African Violet Care Guide

African Violet Care Guide

I killed my first African Violet within two months. The leaves got brown spots, the flowers never came back after the first bloom, and eventually the whole thing just sort of gave up on me. I was watering it like I watered everything else (from the top, whenever I remembered), and I had it sitting on my desk about six feet from a north-facing window.

Turns out African Violets have some specific needs that aren’t obvious when you first bring one home from the grocery store. Once I figured out what I was doing wrong, my second attempt went much better. Now I have three of them lined up on a shelf, and they actually bloom for me. Here’s what I wish someone had told me from the start.

Bottom watering to save leaves

The number one thing that separates African Violets from most other houseplants is how they feel about getting their leaves wet. They hate it. When water sits on those fuzzy leaves, especially in cooler temps or without good air circulation, you get brown spots. Sometimes the spots are tan or white. Either way, they don’t go away, and the leaf stays damaged.

This is why bottom watering works so well for these plants. Instead of pouring water over the top and hoping for the best, you let the plant drink from below. I use a shallow dish or saucer under the pot. When the soil feels dry about an inch down (I stick my finger in to check), I pour water into the saucer and let the plant sit in it for about 20 to 30 minutes. The soil soaks up what it needs through the drainage holes.

After that half hour, I dump out whatever water is left in the saucer. You don’t want the pot sitting in water all the time because that leads to root rot. The goal is to get the soil evenly moist, then let it dry out a bit before you water again. I usually end up watering mine about once a week, but it depends on your home’s humidity and temperature.

Some people use self-watering pots for African Violets, which are designed with a reservoir at the bottom. The plant drinks as needed through a wick or by capillary action. I haven’t tried those yet, but I’ve heard good things from other hobbyists who don’t want to think about watering as often.

If you do accidentally splash the leaves (it happens), just blot the water off gently with a paper towel or soft cloth. Don’t leave it there to air dry if you can help it. Also, use room temperature water. Cold water straight from the tap can shock the roots and also contributes to those leaf spots I mentioned.

Bright light for flowers

When I first got into African Violets, I read everywhere that they like “indirect light” or “medium light,” which is true but not the whole picture. If you want flowers, you need to give them bright indirect light. Not just any indirect light, but actually bright.

My first Violet sat too far from the window. It stayed alive, grew leaves, but never bloomed again after the flowers it came with died off. I moved it closer to an east-facing window where it got gentle morning sun, and within about six weeks I started seeing new buds. That was the turning point for me.

African Violets can handle some direct sun, especially morning sun, but midday or afternoon sun through a window can scorch the leaves. If you only have a south or west-facing window, pull the plant back a bit from the glass or use a sheer curtain to diffuse the light. I keep mine about two feet from an east window, and they do great there.

The leaf color can tell you if the light is right. If the leaves are dark green and the plant isn’t blooming, it probably needs more light. If the leaves start looking pale, yellowish, or you see bleached spots, it’s getting too much direct sun. You’re aiming for medium green leaves and regular blooms.

In winter, when the days are shorter and the sun is weaker, I sometimes move my plants a bit closer to the window. In summer, I pull them back slightly. It’s not an exact science, but paying attention to how the plant responds makes a difference.

One thing I learned from a forum post by someone at a university extension office is that African Violets need about 12 to 14 hours of light per day to bloom well. If your home is pretty dark or you don’t have good window access, you can use a grow light. I don’t personally use one because my windows work fine, but it’s a solid option if you’re in a basement apartment or something similar.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Special pots for Violets

You don’t absolutely need a special pot for an African Violet, but the right pot makes care easier. These plants like to be a little snug. If you put a small Violet in a huge pot, it will spend all its energy growing roots to fill that space instead of producing flowers.

The rule I follow is to use a pot that’s about one third the diameter of the plant’s leaf span. So if your Violet measures nine inches across, a three-inch pot is about right. When I repot, I usually only go up one pot size, maybe from a three-inch to a four-inch pot.

Drainage is critical. African Violets sit in moist soil, so if there’s no way for excess water to escape, the roots rot. Every pot I use has drainage holes. I’ve seen people grow them in decorative pots without drainage, but they use a plastic nursery pot inside the decorative one and lift it out to water. That works too, but it’s more steps than I want to deal with.

The pots sold specifically for African Violets are usually shallow. The roots don’t go super deep, so a shallow pot actually suits them better than a tall one. I bought a set of glazed ceramic pots that are wider than they are tall, and those have worked well. Some Violet pots come in two pieces (the self-watering kind I mentioned earlier), with a reservoir at the bottom and a wick that draws water up. I’m curious about those but haven’t committed yet.

