Is it difficult to grow really beautiful violets? If you like to grow beautiful flowers yourself, then it’s not difficult. Every violet lover wants his plants to grow well and bloom beautifully. This requires at least minimal knowledge of how to properly care for violets in order to avoid gross mistakes during cultivation and the inevitable subsequent disappointments.
A beautiful violet is, first of all, a healthy violet. Violet with healthy, strong leaves rich in chlorophyll on normal, optimal length petioles. An even, symmetrical outlet that receives plenty of light. Healthy center, no stepchildren, adequate potty. Prompt flowering on normal peduncles.
You brought a new violet home, don’t rush to replant it. When a plant finds itself in a new environment, it experiences stress. A young plant, which is 5-6 months old, endures these changes not so painfully, but it also needs to be given time to get used to it. It should be transplanted into a new, larger pot no earlier than after three to four weeks.
A healthy and properly grown Saintpaulia usually sends out flower stalks sequentially as it grows in the upper three or four tiers of the rosette. The peduncle grows from the leaf axil only once; there will be no more peduncle in this place. Therefore, one should not expect violets to continuously bloom in lush bouquets. So the violet blooms only in spring, after the winter period of growth and rest from flowering. Therefore, the beauty of Saintpaulia flowering depends on the condition of the rosette. In a word, high-quality care for violets and beautiful, blooming violets are inseparable concepts. If you have grown a multi-tiered symmetrical rosette in good soil and in a container of normal size, your violet will definitely delight you with luxurious blooms.
Lighting violets.
Lighting violets is the main condition for caring for violets: plenty of light and no sun, especially beware of the scorching midday rays. Violets require bright, diffused lighting. If it is deficient, they bloom poorly. Violet grows well on any windowsill. But on the western, eastern and southern windows they must be shaded, otherwise burns will appear on the leaves and flowers. On a northern window, violets will grow well and bloom profusely only in the spring and summer. To form a symmetrical rosette, you need to rotate the plants 2-3 times a week in a circle by 90 degrees.
With optimal lighting, the plant forms a decorative rosette consisting of brightly colored leaves. The leaves of the bottom row are located almost horizontally; green, juicy, symmetrically arranged leaves are formed in the middle of the rosette.
With a lack of lighting, the leaves stretch upward, the violet does not bloom, the petioles of the formed leaves lengthen, and the leaf blade increases in size. If the violet was formed in conditions of limited lighting, then even an increase in illumination will not help the plant restore its decorative properties. Only young leaves will develop normally.
When there is too much light, the lower leaves bend down over the edges of the pot. Plant development slows down and then stops completely. Young leaves in the center of the rosette form a dense cluster, peduncles develop short, buds cannot get out from under the leaves. The flowers on such a plant are small, pale, and quickly fade.
For abundant and long-lasting flowering, the plant must receive enough light for 10-12 hours a day. Proper selection of lighting provides half the success in keeping Saintpaulias. However, different varieties of violets have different light needs. Varieties with light green leaves develop well and bloom in lower light. Violets with dark green foliage need more light. For year-round successful cultivation of violets, artificial lighting is used.
Temperature for violets.
Caring for violets, as one of its components, includes the temperature of the plants. The most optimal temperature for violets is 20-24 degrees. At this temperature, violets grow strong, bloom profusely and for a long time.
When growing violets in cool conditions, such characteristics as a wider and brighter border, more expressive fantasy are better manifested; in varieties with a green border, the greens are more saturated. If violets gain buds and bloom in the hot season or in a room with a temperature of 28-30 degrees, it often happens that they do not bloom so profusely, the flowers are noticeably smaller in size, the border disappears completely or becomes much thinner and less bright, in varieties with a green border this is especially noticeable - the border either disappears completely or the green is very pale. Fantasy varieties have much fewer specks on the flowers and they are not as bright.
