Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Purple power

By KATHY VAN MULLEKOM
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)

Growing African violets is as much fun as having a lot of shoes, Carol Van said. “But we keep them out where friends and family can enjoy them instead of in the closet,” she said.

“Working with plants is a real joy,” said Van, who has 500 African violets at her home in Hampton, Va. “It gives you a lift, and life’s other problems fade away.”

African violets are sought-after houseplants because they are compact and bloom most of the year, with just a few short rest periods between flowering, said Steve Urick at McDonald Garden Center in Hampton.

The flower color ranges from the blue color of the original species — native to the mountains of East Africa — to purple, lavender, violet, red, pink, white and yellow. Bi-colors, as well as picotee and double-flowered forms are commonly available, all in standard, miniature and trailing plant types, he said. There are even variegated varieties and chimeras, which are flowers that have spots or stripes.

The plants are easy to grow and take up very little space. In fact, they are perfect plants to perch on a home or office windowsill filled with bright light.

“They almost thrive on neglect,” said Lynda Fairchild of Newport News, Va. She and Van are members of the Tidewater African Violet Society, an affiliate of the African Violet Society of America.

Here’s what African violets need to thrive, courtesy of Steve Urick of McDonald Garden Center, the African Violet Society of America and members of the Tidewater, Va., African Violet Society:

Potting: Young plants and small growing plants prefer small pots.

“One mistake that nearly all people do when they first start growing violets is to repot them in a pot too large,” said Adrienne Topping, a member of the Tidewater society. Let a plant get root bound before moving it to a large pot.

Potting soil should be porous, so it drains well and allows oxygen to reach the roots. Use sterile potting soil to avoid plant problems; ordinary garden soil will not work. Look for special African violet soil mixes — with the label marked “sterilized” — at garden centers.

Light: Strong light, but not strong sunlight, is needed. An eastern or northern exposure year-round is good. Other exposures need a thin curtain, or the blinds tilted up, at the window. When temperatures drop in the winter, draw the shade or close the blind at night to protect the plants from the cold.

Bloom: It takes good light, proper humidity and a regular feeding schedule to make your plants bloom.

Feeding: Never fertilize a plant that is too dry. Use a good fertilizer that can be put into water and applied when watering. Many experienced growers reduce the amount of fertilizer, using one-fourth the manufacturer’s recommended amount and apply every watering, provided the plants are not permitted to dry out between watering.

Atmosphere: Keep the air moving around your plants, but no drafts, please. Temperatures ranging from 65 degrees at night to 75 degrees during the day are best, but the plants will accept temps of 60 and 80, respectively. For an ideal humidity level, place plants on trays filled with gravel or stones, then add water. The water should not touch the pots or your plants will stay too wet.

Propagation: Take a healthy leaf from the second row from the bottom; remove the entire petiole (the stalk of a leaf) from the plant, trim to about 1 inch with a sharp knife. Have a container ready with moistened sponge rock, vermiculite or a combination of both. Insert the petiole into the rooting media, cover with a plastic bag and in about six weeks start to look for plantlets to emerge. Keep the rooting media slightly damp, do not let it dry out. Keep the petiole out of strong light, especially sunlight.

When the plantlets start to grow, start a very dilute feeding program. When the plantlets are 2 inches high and have four to six leaves to each plant (there will be more than one), they are ready to be transplanted into small pots. Carefully remove each plantlet from the leaf, gently doing it so the fine roots are not broken. Do not cut the clump of plantlets apart; they will come away readily. Those with roots, plant in soil (half soil and half rooting media); those with little, or no roots, can be returned to the rooting media to develop roots. In a few weeks, those should be ready to transplant into soil.