The Monterey Garden Club

GARDEN PLANT OF THE MONTH:

JANUARY

 

 

AFRICAN VIOLET (Saintpaulia ionantha)

 

The Saintpaulia was first discovered in the hills of Tanzania in east Africa by Herr Von Saint Paulliare. It is now popular all throughout the world; even though its natural environment is the tropics, it adapts itself well to many different growing conditions. An evergreen plant, it can flower for most of the year, but there are of course short rest periods between each flowering.

 

  • SIZE & GROWTH RATE: The African violet can be 4-6 inches high and up to 8 inches or more across. Miniature varieties are about ½ this size.

　

  • FLOWERING AND FRAGRANCE:Although the African violet can bloom at any time of the year, the flowers are rather sparse between November and February or March. Once the days are longer, flowering increases again.

 

  • LIGHT & TEMPERATURE: Although it loves light, the African violet cannot take hot sunlight, especially from March to October. The best growth and the best flowers are achieved if the plant has a constant summer and winter temperature of 70-77 degrees F.
  • WATERING & FEEDING: The African violet cannot tolerate cold water on its leaves or on its crown. It should be watered in the saucer. And surplus water should be poured off after half an hour. Use liquid fertilizer once every 14 days during the growth period.

 

  • GROOMING: Pick off old leaves to maintain only 4 to 5 whorls on the plants.

 

  • PROPAGATING: Easiest with cuttings from healthy parent plants - at any time of the year. It will take about 8 months from the first cutting to a new adult plant. Take the leaf from the parent plant together with its stem and plant the leaf in soil with about half the stem covered.  After a month at 72 degrees, the leaf will have grown roots - and after a further 8-14 days, the new plant will appear. Once the plant has reached a diameter of about 4 inches, it can be put into a pot of its own. Water with liquid plant food every 14 days. High humidity is important.

 

  • ENVIRONMENT: The African violet likes company. The more plants there are, the higher the humidity and the happier it is.

 

BUYING TIPS: Make sure that there are no brown patches and that there are plenty

of buds. With the right care, the African violet will grow for many years. Easy to look after, it will reward you with flowers all year round.

　

　

　

 

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