Saintpaulias are afraid of drafts. Due to the flow of cold air in winter, the leaves become covered with light brown spots and streaks. But if the plant gets too cold, its root system may rot. Then the violet can only be saved by complete re-rooting.
Watering violets and humidity.
Watering violets is one of the most important points in caring for violets. For irrigation, you can use tap water, letting it sit in an open container for 1-2 days. It is even better to soften tap water (Water for watering violets). The temperature of the water for irrigation should be higher than the temperature of the air and soil in the pots. Experience shows that room temperature water is too cold for Saintpaulias; they need warmer water, especially in winter, several degrees higher than the air temperature in the room. Watering with cold water leads to rotting of the roots and plants die en masse in winter.
Violets tolerate some drying out of the soil more easily than waterlogging. Violets should be watered when the top layer of soil becomes slightly dry to the touch. You can water from above, avoiding water getting on the plant, and from below into the tray under the pot. Excess water should be removed from the pan 15-20 minutes after watering. Once every one and a half to two months, to remove dust, it is recommended to wash the plant leaves under the tap with lukewarm water, preventing it from getting into the pot.
The optimal air humidity for our plants is 50-60%, but adult specimens are often content with less (30-40%) humidity at the correct temperature and regular watering. Sprouted leaves, children, and transplanted plants especially need high humidity. They are covered with plastic bags or kept in special greenhouses.
Air humidity, of course, affects the decorativeness of Saintpaulia, but still is not a determining factor for it.
Soil for violets.
The soil for violets should be airy and retain moisture well. To make the soil moisture-absorbing and breathable, natural minerals – perlite and vermiculite – are added to it. It is useful to add a small amount of finely crushed charcoal. Violets need good drainage. You can use foam chips or expanded clay.
Also, when choosing land, the acidity of the soil is very important. For Saintpaulia, a slightly acidic, close to neutral, reaction is required - that is, a pH in the range of 5.5-6.5. Perfect for growing violets and rooting cuttings Peat substrate Klasmann (Klasman) TS1.
Violet pot size.
It is better to use plastic pots for violets. The diameter of the pot is gradually increased with each transplant as the plant grows. It is believed that the diameter of the plant should be three times the diameter of the pot. The plant should not be planted in pots that are too large, as the volume of soil mixture will not be absorbed by the roots, and this can lead to rotting of the root system.
For young plants separated from the mother liquor, pots with a diameter of no more than 5 cm (about 100 ml) are suitable. When the children grow up, you can use pots with a diameter of 7-8 cm for a long time. For adult specimens, pots with a diameter of 9-10 cm are suitable, this is the maximum size limit; the height of the pot should be approximately equal to its diameter. You should not use pots with a diameter of more than 10 cm, this will prevent the violet from blooming profusely.
When planting, under no circumstances should you compact the soil too much, since dense soil will not be well saturated with water, and once saturated, it will take a long time to dry, the roots will grow slowly and may rot. Just pour soil into the pot, place a rosette in the center, straighten the roots and fill it with soil on top. When pouring soil on top, lightly tap the pot on a flat, hard surface - this will slightly compact the soil.
Thus, good care for violets means sufficient lighting, optimal temperature, proper watering and humidity, high-quality soil and a small pot.
Violets can safely be called one of the most popular indoor plants. In many countries they symbolize the arrival of spring. Their small delicate inflorescences are full of grace and remind of unity with nature. These plants are unpretentious, do not take up much space on the windowsill, are not a source of allergies, are constantly in bloom, and therefore have a large army of fans.
Description of the flower
Violet (Usambara violet, Saintpaulia) is a compact perennial plant with a growing creeping rhizome. The leaves are dark green, pubescent, heart-shaped. The flower rosette almost completely hides the leaves during the flowering period. The flowers are simple and double, collected together in several pieces.
The color of the petals is very diverse, mostly pastel shades. The fruit is a capsule with many seeds. The root is thin and almost does not branch. Violets are divided into groups that differ in shape, color and type of flowers.
