African violets come in so many colors – they were so popular the past century that I would wager to guess that your parents or grandparents probably bad at least one in their home.
They are generally considered easy care, as they are happy in the not so bright windowsills, but as any plant goes it cannot live in darkness. However, they do require their soil to stay slightly damp. It is easy to overwater these guys though so a great alternative is an African violet pot. This is a two-part pot that has water in the bottom portion, with the insert being an unglazed clay to soak up that water from underneath. A good alternative to this is a self watering pot. If you don’t happen to have one, watering when the the top soil dries out on the top is best, but it’s important to not get water on the leaves as they are slightly velvety/fuzzy and will hold that moisture and rot them. As a result, no misting or extra humidity is needed, they’re happy in most housing humidity levels. Due to the slightly damp soil needs they can be susceptible to fungus gnats so it’s always best to keep an eye out for those flying bugs.
A standard soil mix of potting soil/perlite mix 1/1 works great for these guys. I’ve noticed they appreciate that fertilizer added in the soil. It is easy to overwater them so the extra drainage added by mixing in perlite is always recommended in my opinion.
Best of all they are nontoxic, so a curious kitty will not be harmed by them. Best to keep them away from any plant, but not all cats listen nicely :)
They bloom quite often so deadheading regularly is important. Once the blooms start to fade its best to cut them down to encourage extra blooming and growth.
I’ve had mine for about a year and a half now. And I haven’t moved it from my east facing window right above my sink. It’s already given me three waves of blooms and their blooms seem to last quite a long time. As a result they do like to be fertilized every couple weeks or so once you see them showing their array of colors.
I am still newer to care for these so I don’t have much else to add, so if you have additional facts or find that mine are inaccurate please feel free to add! :)
I’m jealous. Mostly what I’ve managed to do with African violets is kill them. Probably overwatering, so perhaps I’ll try again after our move next year - right now I’m trying to cut down on the number of pots we’ll need to move!
Here is my favorite houseplant meme to explain why African Violets are the superior houseplant: https://imgur.com/a/SDJjO3o
Your comment about grandparents hits true, I have fond memories of my Bestemor’s numerous houseplants, of which her African violet was always my favorite.
I’ve been meaning to add an African violet to our wintergarden! I do tend to overwater plants, I think I’ll try your pot suggestion.
