African Violets – One of the Most Popular Indoor Flowering Plants in the World

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Gesneriaceae
Genus:	Saintpaulia, H.Wendl
Species:	Saintpaulia goetzeana Saintpaulia inconspicua Saintpaulia ionantha Saintpaulia pusilla Saintpaulia shumensis Saintpaulia teitensis

African Violets is the common name for Saintpaulias that belong to the family Gesneriaceae.  Six to twenty species of the genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants belong to this family and you find them in the east African regions, like Tanzania, and Kenya. The African violet is typically an indoor plant but flourishes well as an outdoor plant as well. With its botanical origins going back to 19th century Africa, Some consider African Violets as one of the most popular indoor flowering plants in the world.
Anatomy

African Violets (Saintpaulias) can be six to thirty cm wide and grow up to a height of 6-15 cm. They have oval to rounded fleshy leaves, 2.5 to 8.5 centimeters long with a finely hairy petiole of 2 to 10 cm. The flowers grow to a diameter of about 3 cm with a velvety corolla with five lobes (petals).They grow in clusters of 3 to 10 + on “penduncles” or tender stalks. In the wild, these flower species manifest in white, violet, purple, or pale blue colors.

Domestic Cultivation

People cultivate African violets indoors in the garden at home, and among them, the white, violet and pink flowers are great when they blossom. We often find them in houses of plant lovers. Cultivating them is cumbersome; however, adopting certain guidelines, makes them easy to cultivate.

Preparation of Watering

The African violet needs an excellent site for growing and requires good sunlight. Place the pots where you have sunlight; allow the plants to absorb maximum sunlight daily. This is possible by placing the pots near the windows facing west or east.  When you plant African violets in the garden, make sure, that direct sunlight reaches them and that you water them often. These plants require pure water, very often; therefore place water in an open vessel for minimum 8 hours for the impurities to evaporate before using it.

Preparation of Planting

Take care while potting African violets, since their roots and stem are very delicate and liable to break away. Grown-up plants normally possess more than one crown. After gently uprooting the plant from the pot, cut the root ball with a sharp knife and split the crown. Take care not to tamper with the roots and retain some soil on them.

Planting

Bear in mind that plants grow when potted in pots with holes for drainage. In order to avert soil from seeping through the holes, place pieces of stockings, broken pot pieces and a thin layer of gravel in the pots.

After Bloom Care

At Home

African violets bloom round the year, but if you do not meet some basic requirements, they fail to bloom. Inadequacy of light is one of the main reasons for them not to bloom.