Types and popular varieties of violets with photos
There is no scientific classification of violets yet, so the division into species is conditional. The developed hybrids now number more than 32,000 varieties.
The following types of violets are more popular than others:
Violet-flowered Saintpaulia 
Violet-flowered Saintpaulia
It has dark green leaves with a jagged wavy edge, the stem length reaches no more than 8 cm, and the diameter of the rosette can reach up to 60 cm. The flowers are violet-blue in color, located on short, fleshy stems.
Velvet Saintpaulia 
Velvet Saintpaulia
Its dark green leaves are round in shape with a serrated edge. The leaf size is 4-5 cm. The underside of the leaf blade is reddish in color. It blooms magnificently, with small blue-violet flowers with a dark center.
Saintpaulia Grote 
Saintpaulia Grote
The plant has ampelous shoots with bright green, pubescent leaves. There are varieties with purple foliage. The leaves reach 5 cm in width, grow up to 6 cm in length, the flowers are small, blue with a purple tint and a dark middle. Their size does not exceed 2.5 cm.
Violet variety "LE Rosemary" 
Variety "LE Rosemary"
A popular variety with star-shaped double flowers. Has a standard serrated leaf rosette. It stands out very much for its decorative inflorescences. There are three colors on the petals at once: scattered pink strokes and blue specks on a white background. Rosemary violet looks luxurious and delicate at the same time.
Violet variety "Liens Pirates Treasure" 
Variety "Lians Pirates Treasure"
The variety is characterized by bright pink flowers with a crimson edging along the edge of the petals. There are crimson specks at the border of the main color and the border. The leaves collected in a rosette have a bubbly surface texture.
Violet variety "Fire moths" 
Variety "Fire moths"
The upper surface of the leaves is dark green, the lower surface is light green. The flowers are simple or semi-double with petals of a rich burgundy shade. A white or pink border runs along the edge of the petals. The color of the inflorescences changes over time. The socket dimensions are standard.
Violet variety "YAN Caprice" 
Variety "YAN Caprice"
The plant has variegated wavy leaves that combine green and white. Above the leaf rosette rises a snow-white foam of double flowers with green corollas. A very elegant Saintpaulia. Requires more light due to variegated leaves.
Planting and care at home
Despite the fact that the violet is considered an unpretentious plant, like any flower it has its own requirements for watering and lighting, the composition of the soil and fertilizers, and the size of the pot. Like other flowers, the violet needs your care.
Air humidity and temperature
In nature, Saintpaulias grow in places with high air humidity. But the usual method of increasing this indicator - spraying the leaves of the plant - is not applicable for violets. Their leaves are pubescent, which helps retain water droplets on the leaf plate. As a result, a fungal disease may develop, especially if the room is cool.
It is best to place containers of water on the windowsill or place pots of violets on a tray with wet expanded clay. You just need to make sure that the water does not reach the bottom of the pot. You can use a household humidifier by placing it near a window. The humidity in the apartment decreases especially in winter, when the central heating is on.
The temperature in the room is important for violets because they are heat-loving. In winter, the thermometer readings should not fall below 16 degrees. The optimal growing temperature will be 20-24 degrees. With these parameters, the violet blooms willingly, and flowering continues for a long time. Young plants need a temperature of 23-24 degrees for this. If the temperature is too high or too low, flowering stops.
In winter, it is better to remove the violet from the cold windowsill and place it on a shelf or rack next to the window. Or the pots are placed on wooden or foam stands so that the root system does not overcool. Saintpaulia will need lighting away from the window for flowering.
Lighting
Violets should receive 10 to 12 hours of light, but should avoid direct sunlight. At the same time, the night period of being in the dark is also important for them. Some varieties have a higher lighting requirement than others. If Saintpaulia has faded leaves, it refuses to bloom, which means there is a lack of light or it remains in the dark for less than 8 hours a day.
