on your plant. Don't
subject them to sudden temperature changes. Don't run over them
with the car. Do not, do not, do not... |
| Then exactly what can I do? It
sounds like you can't do anything at all. The truth is that you
don't have to do much, just follow the "do not do list".
You'll be amazed.
How to grow African Violets |
| First the potting
soil. Commercial growers use peat moss because it is cheap in
large quantities and they use it in all kinds of plants. Peat moss
can kill African Violets in large quantities too. You can buy good
African Violet potting soil in small bags at the store. It is made
of a mixture of primarily pine bark and sand. This soil will allow
for good drainage, unlike the peat mixtures. Peat mixtures,
however, are perfect for many other plants. |
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| What are suckers? Suckers are
little baby plants that grow on the main stem of the plant.
Cute or not, pick them off. They will grow to deform your plant,
and there will be a bunch of them! You only want one plant per
pot, if it looks pitiful after you trim it up, don't worry, it'll
thicken back up. |
| It sounds like I can't give them light
and I can't give them dark either. What gives? You can sit your plant in the kitchen window to receive
the morning sun if you want, and you will be able to enjoy the beautiful
underside of the leaves on your side of the plant. You can sit
your plant in a dimly lit area and it will reach for the sky like it's under
arrest. African Violets need a certain kind and a certain amount of light and they will
flourish perfectly, remember in the beginning I told you about the
shelves that I built in my kitchen, with the shop light placed 8 to 12 inches above the
plant. You do not need grow lights. Just
plain lights are fine but keep them strong, no blinking, half lit
stuff. The plant will be symmetrical and the leaves
will lay down like a well decorated cake. Spread the
plants out so that the leaves do not touch anything. |
| If I can't water them from the top then
how? I guess that only leaves the bottom doesn't it?
They make plastic trays that fit the four inch pots, or you can build or
buy the stainless pans like I used. The secret is to water good
and allow to dry out afterward. Pour room temperature water into the
trays or pan, and after about twenty minutes go back and
drain off what ever is left in the tray. They can't sit in water for
a long time because the roots will rot. As any plant, they must
breath oxygen from the roots. Keep this up and they will live until you get sick of
them. Use African
Violet fertilizer in the water. Follow the directions on the
bottle. |
| Pruning the plant.
This is
easy. If it's ugly, cut it off.
How to grow African Violets |
| Flowers. A good plant will
bloom for nine months, and rest for three. They get
tired too. If your beautiful flowers fall off for no reason, you
might have aphids. Aphids are little white to light green dust
looking insects. They like the soft part in the middle of the
flowers. Unfortunately, that is the part that holds the flower
on. Mix a light mixture of "approved insecticide" and water and spray the entire
plant. The mixture must be at room temperature and follow the
directions on the bottle! If you find any ladybugs, take them inside and give
them your plants. They love to eat aphids and they won't hurt
anything. Pick off dying flowers, if dead flowers stay on the
plant new flowers will not form as you would like. |
|
Warren
How to grow African Violets |
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