I love the National Garden Bureau, it’s a cool place to pop in on no matter where you are in your gardening journey.
Each year NGB rolls out their Plants of the Year in several categories. What blew me away was their Houseplant of the Year for 2024… *drumroll*
The African Violet! It wasn’t just that they chose this plant that I’ve personally not had the best luck with but the part that really blew me away was that there are TEN varied foliage options; TEN color shades of said foliage; EIGHT flower types AND a bazillion color options. WHAT?!?
The African Violet was originally discovered in 1892 in the Usambara mountains near the border of Kenya and Tanzania in Africa. Baron Walter Von Saint Paul found them and said, “cool, these are different” … or some such thing. He knew right away they were unusual and sent a specimen to his botanist father in Germany who shared it with a friend at Royal Botanic Garden in Hanover, Germany. There is a lot more interesting information on African Violet history at this University of Arkansas Extension site.
The first commercial hybrids were introduced in 1927. African Violets are one of the most popular houseplants in the world, and it’s no wonder as these plants bloom for UP TO 10 MONTHS a year! Talk about taking the gloom out of our Minnesota winters.
I found this little tidbit fascinating: Woolworth & Co. were the first chain-store to sell the first hybrids (“Blue Boy” and “Sailor Boy”) in 1927!
The former Woolworth’s store in St. Paul was abandoned in 1993
Some winter care tips offered by the National Garden Bureau include:
- Keep these plants out of cold drafts and don’t let the leaves touch cold windows.
- Use a humidifier as indoor air dries out with our furnace air.
- Check the soil moisture more frequently during winter.
- If your violet stretches out or stops blooming, move it to a brighter spot or use artificial lights.
- Water from the bottom.
- If a plant is super dry, give it enough water to moisten the soil, skip a couple of days, water a little, skip 2 more days then resume weekly watering.
Check out the NGB site HERE (scroll down the 1st page) for complete information on care of your African Violets throughout the year. Couple of care nuggets: keep them rootbound and bottom water.
You can learn even more on African Violets from the African Violet Society of America. And check out what Gertens is carrying in store!
BTW, African Violets are Pet Friendly!!
Getting my bloom on,
