Wednesday, January 18, 2012

ABC Wednesday-A for African violet

African Violet is one of the easygoing houseplant in Singapore. They don't need direct sunlight and just nice to survive in our weather. Grow them near the window where the place is bright and have sufficient air circulation with the indirect sunlight or indoor light. Here is my newly blooms of pink color flowers.

African Violet grow well in our temperature, especially during the month from Oct to Feb, when it is cooler at night while day time is not that hot. Below is another pot of blooms. I love this purple blue flowers. It is flowering once every two months. 
Some of my growing tips would like to share here:
  • Keep soil moist to dry, and allow soil around roots to dry out before watering again. Avoid getting water on the leaves as this can cause spotting damage. Don't over water it too, always maintain good air circulation around your plants. It can prevent the growth of  fungi as Botrytis and Powdery Mildew. Keep them in door to avoid heavy rain especially in raining season.
  • Always use a slightly shallow pot to prevent over watering. For the same reason, you should never allow an African Violet to remain in a pot that is too large for it. A lot of people like to change a bigger pot for the newly bought plant, they always think bigger space is good for the plants to grow, but it is not always right. If you use a pot too big or too deep, the African Violet's roots will not reach the bottom. As a result, the soil remains overly moist. African Violets perform best and are less susceptible to disease when their roots fit snugly into a pot. 
  • Most of the people like to spray water on the leaves, it is a very wrong way of watering this plant. Excessive moisture on the leaves can cause the plants infected by Powdery mildew (a light gray, powdery substance on the stems and petioles), promote the growth of fungi such as Crown Rot or Pythium etc. This shortens the life of blooms and even the growth of the plants. 
  • Just in case your plants get  infected by diseases, one of my simple way is cutting off all the stems and leaves,  allow two weeks time for new and healthy shoot to grow.
Well, I would like to hear from you of your growing tips. Here are some of  my collections of African violet:




 

11 comments:

Turner said...

Really nice flowers! Thanks for sharing. Is that a chimera? The white flowers with purple edges. I also haven't seen the maroon coloured flowers before too. So pretty.

Sunshine said...

It's very pretty, do you know where I can buy these plant?

Singapoare Plants Lover said...

Hi, Sunshine,
Where are u from, this African violet should be easy to get in any local florist in KL. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Anonymous said...

My African violet (bought from one of the Sheng Siong here in Singapore) hasn't been doing well. Since the flowers dropped, it has since never bloomed again. I bought it in May this year. I've tried to propagate it from leaf cuttings but all the leaves rot eventually. I'm using African violet potting mix. The plant is still alive though. Do they really grow well in our climate?

Singapoare Plants Lover said...

Yes, African violet grow well in Singapore, do not keep under the hot sun, cut off the old leaves after its bloom.

Unknown said...

Do you have any miniatures? or micro- miniatures? I'm looking for one and have no idea where to get them. I bought a mini noid from World Farm but heard that it will grow into a standard sized African Violet. Btw I live in Singapore.. heh. And I'm even willing to try to grow them from seeds if I know where to buy from.

Unknown said...

Do you have any miniatures? or micro- miniatures? I'm looking for one and have no idea where to get them. I bought a mini noid from World Farm but heard that it will grow into a standard sized African Violet. Btw I live in Singapore.. heh. And I'm even willing to try to grow them from seeds if I know where to buy from.

Unknown said...

Those places they add chemical for it to bloom, after you buy it it's different

Singapoare Plants Lover said...

I am not sure how to grow African Violet into "miniature", I did try before, grow it from a leaf cutting, but after sometime It was growing bigger and bigger.

Anonymous said...

My Africa violent is not sitting properly in its pot, it is like shaking. May I know can I just add some new soil layer on top of the current soil? Or do you suggest re-potting it instead?

Anonymous said...

African violet seeds can be bought online from Nadeau Seeds.