In the summer months, violets are suitable for lighting on northern and eastern window sills. In winter, it is better to place them on southern and western windows.
The rosette may become bent during growth as the leaves are drawn towards the light. To avoid this, periodically rotate the pot around its axis. Violets grow well under artificial light. Fluorescent lamps are best suited for this. The bushes grow compact in size and bloom well.
The main rule when watering violets is that water should not get on the leaves of the plant. Saintpaulias often die for this very reason. It is better to use settled water at room temperature for irrigation. Water that is too cold or too hot can damage the roots.
Experienced gardeners do not water violets from above, but use other watering methods:
Through the pallet
You can take a large bowl of water, place several pots of violets there at once and leave for a while until the soil is saturated with moisture. The pots can be taken out when the ground becomes dark from water. After that they are put in their place.
Please note that all plants must be healthy, otherwise it is easy to infect them from one another. With this irrigation method, the water quality must be ideal, since harmful salts are not washed out, but rise to the top and settle in the soil.
Drip
For this method, use a watering can with a narrow spout or a syringe to make it easy to get to the ground, bypassing the leaf rosette. With this option, it is important not to overdo it with the amount of water. If you water the violet excessively, immediately drain the excess water from the tray under the pot.
Wick
To do this, most often they use a piece of fabric or cord, passed through the drainage hole at one end, and the other end is lowered into a container with water for irrigation.
The advantage of this method is that the plant itself takes as much moisture as it needs - the capillary effect works. The level of moisture in the pot remains stable and is regulated by the flower itself depending on the air temperature. This method can only be used with a small pot volume and in the warm season. In winter, the water may become too cold on the windowsill. In addition, not all varieties of violets are suitable for such watering.
Choosing a pot and soil
The choice of pot directly depends on the size of the plant. Conventionally, Saintpaulias can be divided into large, medium and miniature specimens. The root system of violets is superficial; it does not require a large volume of soil, because in nature they grow on rocky soils. You don’t even have to increase the volume of the pot during the next transplant. If the violet becomes crowded in the pot, you need to remove it, remove old dead roots and excess soil and plant it back in the same container.
- The plant will build up excess green mass to the detriment of flowering. Sometimes the violet may not bloom at all.
- The risk of fungal diseases and pests will increase, since such a violet is difficult to carefully inspect.
- The soil in the pot will turn sour due to the fact that the roots are not able to entwine the entire earthen ball.
Typically, the maximum size of a violet pot is no more than 9 cm in diameter. Plastic containers are best suited.
You can use ready-made soil for Saintpaulia as a substrate, but it is not always of the required quality. Some bring it to the required state by adding baking powder. Most often, perlite, vermiculite, and coconut fiber are used for this purpose. Additionally, these components retain moisture, so you don’t need to put a lot of them in order not to cause rotting of the roots.
When preparing the substrate, you can take up to 40% vermicompost; it has proven itself well when growing violets. The rest of the soil in this case should consist of loosening agents to prevent it from hardening over time.
Fertilizers, fertilizing
It is better to feed young violets with nitrogen-dominated fertilizer to develop a good leaf rosette. Plants that are preparing to flower must be fed with phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizer is added to the water for irrigation in the pan, or the violets are fertilized from above. You should be careful with nitrogen fertilizer; if it is overdosed, the plant will not bloom.
On a note! A lack of nutrients can be easily determined by the appearance of the violet. It will have weak stems and leaves, slow growth, and poor quality flowering.
Usually, nutrients disappear from fresh soil within 2 months, then artificial fertilizing will have to be applied. Violets are unpretentious regarding fertilizers. They can be fed not only with complexes for flowering plants, but also for vegetables. The composition should include not only nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, but also iron, calcium, magnesium, boron, molybdenum. When purchasing fertilizer, be sure to read the packaging about its components and choose a complex with the widest range of components.
