For years I had one pink African Violet plant, which I kept in the same little basket it arrived in - at my hospital bed when first child was born. I added fertilizer from time to time, and it would reward me by blooming. Most of the time I just ignored it. I never thought of putting it into a large pot... (After all, it's not a large plant!)
Then last year, I re-potted my original (30-year-old) flower into a much larger pot ... and was rewarded with this! Leaves flinging out, it now has an abundance of flowers...
Why did I wait so long?! Perhaps it's time to rejuvenate some of the ones my neighbor gave me a few summers ago. They came in a variety of colors..
Also this new sprouting leaf I managed to grow.
From time to time I try to propagate new plants by sticking a leave into the soil around this speckled plant that droops whenever the soil gets dry... reminding me to water it... (I have about a 50% success rate.)
They usually do well in my north-west facing sun-room...
I have to watch out not to over-water them. I've discovered that they do best if the soil gets dry from time to time. I try to keep them slightly moist, but if water gathers at the bottom of the pot, they start to rot and die (like the one in the purple pot in the middle of the picture... I'm hoping it will recover in the new, larger pot.)
Killed with kindness...
I love African violets. I used to think of them as winter flowers!
But these have surprised me with summer blooms as well.
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