This plant is a newish addition to our homes, only appearing in large numbers starting in America in the 1930's but has been loved ever since. When I was a student at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (RBGE) during the late 70s, one of my responsibilities was to look after the Gesneriad collection, which are plants belonging to the African Violet or Saintpaulia family. Good humidity is essential for African Violets to thrive, but as they have hairy leaves, it isn’t a good idea to mist the plants but to stand them on trays of moist pebbles but not so the compost gets wet. To resolve this problem, it is often enough to let the soil dry out and then water less frequently. The yellow lower lobes, of this striking flower, contrast beautifully with the baby blue upper lobes. Simply stand the pots in about 5cm of water for half an hour or so and after removing the pots from the water allow any excess to drain before replacing the pots on their saucers. Obscure glass will magnify bright sunlight and can cause scorching, so putting up net curtains would be a good safety bet in bathrooms. They are relatively easy to care for, liking bright light but not direct sunlight and the same living room temperatures as yourself. Alternatively, you can wait until plants are overcrowded and divide the clumps into individual rosettes and with trailing plants take small rosettes from the ends of the stems. Plants that are kept too hot will drop their flower buds and when conditions are too cold or draughty the leaves will droop. Among these are the African violets (Saintpaulia) and gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa). If you can squeeze moisture between your fingers, then don’t water. African Violets, which originally come from East Africa where they grow in wind-swept, rocky crevices have many admirers around the world and through extensive breeding now come in an impressive range of varieties that have plain or variegated leaves, which sometimes have attractive serrated, crinkled or rolled edges. In fact, I was a regular visitor to his African Violet Centre in Norfolk, and learned a thing or two from him about caring and propagating African Violets. It’s best to root them in a heated propagator set at 21C and they will produce tiny plants, that when weaned and potted up individually will flower within six months. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. They are one of the most popular cultivated houseplants in the world today and are particularly well suited to the home environment. African violets are from the plant family Gesneriaceae while the true violets (Viola) are from Violaceae. If it has to reach for it, then it isn’t getting enough! African violets are one of the easiest plants to propagate. Some experts recommend surrounding them with moist peat but I think that this can lead to a problem with fungus gnats. Cape primroses produce funnel-shaped flowers on 15-23cm wiry flower stalks from a central rosette of stem-less strap-like coarse leaves, which are similar to those of the common primrose in texture. Their closeness and moisture rising from the pebbles, or peat around them, will provide a microclimate of humidity to keep plants in tip-top condition. The violet-like flowers may be single, petal-packed or fully double, frilled, bi- and multi-coloured and with petal edging piped with white or with flowers that start one colour and fade to another – the choice is endless and there are hundreds of named varieties, making them very collectable. The blooms, which are about 5cm across, are nearly always arranged in pairs and followed by twisted seedpods. Blossoms come in waves during much of the year. Saintpaulias, which grow from 6–15 cm tall, can be anywhere from 6–30 cm wide. False African violet(Streptocarpella)is from East Africa. Pale, red-speckled leaves are sure signs that red spider mites are present. Get used to knowing the difference in the weight of pots when they’re wet and dry. However, having parked and walked up to the building, still following signs, we discovered it was closed-down and in a state of some dereliction. African violet, (genus Saintpaulia), any of the six species of flowering plants in the genus Saintpaulia (family Gesneriaceae). African violets originally come from Tanzania, in East Africa. It belongs to the family Gesneriaceae. If you find white woolly-coated pests, these are mealy bugs, which are sap-sucking pests. 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