by Sam Madsen

Created on: September 04, 2010

 Growing African violets can be very rewarding, in the form of a burst of vibrant color that is as beautiful as it is long lasting. These fuzzy leafed little beauties, are a bit more delicate than some of the typical flowering household plants to take care of, but nothing that a few good tips can't help out.

You have probably seen African violets in the grocery store or local home improvement store, for sale in little tiny flower pots, just over flowing with color. The colors can range from a deep red, fading to a pale pink, or a magenta shade, to a white with purple ruffles edging each petal.

African Violets prefer indirect sunlight, with no direct heat on them. If they do get to much sun, it will cause them to start to brown on the edges of the leaves.  Keep any dead leaves and spent flowers heads removed, to encourage new growth.

The flowers grow on a separate stem out of the middle of the plant and each leaf actually has a small hairy like surface. These hairy like fibers cannot get wet, or they will start to get mushy and die. It will not kill the entire plant, but the best way to keep from this is to always water from the bottom, or lift up the leaves and water under them, using a small water can that has a long narrow spout.

You never want to water from the top, directly in the middle on top of all the flowers and leaves. If you forget and do this, you can try to not water at all for awhile and let it completely dry out. Unfortunately, you will lose several leaves, just pluck them off as they die and hopefully the plant will recover. If you think it is dying and want to try one more thing to save it, you can pluck a leaf or two off that are still firm and place it in a cup of water, while keeping just the stem in the water. After about seven days, you should see some new roots beginning to grown of the bottom and sides of the leaf.

Once you have a good amount of roots started, you can then plant it in some good dirt, in your favorite flowerpot.  When they start to get bigger, you will notice that they seem to be growing on top of the dirt, but still attached by finer fiber roots. This is normal and should you decide to transplant it, you don't have to put the entire root system in the dirt (the part that was growing above ground) in order for it to take hold and grow. If taken care of correctly, African Violets will grow strong and rather large in size and can last for many colorful and cheery years to come.

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