Do you have a green thumb? Though some of our moms may have been able to keep beautiful herbs growing in the house, not all of us are gifted gardeners. Like anything else though, learning how to tend to plants is only a matter of skill and practice. If you’re not ready to tackle an outdoor garden, a good place to start is with some cute potted plants for inside the house. As a good starter plant project, African violets are particularly beautiful.
Although common wisdom says these beauties are hard to grow, it’s actually easy if you follow these seven simple steps.
1. Use real potting soil.
Rather than using just any old dirt from outside, find a premixed soil that is better formulated for growing these delicate flowers. Though the brand can vary, be sure to get one that allows air circulation—you can even add your own peat moss to make it lighter.
2. Make sure it gets enough sunlight.
Although African violets shouldn’t be left in direct sunlight as they will burn, they do want bright and indirect sun throughout the day. Although putting your violets by a south or east-facing window works for most of the year, your violets need more sunlight in the winter. Also consider using a heat lamp when it gets particularly cold, and try to keep your flowers in a relatively cool climate between 55 and 75 degrees.
3. Keep your soil moist.
These flowers need to be watered whenever the soil on the surface feels dry to the touch. Be sure to use warm water when you do this to mimic the humid conditions that these plants usually grow in. If where you live is unusually dry, try to group your flowers together on a large tray of pebbles with water to create a kind of microclimate.
4. Use fertilizer.
To help boost its growth, use a low-nitrogen and high-phosphorus fertilizer. Many products that are specifically formulated to serve the needs of violets. For best results, use 1/4 to 1/8th of a teaspoon of fertilizer per gallon of water you use (and avoid “super bloom” fertilizers).
5. Pinch off any old, dying flowers.
Although African violets will keep blooming throughout the year, be sure to use your fingers to peel off the old, dying parts of the plant to make room for new flowers. By doing this, the plant knows not to expend energy on dying tissue and to focus only on new growth.
6. Re-pot the plants from time to time.
Another important step is to swap out your plants from time to time because the roots will gradually drain the story of nutrients. Switching the pot once or twice a year should do the trick.
7. Prune away any “suckers” or new stems.
Finally, like the advice about old blooms, be sure to prune back any new growth branches or “suckers” on the main stem of your violets. If left unchecked, violets will continue to spread outward and grow in odd directions, creating an unpleasant appearance or draining the plant of too much energy.
Good luck growing!
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