Rules for growing and caring for violets: video
How to replant a violet
Since violets are grown in small pots and there is little soil available, they should be replanted annually. The need for replanting is indicated by a white salt coating on the surface of the soil and the complete filling of the pot with roots. Transplantation can be done at any time of the year, except for the winter months. If your Saintpaulia is blooming, you should not disturb it, because flowering indicates that the plant is doing well in this pot. Replanting should begin after flowering.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Moisten the soil in the pot to make it easier for the plants to remove it.
- Prepare a washed, well-cleaned pot.
- Fill the bottom of the container with expanded clay.
- A plant is placed vertically on a mound of earth.
- Cover the violet with soil up to the lower leaves and lightly compact the soil with your hands.
- You can water the transplanted plant every other day. If after watering the stem is bare, add more soil.
You can replant the plant using the transshipment method. In this case, the soil is carefully poured along the edge of the pot, which should be slightly larger than the previous one.
Transplanting violets: video
Reproduction
At home, gardeners propagate violets using leaves. Rooting can be done both in water and in soil. The leaf must be cut from the second or third row of the leaf rosette. Too young and old leaves are not suitable for propagation. The stem of the leaf should be 3-5 cm long. The freshly cut leaf should be dried a little in the air.
If you ordered planting material online and it arrived slightly wilted, soak it for several hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Then the sheet must be completely dried. Rooting in water is carried out using a dark glass cup. Boiled water is poured there and an activated carbon tablet is placed. The leaf petiole should be immersed in water no more than 1 cm. As it evaporates, water is added. The speed of rooting depends on the variety of violet and the air temperature in the room. If the petiole begins to rot, the damage can be cut off and the leaf placed in fresh water.
Rooting in the ground is carried out by placing the leaf at an angle of 45 degrees and supporting it with a toothpick. After this, the seedling is covered with film or a glass jar, creating a greenhouse effect. Place it in a warm, bright place, and periodically moisten the soil. A young violet is planted in a permanent place when its leaves reach 3 cm in size.
How to grow a violet from a leaf. Rooting and propagation of Saintpaulia: video
Bloom
Anyone who has seen the lush bloom of a violet will be forever captured by its beauty. But for this you will have to give the flower at least a minimum of care.
A prerequisite for violet flowering is sufficient lighting. This can be either bright diffused light or radiation from fluorescent lamps. Daylight hours should last 12 hours. Keep them in a warm place at a temperature of 20-24 degrees. Water and fertilize in a timely manner. In winter, be sure to increase the humidity.
The violet has faded, what to do?
During flowering, it is necessary to regularly remove faded flower stalks. After flowering, you can take advantage of the pause and replant the plant. If you don't plan to, start using a nitrogen-dominant fertilizer to encourage new leaf growth.
Why doesn't it bloom
There may be several reasons for the lack of flowering: lack of lighting, cold conditions, depleted soil, overfeeding with nitrogen fertilizers. Move the pot with the plant to a warm, bright place, water it promptly, and use fertilizers with a high content of potassium and phosphorus. It is also possible that the violet is planted in a pot that is too large.
Diseases and their treatment
Diseases in plants most often occur due to improper maintenance. A weakened violet cannot resist pests and pathogens of various diseases. Any disease is easier to prevent than to cure, so it is important to maintain the plant’s immunity and take preventive measures.
Saintpaulias are prone to fungal diseases. They are often affected by powdery mildew, fusarium, gray rot, late blight, and rust. The reason for the accelerated development of fungal spores can be drops of moisture on the leaves and low air temperature in the room. All these diseases are manifested by the appearance of dark and brown spots on the leaves, spores or fluff. At the first signs of the disease, you need to treat the plant with fungicides, acting according to the instructions.
Why do the leaves turn yellow and dry?
A similar phenomenon can occur during overheating if the air temperature is above 25 degrees. Yellow spots appear on the leaves, then they begin to dry and wither. Direct sunlight has the same effect. If you do not want the violet to lose all its leaves, move it to a cooler room with diffused lighting.
