How to care for African violets and why you should grow them | Discovery

How to care for African violets and why you should grow them | Discovery | Gardening Australia

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Tammy shows us how to care for African violets and explains why they’re still fashionable favourites.Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
In their heyday, African violets, were in the top five most popular house plants in the world. They’re widely bred to have variegated foliage, but their beautiful blooms are the major draw card. While they may look fragile, you don't get to be one of the world's most popular plants by being hard to look after. Here’s Tammy’s care tips to grow bright and beautiful African violets.
African violets, Streptocarpus, are part of the fascinatingly quirky and diverse Gesneriad family. While it’s a funny sounding name, it’s one that avid plant lovers will want to remember. Many are collectibles, such as the lipstick plant, Aeschynanthus, and the goldfish plant, Columnea, both named for the recognisable shape of their flowers. Some have near black or mottled pink foliage, and the Streptocarpus ‘Pretty Turtle’ cultivar has striking lace-patterned leaves, what's not to love!
Growing Conditions:
You can get a few clues about how to grow them by learning about where they come from. African violets are native to mountainous regions of tropical East Africa. With fleshy stems and fat leaves covered in a furry coat, they’re adapted to humid conditions and changes in air temperature. They're also tolerant of wet and dry spells, growing in rocks and crevices with not much soil, so excess water just runs off the roots. The roots are quite delicate and tiny, preferring a good amount of oxygen around them. They’d be swamped if you put them in a big pot with lots of soil, so make sure you stick to small pots.
DIY African Violet Potting Mix:
There are specialised potting mixes specifically made for African violets, but if you want to make your own: use 2-parts coconut coir, 1-part premium potting mix and 1-part perlite for drainage and aeration.
Care Tips:
One important thing to know is that they don't like getting their leaves wet, so if the leaves get dirty during re-potting, or if they get dusty every now and then, use a paint brush to brush them clean. All plants get rained on in the wild, but in their natural habitat, there adapted to warm rainwater that dries up very quickly. A small splash of tap water now and then isn't going to kill your plant, but it can cause unsightly brown marks. What will kill your plant is water that pools in the centre crown, where the new leaves and flowers grow from, which can cause it to rot. You can either lift the leaves when watering from the top or allow water to wick up from the base.
Tammy keeps her African violet inside a bigger decorative pot and uses it to bottom water these plants. To do this, pour water up to a level above the plastic pot’s drainage holes, then pop the African Violet in and leave it for 15 minutes to soak up the water. Don't forget to take it out and empty the excess water. You can do this once a week in summer and every few weeks in winter, but there's no hard and fast rule. A good idea is to always check the plant first - if it feels light, it’s ready for a good drink.
For strong healthy blooms, look for a fertiliser that is high in potassium or use products specially designed for African violets. It's not only fertiliser that encourages flowering, but also light. They won't like to be up against a window or in the baking hot afternoon sun. Tammy finds that morning sun works best but you can also experiment.
With a bit of attention, African violets will reward you with blooms for most of the year. They’re a joy to be around, and once you have one, you want to check out more!
Featured Plants:
LIPSTICK PLANT - Aeschynanthus cv.
PURPLE GOLDFISH PLANT - Columnea microcalyx cv.
AFRICAN VIOLET - Streptocarpus ionanthus cv.
Streptocarpus ‘Pretty Turtle’
Filmed on Wangal Country | Rozelle, NSW
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