Plastic pots are fine too. They hold moisture a bit longer than terracotta, which can be helpful if you’re someone who forgets to water. Terracotta dries out faster, so you have to stay on top of it. I’ve used both, and honestly, as long as there are drainage holes, the material doesn’t make or break your success.

Why leaves get spots

Brown spots on African Violet leaves drove me crazy until I figured out the causes. There are a few different reasons this happens, and knowing which one you’re dealing with helps you fix it.

The most common cause is water on the leaves, which I already talked about. Cold water is especially bad. If you splash cold tap water on the leaves, you often get pale tan or white rings or spots where the water sat. Those spots are permanent. The leaf won’t heal, but new growth will come in clean if you stop getting the leaves wet.

Another cause is sunburn. If the plant is too close to a window with strong direct sun, the leaves can develop brown or bleached patches. This looks different from water spots. Sunburn usually shows up on the side of the plant facing the window, and the spots are often larger and more irregular.

Pests can also cause spots, though I haven’t had this problem personally. Mites are a known issue with African Violets. If you see stippling or tiny dots on the leaves, along with maybe some webbing, you might have spider mites. I’ve read that you can treat them with insecticidal soap or neem oil, but I’d probably isolate the plant first so it doesn’t spread to others.

Fungal or bacterial issues are possible too, especially if the plant stays too wet or doesn’t have good air circulation. If the spots are mushy or the leaves are rotting, that’s usually a sign of overwatering or a disease. In that case, you’d want to cut back on water, make sure the pot drains well, and remove any really damaged leaves.

Dust is another thing that bothers African Violet leaves. Because they’re fuzzy, dust clings to them and can block light. I’ve read that you can gently brush the leaves with a soft paintbrush or use a little handheld vacuum on low to clean them. I use a dry paintbrush every few weeks. It keeps them looking better and probably helps them photosynthesize more effectively.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Propagating from a leaf

This is one of my favorite things about African Violets. You can grow a whole new plant from a single leaf. It takes a few months, but it’s not hard, and it feels like magic when you see the baby plants start to sprout.

To propagate, you cut a healthy leaf from the parent plant. I choose a leaf from the middle rows, not the tiny new ones in the center and not the old outer ones that might be past their prime. I use a clean knife or scissors and cut the leaf with about an inch or two of stem attached. That stem (the petiole) is what you’ll be putting in soil or water.

Some people root the leaf in water first, then move it to soil. I’ve done it that way, and it works. You stick the stem in a small cup of water, making sure the leaf itself stays above the water line, and wait for roots to form. This usually takes a few weeks. Once the roots are about half an inch long, you can plant the leaf in soil.

I’ve also rooted leaves directly in soil, which skips a step. I fill a small pot with a light, well-draining mix (I use a mix made for seed starting or African Violets specifically), poke a hole with a pencil, and insert the stem about an inch deep. Then I firm the soil around it gently and water it so it’s damp but not soaking. I put the pot in a plastic bag or cover it with a clear plastic cup to keep the humidity high. This helps the leaf stay firm while it focuses on growing roots.

After about a month, sometimes longer, you’ll see tiny new leaves starting to pop up from the base of the stem. Those are the baby plants. One leaf can produce multiple babies. I leave them attached to the mother leaf until they’re big enough to handle, usually when they have a few sets of leaves of their own. Then I gently separate them and pot them up individually.

It takes patience. From cutting a leaf to having a blooming plant, you’re looking at close to a year, sometimes longer. But if you have a Violet you really love, or if a friend has one in a color you want, propagation is a free way to expand your collection. I started with one plant and now have three, all propagated from that original one.

The North Carolina State University Extension has a good overview of African Violet propagation that goes into more detail if you want to dig deeper into the process. I found their guide helpful when I was getting started.

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African Violets aren’t the easiest houseplants, but they’re not the hardest either once you understand what they need. Bottom watering keeps the leaves clean, bright light keeps them blooming, the right pot size keeps them happy, and knowing why leaves get spots helps you troubleshoot problems before they get worse. And if you want more plants, a single leaf can turn into several new ones with a little time and patience.

I still don’t consider myself an expert. My apartment is dim in the winter, and I definitely forget to water sometimes. But my Violets are alive, they bloom, and I haven’t seen those dreaded brown spots in a while. That feels like progress.

References

North Carolina State University Extension. “Saintpaulia ionantha (African Violet).” NC State Extension Publications. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/saintpaulia-ionantha/

University of Minnesota Extension. “Growing African Violets Indoors.” University of Minnesota Extension. https://extension.umn.edu/flowers/african-violets

Gesneriads Society. “African Violet Care and Culture.” The Gesneriad Society. https://gesneriadsociety.org/