5 Tips for Getting Your African Violets to Bloom
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may make a commission at no cost to you. Please see my full disclosure policy for more details.
8-minute read
Save this pin here!
If you know me, you already know I have loved this plant for a long time. Being my first house plant, African Violets have been a timeless love for me as a gift from my grandma.
In this blog post I will share with you how to care for African Violets and 5 tips to get them to bloom:
African Violet Light Needs to Bloom
Best Pots and Soil for African Violets
Fertilizing Your African Violets
Watering Your African Violets
Preventing Common Problems
African Violet Light Needs to Bloom
The first tip for getting your African Violet to bloom is providing proper lighting.
African violets are from Tanzania and Kenya. They are tropical plants and found in the Eastern Arc Mountains growing under the cover of other plants. This low-light habitat and growing conditions make African Violets the ideal houseplant.
I found out quickly that they need sunlight, but not direct sunlight. The African Violet I mentioned my grandma gave me quickly died due to direct sunlight conditions.
My bad! I did not know as much then as I do now about African Violets. That is why I want to help you care for your African Violets correctly.
Although African Violets are low-light plants, there are various levels of "low-light."
Everyone has their way of explaining levels of light for plants. This is just the way I have found to work in my plant growing research and experiences.
An African Violets' lighting needs fall under the direct-sunlight level, meaning placing them under a grow light works well during winter and placing them in a window with filtered sunlight in summer. Indirect-sunlight light works for them, too; but they may not bloom for long. So, to get them blooming year-round placing them under a grow light is ideal.
Best Pots and Soil for Your African Violets
The next thing to consider when caring for an African Violet is proper pots and soil.
Pots
I prefer terra cotta pots for my African Violets because they dry out faster, and there is less chance for root rot to occur. Plastic pots can work; you must be more careful when watering. Because plastic pots hold water for a longer amount of time than terra cotta which increases chances of root rot.
A worthwhile investment is getting a self-watering pot for your African Violet plant like this one.
African Violets must have drainage holes in the bottom of the pot for 2 reasons:
To ensure proper drainage
For my preferred African Violet watering method.
Soil
The best soil for African Violets is a soil specifically designed for African Violets; it can be bought at your local lawn and garden center or online here.
African Violet soil is different from others because it has a precise mix of sphagnum peat moss to hold some moisture and perlite to aid in draining so your plant does not get soggy. Many of these mixtures also include earthworm castings, bat guano, and forest products that provide needed nutrients for your plant to feed on.
Be sure to look at the ingredients list; many commercially bought soils also have added fertilizers like miracle grow in them. It will say so on the bag. It may read feeds plants for up to six months. It is okay to use these soils; keep a mental note of that when you fertilize your plant. You do not want to overfertilize!
I have developed my own mixture that works well for almost all my plants. Not all my plants; some have a specific soil.
My Soil Mix includes:
(follow links to buy from Amazon)
Fertilizing Your African Violets
The most important tip to getting your African Violet to bloom is properly fertilizing. You will need to fertilize, especially during the growing season.
African Violets have a longer growing season than most other house plants do. When placed in optimal conditions, you will see growth and blooms nine months to year-round.
Usually, January through March is a resting period for African Violets, and they may not bloom during these months. However, they should still be growing new leaves regularly.
I do fertilize my African Violets longer in the year than my other plants. I use a blooming plant fertilizer you can buy on Amazon here. It is specifically formulated for African Violets, but I use it on all my blooming plants.
Do your research before fertilizing! Read the soil package and be sure it does not already include fertilizers in it. If it does you may not need to fertilize for up to six months or so.
If you are unsure, mix up fertilizer for your African Violets and use it at half the strength recommended according to the directions and be sure to monitor your plant closely. If you see a change in the color of their leaves, then stop fertilizer moving forward.
If done properly, it is safe to fertilize your plants every watering or every other watering during the regular growing season. Be sure to check your plants and if you see signs of overfertilization stop fertilizing for a few waterings moving forward.
Watering Your African Violets
Watering your African Violets correctly is the key to getting them to bloom.
