African violet light

African violet light

1. 01

   Best position and light

   Give African violet foliage bright, indirect or filtered light. Insufficient light can prevent flowers. Strong direct sun can cause brown or yellow blotches and scorching.

   Use a bright indoor position with filtered exposure rather than a hot unshaded pane. Add a suitable grow light when winter flowering is the goal, but lamp type, distance and schedule are not set for every home.

2. 02

   Seasonal light changes

   Winter’s shorter days can reduce flowering, so reassess the light then. For good flowering, give at least 12 hours of light a day. A plant kept only for its leaves does not need to meet that.

3. 03

   Signs the light may be wrong

   Few flowers, elongated leaf stalks, pale growth, or brown and yellow blotches are reasons to inspect light alongside water and temperature. Long stalks fit too little light. Blotches or scorching fit excessive light, but no single sign settles the cause.

4. 04

   Limits of this light guide

   Saintpaulia ionantha is now also named Streptocarpus ionanthus, and it belongs to the African violet group. This advice does not apply to other gesneriads.