How to Grow Africian Violets Indoors with Grow Lights

Setting Up the Lighting

• 1

  Purchase shelving with easily adjustable shelves that can be placed at least 24 inches apart. Industrial wire shelving is inexpensive, and some styles come with wheels for easy moving.

• 2

  Purchase a two-bulb tubular fluorescent fixture with reflective inner surfaces that fits the width of your shelf. Purchase two 40-watt fluorescent tube bulbs and place them into the fixture.

• 3

  Set the top and bottom shelves in place. Measure 24 inches from the bottom of the top shelf and attach the second shelf at that point. Continue in this manner until the entire shelving unit is set.

• 4

  Attach a fluorescent fixture to the bottom of as many shelves as you will be using for plants. Attach the fixtures with hooks or chains for adjustment purposes.

• 5

  Put plant trays on the shelves and place the African violet plants in them. To ensure proper air circulation, space the plants with the leaf tips at least 2 inches apart for standard varieties and 1 inch apart for miniature varieties.

• 6

  Adjust the light fixtures to hang 12 to 15 inches above the African violets. Light the plants for 12 to 16 hours and provide at least eight hours of darkness each day for best results.

African Violet Care

• 7

  Provide temperatures ideally between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and between 60 and 75 F at night. Place plants in the coolest part of the house during prolonged heat spells.

• 8

  Provide high humidity by running a humidifier or by setting pots on trays filled with moist pebbles.

• 9

  Water plants from the bottom or top, but do not get water on the leaves because this can cause leaf spotting and crown rot. Prevent root rot by never leaving plants sitting in standing water.

• 10

  Water when the top inch of the soil is dry with 1/4-strength African violet fertilizer. Switch to African violet bloom fertilizer at full strength weekly during early spring to encourage blooming. Discontinue fertilization if salts begin to build up on the top of the soil or the rims of the pots, and flush several times with clear water to remove excess salts. Continue to water with clear water for one month to ensure all excess salts are leached from the soil.

• 11

  Do not let leaves touch the rim of the pot to avoid petiole rot setting in where contact occurs. Use special African violet collars, wax the rim of the pot or cover the rim with aluminum foil.

• 12

  Check plants frequently for mites and mealybugs. Treat mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. Treat mites with insecticidal soap. Check for the distorted new growth caused by cyclamen mites, and discard infected plants.