Barely 8 to 12 inches tall, evergreen and forever in bud, saintpaulia (Saintpaulia ionantha) is the plant most of us know as the African violet or Cape violet, and its blooming can run through most of the year. Give it light without a single direct sunbeam, and leaves that are never wetted, and the flowers keep coming.
Saintpaulia at a glance
Name
Saintpaulia ionantha
Family
Gesneriaceae
Type
indoor plant
Height
8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) indoors
Exposure
veiled
Foliage
evergreen
Flowering
all year round
Sometimes called Cape violet or African violet, its blooming can sometimes last for most of the year!
Planting and re-potting saintpaulia
Saintpaulia likes a tight fit in its pot and thus doesn’t need to be repotted immediately.
After that, every 2 or 3 years and preferably in spring, repot your saintpaulia in a pot of a very slightly larger size.
During the re-potting
Repotting is needed only every two or three years
Surrounding temperatures must be lower than 60°F (16°C) to ensure proper settling in.
Saintpaulia roots hate having too much water.
Double-check that the new pot has a hole in the bottom. Increase drainage with a layer of gravel or clay pebbles along the bottom of the pot, to make water flow through more easily.
Good soil mix is needed.
The plant, when it lives indoors, needs soil mix because that is the only source for the nutrients it needs.
Low but constant moisture levels must be maintained, without wetting the leaves.
You must rest the pot on a bed of gravel, rocks or clay marbles doused in water.
If the color of the leaves turns pale, it is probably due to a lack of fertilizer.
Leaves that grow smaller and smaller in size show that you need to consider repotting your saintpaulia.
Pale rings or blotches on African violet leaves are commonly attributed to water droplets sitting on the foliage, especially with cold water or direct sun, so water the soil with room-temperature water and keep leaves dry.
African violet leaves that wilt while the soil is still damp often signal crown or root rot, caused by soil-borne fungi and bacteria that thrive when overwatering, poor drainage, or compacted potting mix keeps roots waterlogged.
Remove faded flowers and any yellowing or damaged leaves promptly, because grey mould (Botrytis) readily colonises dead and decaying tissue resting on the hairy foliage and can then spread to healthy growth.
Mealybugs hide in the leaf axils and on the undersides of African violet leaves, so inspect these spots regularly and dab each insect with a cotton bud soaked in rubbing alcohol.
Saintpaulia troubleshooting at a glance
Most setbacks on an African violet show first in the leaves. Read the symptom, and the cause is usually easy to name.
Saintpaulia troubleshooting at a glance
Symptom or pest
Likely cause
What to do
Leaves turning pale
Not enough feeding
Give liquid flower plant fertiliser about once a month
Leaves growing smaller and smaller
The plant has outgrown its pot
Repot in spring into a very slightly larger pot
Aphids
The pest this plant is most prone to
Spray a pyrethrum-based insect killer, often
Red spider mite, scale insects, powdery mildew
The usual indoor plant ailments
Treat as for any other houseplant
Catch any of these early and the flowering carries on undisturbed.
Learn more about saintpaulia
A fabulous indoor plant, saintpaulia is vulnerable to aphids. To avoid this, often spray a pyrethrum-based insect killer.
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
