African Violets

Hi all. I don't know much about African violets, but I happened upon one yesterday and potted it. I used sand and humus/mix soil-is this good or bad? It was a bit poor already and really want it to survive. I got it from the mother plant, so I hope it does well. Any help is greatly appreciated! Misty

Hi Misty. I, too, have a new AV. I repotted mine in lighter material. Perlite, vermiculite, sphagnum moss. I understand the AV needs this lighter soil for their roots which are very delicate and need the room to grow and bloom. Also, a lot of light is neccesary.

I hope this helps. Kwanjin

Thanks kwanjin. Well, I hope that mine will do ok in what I planted it in. I have it sitting in the sun room where it gets the morning light, but no direct light. It is also in a good size pot with plenty room to grow. Any help is greatly appreciated! Misty

If you're willing to pay for a subscription, there's a whole forum devoted to African violets & their relatives. Something to keep in mind if you really get hooked on them!

My brother has one and in the last year it's gotten quite big and blooms for him all the time. He loves it.

Well, one day I will break down and pay for the subscription. Honey just bought a Harley today, so I better wait. :) But ecrane is always to my rescue! kwanjin-I hope I just get lucky enough to have one as beautiful as your brother's! Misty

I just hope mine makes it. I rescued it from a neighbor who was tossing it in the trash. She had two that she had neglected and one has died.

What a shame! I hope yours makes it, too! The only plant I have thrown away was that multiflora rose. Good luck with yours! Misty

Thanks, Misty. You as well. 8-)

HI Misty, hope your little plant survives and blooms for you, dont replant little plants into too big a pot as the amount of soil in a large pot needs more water that required for a small plant, also with these plants, it is always best to water from the bottom (like place the pot onto a shallow bowl of water till the soil darkens, that is normally a sign that it has soaked up enough water, the problems some people have with watering these plants is that they let too much water go onto the foliage and they rot at the base, any plants for indoors that have little hairs on the foliage are best watered from below, also dont let them sit in a saucer full of water as this also rots the plants at the base, soon as they have drawn up enough water then lift it from the bowl and let it drain, when you want to divide your plant, remove the little platelets WITH some tiny roots so they get off to a good start, good luck. Weenel.

WeeNel, thank you so much for the info! I think I have done things right, so far anyway. I don't think the pot is too large, but we shall see. I looked on the good plant to see if there were any little extras and didn't see any, maybe I was looking for the wrong thing. I never knew about the "little hair" thing, that is good to know! You all are just wonderful on here! Thanks again, Misty

Hi Misty, you need to look on the underside of the leaf of these plants and you will notice little fine hairs, or gently brush you finger up the underside of the leaf and you will feel the texture that is not as smooth as the top side of the leaf, a lot of plants have very fine hairs on the leaves, we just dont notice them, your plant may be too small yet to have mature leaves, so be patient, the tiny hairs by the way hold little water droplets on them and this can help rot the plants, that is why I suggest watering from the bottom as the water cant settle on the foliage the same way it can if you pour the water onto the top of the plant, but some folk do water from the top of the pot, but care not to wet the leaves, the roots dont like to sit in too wet a soil. good luck, hope this has helped you some. WeeNel.

It has helped immensely! Thank you! I just love this forum. It is such a wealth of information. It already has the little hairs, and I have been careful not to get water on them. I have it sitting in a bowl and dump the water out of the bowl after it has finished getting its "drink". Thanks again! Misty