It took me some months to learn the proper watering method for African Violets. I had researched and read to be sure to carefully water so that I did not get water on my African Violet's leaves.
How the heck do I do that? I am a clumsy human! No matter how carefully I poured, water would run out from somewhere and end up soaking the leaves of my plant.
African Violets leaves getting wet can lead to a whole lot of problems for your plant. The most common are brown or yellowing leaves. Your plant may also suffer from Crown Rot or Pythium, both can be fatal to your plant.
Watering your African Violet from the bottom is the best method. Using this water method, you will need a plant tray, plate, or clean kitchen sink. I highly recommend using rainwater, distilled, or filtered water on your African Violet. To keep your plants' leaves from discoloring from the chemicals and hard minerals in tap water.
Using one of the three waters mentioned above, fill the bottom of your kitchen sink or the plant tray or plate, whichever you are using, then place your plant's pot in the water. Allow your plant to sit and soak for up to 30 minutes.
This watering method allows the plant to absorb water through its roots, from the bottom of the pot, and avoids getting the leaves wet.
After 30 minutes, be sure to remove your plant from the kitchen sink or plate and place your potted plant back in its spot. Or remove from its plant tray, pour off all the excess water from the tray, and then place the plant back on its dried tray.
Bottom watering is the best method to water your African Violets. You can either use the bottom watering method above or invest in a self-watering pot that does this for you, just by adding water.
Preventing Common Problems
Quartz is the name I have given this plant. I name all of my plants.
Finally, preventing your African Violets from common problems will help them to bloom. If your African Violet is suffering from fungus they will not bloom.
Root or Crown Rot
These happen when your plant becomes overwatered. If you allow your plant to remain submerged in water or allow its soil to become soggy, you are putting your plant at risk for root rot.
Root rot is a fungus that grows from moist conditions and attacks the roots of your plant. Roots exposed to root rot will become brown to black and mushy; healthy roots should be white and firm.
Crown rot is what happens when the crown leaves of your African violet get wet. It is also a fungus and turns the crown leaves, or middle leaves, of your plant gray to black and mushy.
Both Root and Crown rot are fatal to your plant. To prevent root rot, be sure not to overwater your plant, ensure your plant's pot has good drainage holes and well-draining soil.
To avoid crown rot, you should water your plant from the bottom. Be sure to check the soil with your fingers to feel how dry the soil is before watering. I usually allow the soil to get 75% dry before watering.
Pythium
Pythium is also a fungus. This one almost took Quartz out! Quartz, my pink African Violet, developed this fungus in her soil. Most plants do not survive it. I caught it early and took the proper steps to get rid of it. In my case, this fungus started from the soil.
In spring, I repotted Quartz to a bigger pot. When I did this, I was out of my regular soil and picked some cheap soil up on the fly. Fungus can happen in any soil; I am not saying you must spend a lot on soil to prevent fungus.
I am saying be sure you are getting clean, well-draining soil for your plants.
I first noticed fungus when I saw mushrooms growing in Quartz's pot. While yellow mushrooms in house plants are not harmful to your plants, the underlying issue can be.
Quartz had more going on than just her yellow mushroom friends. She had fungus throughout her roots. I repotted her in the same pot, but with all new soil. I was careful to remove any brown or black, mushy roots and stems.
I then placed her back in her spot. For the next two waterings, I diluted a fungicide; I bought it from my local nursery, or you can get it on Amazon here.
I also was careful to only water when her soil was almost all the way dry. I repeated these diluted fungicide waterings two more times.
Quartz has bounced back from this.
She is now fungus free and has healthy new leaves growing. I am happy to have saved my plant!
Bonus: Caring for Flame Violets
I only discovered Flame violets a few months ago. I had no idea they existed. My Flame Violet, Lilith, has red and green, fuzzy leaves, and her blooms are trumpet shaped, and bright red orange in color.
Flame Violet care is pretty much the same as caring for an African Violet. The only difference I have found is they need a little more moisture; you can accomplish this by adding a humidifier to the room or watering more often.
I hope this helps you to care for and get your African and Flame Violets blooming!
Summarizing African Violet Care