Yellowing of the leaves can also be observed due to rotting of the roots. If root rot is suspected, the plant should be removed and the roots examined. The affected areas are removed, the wounds are powdered with coal, after which the plant is planted in fresh soil. If you water excessively, the surface of the soil in the pot may become moldy - this is another factor in the yellowing of the leaves. A lack of nitrogen can also affect the color of leaves.
Pests
Violet can be attacked by mites, thrips, aphids, nematodes, scale insects and false scale insects, whiteflies and some other insects. You will see their presence by the appearance of spots and dots on the leaves; you can notice them near flying insects; cobwebs may appear on the leaves. To avoid this, maintain the correct microclimate in the room, reduce watering when the temperature drops, and regularly ventilate the room.
If harmful insects have already appeared, use an insecticide. Actellik, Intavir, Fitoverm and other drugs are suitable for treatment. They are diluted in water and the violet is processed following the instructions.
Signs and superstitions
It is believed that violets charge rooms with positive energy. This flower is a symbol of comfort and a prosperous life; it brings joy and harmony to the inhabitants of the house, and awakens activity and love of life in pessimists. The beneficial effect also depends on the color of the plant.
White Saintpaulias muffle bright emotions and clear space of the negative influence of bad thoughts and quarrels. They are ideal for children's rooms, helping relieve fatigue and emotional stress.
Varieties with purple inflorescences promote spiritual growth and development. They strengthen character and take away everything that is unchangeable from your mind. It becomes easier for people living in the house to find mutual understanding. Purple flowers help develop intuition and foresight. It is better not to place them in the room where children sleep or near work places.
Blue violets will quickly help you forget about boredom and despondency. They are great for children's groups: various studios, school classes. These flowers make a person more harmonious and develop his creative abilities.
Pink and red violets protect health, prevent diseases of the throat and thyroid gland, and reduce excess appetite. Emotionally, these flowers help to cope with a bad mood and feel joy. They are suitable for those people who have many problems in life.
If you manage to “make friends” with violets, they will not disappoint you and, most likely, will remain in your home for many years. Among the large variety of varieties, you can always find a plant to your liking. Later, you will probably want to expand your collection.
The issue of air humidification arose before me almost immediately as soon as I began to become more or less seriously interested in violets. Although the shelving is located in the kitchen, the air is very dry. I had to water every other day, or even every day, because the soil dried out instantly. To moisten, I used both plain water next to the pots and moistened expanded clay, but for one reason or another, all this seemed inconvenient to me. Until one day I looked at the usual super-absorbent napkin with which I wipe the kitchen table, from the other side: it perfectly absorbs moisture, and in colossally larger volumes than its own, and washes perfectly without any additional means.
In one of the local supermarkets I bought three packages of such napkins (luckily there was a promotion on them) and a beautiful plastic tray. The photo below shows a tray, a package of napkins, and a similar napkin, battered by life and already in active use:
Well, the best part is that I arranged my kids, of which, due to the fact that I am a beginner, I have a lot:
The same method works for me in greenhouses with newly transplanted children:
In greenhouses, thanks to napkins, I almost forgot about watering; I moisten the napkins by watering them from above between the plants. For flowers outside greenhouses, the frequency of watering has also decreased significantly. The convenience of this method is that in case of contamination, it is not necessary to remove all the pots from the tray; it is enough to remove them from the contaminated area.
Among the shortcomings, I noticed one - when drying, the napkins curl, becoming rigid, which can cause light pots to fall:
I hope this method will be useful and interesting for someone.
