Free African Violet Plants

Saintpaulias is a popular indoor plant belonging to the Gesneriaceae family. This herbaceous plant has around 20 different species. You will find this plant commonly in the tropical regions of the African soil. It is native to Tanzania, Africa and Kenya. This perennial plant serves as both indoor and outdoor beauty.

The plant is commonly named as African violet since it has an African origin and has a violet like bloom most of the time. The popularity of this plant spread gradually from the African world to Asian world and slowly to the European world. It has been figured out that this plant became popular in the Europe after the second world war.

Current situation : Although the African violet is getting popularity in the indoor environment, the plant species are getting decreased and are found to be among the endangered species in the plant family. It is high time that this plant be conserved and protected. The major cause leading to disturbance of this beautiful specie is due to clearing of land for agriculture, industrialization and grassland.

The Saintpaulias plant does not take much space, it will grow as tall as 6 to 15 cm tall and will spread as wide as 6 to 30 cm wide.

Leaves : Saintpaulias gives rise to ovular or rounded foliage. One of the special features of this leaf is that it comes healthy, hairy and fleshy. It’s a wonderful plant. Depending on the type of specie, the foliage will come in light green, dark green, normal green or even mixed green.

Bloom : One of the core reasons why people like having African violets at home is because of its wonderful bloom. The bloom comes in various colors and becomes the major attraction at home. It gives a welcoming effect on any passers-by. Saintpaulias has one of the most beautiful blooms. Every gardeners love its outgrowing beautiful bloom. The flowers come in 2 to 3cm in diameter. They come in a variety of color depending upon the type of specie it belongs. They come in violet, white, white and pink mixed, pale to light blue, purple etc.

Plantation and care : The African violet plant with its growing popularity in the commercial market is easy to plant and is not an expensive plant. It is possible to afford this plant by anyone, yes, any plant lovers around the world. During the time of plantation, you will notice that the speed of growth in the plant is more during the spring and summer months in the winter months. African violet is a small plant comparing to the other indoor plants. You will notice this plant growing up to the height of 12cm to 15 cm and spreading up to 25cm to 30cm.

One of the advantages of having this plant at home is that it will flower several times a year without failing if you maintain good conditions for the plants proper growth. It is your prime duty to let this plant grow in a well lighted and warm environment, well-drained soil.

Temperature : It is very important to keep the temperature in your mind when it comes to taking care of Saintpaulias.

The African violet is a tropical plant. It will survive between the temperatures of 15 C to 21 C.

This plant is very sensitive to the change in temperature. You will notice the leaves turning pale and changing its color when you suddenly pour cold water on the leaf that has been exposed to sunlight. Soil : The African violet prefers to grow in a well drained soil. Make sure that the soil is well supported with a soil rich in compost manure and humus. This type of soil will provide enough space in the soil allowing the plant to breathe air well. Loamy soil will also do well for the plants proper growth. The plant will rot away from the root if the soil is not well-drained.

Light : Proper light condition is very important to get good bloom from the African violet. It has been noticed that this plant fails to bloom when it is not exposed to a good light condition. It needs around 12 hours of day light but not directly exposed to the sunlight.

Here, you need to understand that this plant will not tolerate direct exposure to sunlight. It prefers to grow in a well-lighted area but not directly exposed to sunlight for a long time.

Water : When it comes to watering an African violet, make sure that you water using the bottom watering method. In this way you will not be disturbing the leaves and flowers because they are very sensitive to change in temperature caused by watering. If you are watering from the top, make sure that the leaves and flowers are not disturbed else they will show some signs of discoloration and often get infected by fungal disease.

Fertilizer : The African violet prefers to be well fertilized. It has a fertilizer especially meant for it. Use African violet fertilizer in treating African violet plant. The best time to fertilize this plant is during the spring and summer months. It is good to fertilize the plant once in a month time for best result. You can reduce fertilizing this plant during the winter months, the less active growing months.

Humidity : This plant enjoys humid environment but caution here, you cannot increase the humidity in this plant by misting the leaves since the leaves are sensitive to the change brought by water and will develop fungus disease on misting.

Propagation : It is possible to propagate African violet through the leaf cutting method, tissue method and also from the seeding method of propagation.

Gardeners mostly prefer the leaf cutting method of propagation because the plant grows faster and easier through this method of propagation. Gardeners also follow the tissue culture method of propagating this plant. These methods are common for commercialization purpose. The seeding method is very rare.

Repotting : Gardeners do go for repotting their African violet plant once a year or less. It is suggested that you repot your African violet during the spring and summer months. These months are considered ideal time for repotting. It will be good to repot your young plant rather than repotting mature plants. Repotting the mature African violet will disturb the good growing plant.

Uses : The African violet has a pretty good uses both indoor and outdoor. This plant comes in a variety of colors. Thus, gardeners love using them for decorating the office garden, supermarket space or even home environment. It serves as a popular indoor plant beautifying the household environment.

Secondly, this plant is used as a gift. This plant represents mother and in some of the countries, this plant is used as a gift to a mother.

This plant has great value in the commercial market. The workers in the nursery earn a lot cultivating this plant and exporting them to different countries around the globe.