Plants of Florida: You can grow African violets

Thursday, May 27, 2010

You can grow African violets

The rights to distribute newly discovered African violet plant (Saintpaulia ionantha) were first sold to the German company, Ernst Benary, in 1893. A year later, this Seed company provided seeds to the Harris Seed Company in Philadelphia.

The real popularity of African violets in this county began after 1927 when the Armacost and Royston Nursery in Los Angeles released a number of hybrids including ‘Blue Boy’ and ‘Sailor Boy.’ Through the first chain-store venture in plant selling, Woolworth & Co. distributed these new hybrids throughout the U.S., making African violet famous nationwide.

Photo Crocheted African violet - courtesy of planetjune

Now, let's take a look at how to make your African violets grow large and bloom profusely. There are a few rules to follow:

grow them in highly organic potting mix
keep the potting mix uniformly moist
during the active growth period plants must be fertilized regularly with a balanced African Violet Plant Food
since they are tropical plants, African violets should not be exposed to the temperatures below 55 degrees F
the most important requirement is light: an African violet should not be exposed to the full sun. In winter, they would most likely do best on the east window of your home and in summer, north window should do.

For watering, some growers use various wick watering systems. I just water my African violets when the soil really dries out. When all the conditions above are manged correctly, your plants are very likely to produce 3 flushes of blooms in a year.