Temperature
Uzambara violets are staunch supporters of the golden mean. They love warmth, but not heat, prefer air humidity of about 50%, grow well in bright, diffused light, but do not tolerate direct sunlight. The optimal temperature for keeping adult specimens is considered to be 20-24°C, decreasing at night to 18-20°. For children and actively growing young plants, a slightly higher temperature is preferable. When the room temperature is below 18C°, the rate of growth and development of violets slows down, and too high a temperature (from 25C°) has a detrimental effect on flowering. Temperatures above 30C° and below 13C° are considered critical.
For children, young or weakened plants, as well as for rooted cuttings, the most comfortable temperature range is from 24 to 26C°, but it is highly advisable to keep such plants in conditions of high humidity (in a greenhouse or under film).
Too high a temperature almost always goes hand in hand with excessive dry air. In such conditions, violets almost do not set buds, and the flowers turn out to be ugly, small, may be underdeveloped and will quickly fade. You can help violets suffering from the heat by increasing the air humidity around the plants and reducing the light intensity, for example, by reducing the length of daylight hours. At the height of the summer heat, it is advisable to remove flowers and buds - this way you will help the plant survive the unfavorable period. Too warm keeping conditions lead to the loss of the crown type of variegation in some varieties: variegated rosettes first seem to “burn out”, then turn green. After the temperature normalizes, the varietal color will appear only on newly growing foliage. Also, in the heat, the border on the flowers may disappear, the fancy and finger color may disappear or appear weakly - usually such phenomena are also temporary.
If the temperature is too low, violets are often affected by bacterial infections - rot. A similar nuisance usually occurs in winter, when keeping plants on the windowsill. It is necessary to insulate the frames well, making sure that there are no drafts along the windowsill. When ventilating the room, you need to make sure that the flow of cold air does not hit the plants. Also, violets should not be placed close to the glass, and it is better to keep the pots on some kind of thermally insulating stand - wooden or polypropylene. The soil in pots standing on a cold windowsill (and on frosty winter nights, almost everyone’s window sills are cold) should under no circumstances be wet: this can lead to hypothermia of the root system and its subsequent rotting. Water such plants moderately and occasionally, first waiting until the lump has completely dried out. It is better to water in the morning so that the soil in the pot has time to dry out a little before the evening.
Remember, for violets there is nothing more dangerous than sudden changes in living conditions, and especially temperature jumps! Although this applies not only to violets, but to any living organisms. Remember how we, their owners, usually get colds. Remember: the worst thing you can do for your Saintpaulia is to move it from the warm shelf of the rack straight to a window sill blown by winter drafts. Yes, violets can and even need to be hardened. But as with any hardening, this should be done purposefully, methodically and patiently.
Speaking of temperature, it should also be noted that even temperatures throughout the year are very desirable if you are growing violets for exhibitions. Only if this condition is met will Saintpaulia grow even rows of equally sized foliage, forming a perfectly symmetrical rosette of exhibition quality.
Air humidity
For many collectible indoor plants (such as orchids and ferns), high air humidity is a vital condition. Saintpaulias are not so capricious, their ideal is not very different from ours, but still the air in our apartments is dry for both us and for them - especially in winter, when the radiators are working. How to increase air humidity to a level comfortable for plants?
Idea number one and the most common advice found in the literature is to place trays of water between the pots. Well, how much area will go under the bowls of water, and how much will remain at the undivided disposal of the violets? However, if there are only a few violets, perhaps this is really the way out.
The next piece of advice is much more practical: place the plants in a common tray filled with moistened sphagnum moss. Unfortunately, it often happens that in the heat the moss dries out completely within just a day - and you don’t get around to moisturizing it with such frequency.
In my opinion, air humidification measures can only be quite effective when taken together. Plants standing together and closely on a rack suffer from heat and dryness much less than plants freely spaced at a considerable distance from each other. A dense carpet of foliage slows down evaporation, and the time between waterings increases accordingly. Use moistened sphagnum moss and group violets, but just remember to ensure that such collective coexistence does not turn into a desperate struggle for a place in the sun! Violets should not interfere with each other's growth. Ideally, they should not touch the foliage at all, although it is clear that in practice few people comply with this condition - we all want more violets :)
A good method of combating dry air may be to mulch the surface of the soil in pots with a layer of sphagnum. This also prevents active evaporation of moisture and allows for less frequent watering. But as soon as the heat subsides, it is advisable to remove the moss, otherwise the risk of waterlogging is quite high, so be careful with watering such specimens. If you do not have the necessary experience, always check the moisture content of the plant with your finger before watering.
