I was so honored to be on Bloom and Grow Radio this week, talking about African violets with Maria. She and I know that African violets are on the brink of a major comeback with young plant parents. So I decided to put all my African violet blog post links in this post, so they are easy to find.
African violets are “Grandma” Plants
Let’s start with the notion that they are old-fashioned “grandma” plants. My grandma would love the violets of today, because she had pink and blue ones and those were her choices, other than white. Now there are so many hybrids with unusual flowers and variegated foliage. How amazed she would be!
Repot Your African Violet
Violets can develop a long neck or stem, like the violet below. Your plant is telling you its time to repot your violet, and this should happen yearly for best growth.
Revitalize your African violet
Does your African violet look a little beat up? Not as healthy as it could be? Here is a post about revitalizing a violet.
Sunburned African violet
Did you know your houseplants can get sunburned IN your home? Who knew? They can and find out what happened to this violet below.
African Violet Problem
There will be problems that come up with your African violets, like powdery mildew.
African Violet Thrips
Optimara, a commercial grower in Tennessee, has found a solution to thrips. They hybridized violets to remove the pollen sacs where the thrips live and feed. Read about them here.
African Violet Care
Have you purchased an African violet at a grocery or big box store? Is it in a decorative sleeve? Read this post to learn to care for it after getting it home.
African Violet Growers
My friends Donna and Steve grow violets to sell at African violet shows. I wrote the two posts after visiting their home and growing area –Part 1 and Part 2.
I hope having all these posts together is helpful! Which African violets are you growing? Let me know in the comments below.
Have a great week, plant friends!
I have bought three beautiful african violets, different colors, where all flowering, but in two months they have not flowers at all but leaves are ok. I put them inside, with lot of light but not sun. They came with a string connected to the water in the bottom. Could you please let me know what am I doing wrong? I will appreciate your help.
Hi Patricia, I would say they are just going through their time of resting after flowering. If you give it the right light and keep them evenly moist, they should rebloom soon. The string is a wick pulling the water up into the plant and keeping it moist. Does it seem to be working?
Lisa