For most of us, if we are comfortable in our home environment, our African violets will be quite happy there as well. However, if you are one of those folks who thrive in cooler or warmer than normal temperatures, or like abnormal amounts of humidity, you might need to make some adjustments to keep your African violets thriving.
African violets are happiest when their air temperature is kept at a fairly consistent 70 degrees. They tolerate some variation in that, but will suffer if their air temperature drops below 60 degrees or rises above 80 degrees, even for very short periods of time. They also don’t appreciate drafts of either hot or cold air. That is why my African violets never get the chance to enjoy the outdoors with the rest of their plant neighbors.
Most African violets, however, will tolerate a drop of up to 10 degrees from daytime to nighttime temperatures. In fact, some of the newer hybrids require that change in temperature from day to night to produce flowers.
If the temperature is consistently too warm, the violets will stop flowering and become rangy; leaves will shrivel and turn yellow; and flowers and buds will drop off. African violets kept in too warm an environment will also require more watering to maintain adequate moisture levels. If your African violet is showing signs of heat stress, gradually reduce its surrounding temperature, either by turning down heat sources in winter, increasing air conditioning in summer, or moving your plant to a location further from heat sources. It is important to do this gradually rather than all at once to avoid pushing your violet into a state of shock.
African violets will complain about conditions that are too warm, but they are not as likely to die from warmth as they are from conditions that are too cold. The least effect of temperatures below 60 degrees will be cessation of flowering and slowing of foliar growth. In more extreme cases, the leaves and flowers wilt and drop; the plant goes into shock, and dies. In less extreme cold temperatures, e.g. consistent temps just below 60 degrees, the violet may not die, but it will be much more susceptible to deadly diseases, such as Crown Rot, especially if the soil stays on the moist side.
The bad news about African violets is that once they are showing signs of cold stress, it is often too late because it takes up to 36 hours for any symptoms to appear. There has already been a lot of tissue damage by that time. It doesn’t hurt to try to salvage your plant, though, especially if it is one of those prized heirlooms from your grandmother. The first step is to move it immediately to a location with the appropriate temperature. You don’t need to introduce it to its new environment slowly like you do with heat stress. With cold, the shock of the move will do much less harm than the cold temperatures themselves. If any tissue is discolored, floppy, or mushy, trim that away. Stop all watering and fertilizing, but maintain humidity at approximately 70 to 80%. In most homes, you’ll need a humidity cocoon to accomplish that level of humidity consistently. A cloche, tabletop greenhouse, or a plastic bag large enough to hold the entire plant without the leaves touching the plastic that can be sealed closed are all good methods to use. If your violet is going to survive its chill, you should see signs of recovery in three to four days. Even after recovery is apparent, keep your violet in its humidity cocoon for at least a week. After that, move your violet to an appropriate location and begin watering and fertilizing as usual.
In their native environment, African violets enjoy 70 to 80% humidity all the time. Most of us are not able to keep that high humidity level in our homes, but it is important to not allow humidity around the African violets to drop below 50%. Below that level, the violet will stop growing, buds will not form or will not open after forming, and leaves will begin to shrivel and dry.
African violets are communal plants – they like to be grouped together. This will help create a microclimate around them and may increase their surrounding humidity by as much as 15%. That in itself may be enough to keep your violets happy. If you need to add more humidity, though, you can provide it by placing containers of water around the plants where its evaporation will increase the air moisture.
You can also use a small humidifier in the area of your African violets. In the winter, warm mist humidifiers are best to avoid cooling the air around the plants too much and in the summer, a cool mist humidifier will keep the temperature from warming as much. Now, that seems like more rigamarole than I am willing to put forth, even for my treasured African violets. We keep the overall humidity level in our home at about 55%. I keep my African violets clustered together in a location in our dining room, which is open to the kitchen where the humidity tends to be slightly higher than the rest of the house. That keeps my violets perfectly happy without having to invest in two different types of humidifiers and then remember which to use when.
Clustering is good for your violets, but touching is not. It is essential to maintain good air circulation around your African violets to prevent diseases such as Botrytis or Powdery Mildew. They need sufficient room between them to assure that their leaves never touch, even with growth. Air must be able to circulate freely amongst them.
If you’ve done everything right with watering and temperature and your violet is still producing only small, pale leaves and flower buds either aren’t forming or are dropping before opening, and you have natural gas or propane-fired appliances of any kind, your violet might be trying to tell you that there are gas fumes escaping into the air. African violets are very sensitive to gas and chemical fumes and may show signs of stress long before a human can detect any of these odors. If you have a gas range in your kitchen, especially the older types that still have a pilot light, that might not be the ideal location for your African violet. And if your home has a gas leak, it might not be a good place for you either.
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