And don’t forget about greenhouses for children and weakened plants. The humid atmosphere of a greenhouse can work wonders! But also remember the need for regular ventilation.
Lighting
Well, we’ve come to the most interesting part! “A rack, a rack...” - the owner of several violets mutters gloomily, reading specialized literature, - “How much can you talk about this rack?.. Are they kidding me, or something. These collectors only think about themselves. Hundreds of violets are one thing , but what kind of rack can we talk about if I only have three and a half plants?..”
...Well, what can I say to this?.. You are partly right. It would be unwise to organize an entire home greenhouse just for the sake of a few plants that you may very well be barely familiar with. Nevertheless, you are still reading this article, and this proves that you are a person accustomed to a thoughtful approach, not to “grandmother’s” advice. And you take your Saintpaulias, even three and a half, very seriously. Therefore, I will offer a compromise: buy one lamp. My first violets were placed on a bookshelf right up to the ceiling. An ordinary fluorescent lamp was attached to the ceiling (length - 120 cm, two lighting tubes of 40 W each, a translucent shade, as they used to hang in institutions - remember?). The distance from the surface of the shelf to the lampshade was 32 centimeters. Literally after a few days spent at this resort, the pets exploded in growth at a truly dizzying speed! And today this very first shelf still remains the best, most successful place for my miniatures. Perhaps the secret of such success lies in the northern orientation of the room, so that the violets under the ceiling are neither hot nor cold, but just right. In addition, the shelf does not heat up from below, as happens on a multi-tier rack.
If violets are kept under artificial lighting, the lamps are turned on daily for 10-14 hours. But not more! It is believed that turning off the lights for 10 minutes every hour is beneficial for Saintpaulias. For me, this is a clear excess. Actually, this procedure is designed to prevent the shelves from overheating, but in my opinion, it is much more rational to turn off the lights for an hour or two during lunch.
Having become comfortable with the lamp and violets, and, as they say, “feeling the difference,” over time, you can think about the rack. After all, collecting violets is a hobby that is difficult to control, and the number of plants in our apartments tends to increase. Sometimes very quickly...
But let’s say the option with artificial lighting is unacceptable for you, and your violets still only have the window sill at their disposal. Well, in this case, warm yourself well and wait for spring to admire the flowering and enjoy active growth. If you are new to violet growing, postpone the purchase of leaf cuttings at least until February (in the conditions of central Russia). From November to February, cuttings located on the windowsill will still not germinate and develop, but most likely they will rot and die. When propagating violets in February-March, place cuttings and young plants in close proximity to the window, but not on the windowsill itself. On bright windows with a southern orientation, violets sometimes bloom in winter, but this flowering can hardly be called full-fledged. Do not feed plants overwintering on windows from November to February and water them very sparingly. Do not expect that, being in such conditions, violets will grow exactly the same as in photographs in magazines: without receiving enough light, the petioles of the leaves become elongated, and the leaf blades themselves become smaller. The rosette of such a violet will not follow the shape of a regular circle (as is the case with specimens grown on a shelf), the stem will somehow stretch out, and the growing point will fall to the side. To put it simply, Saintpaulias overwintering on a windowsill are absolutely not suitable for exhibitions.
The Uzambara violet is capable of being content with little, but in this case it will give us significantly less than it could. But beautiful, lush foliage and lush flowering even in the cold season - all this is easily achievable, you just need to provide the plants with the necessary additional lighting and not neglect simple care requirements.
