# African-Violets



## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I have been using african violets in a couple of my tanks, and I love them! They give thumbnails tons of hiding spots, under the leaves, and between the stems. They grow quick and the flowers look nice in the tank. Here is one in my imitator tank, it has several flowers blooming now, and about 30 other buds which arent open yet.


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## TimsViv (Feb 16, 2004)

Do you have to adjust the photoperiod to get them to bloom or do they just bloom on occasion? I've had a couple of them in my tank for about 3 months and they haven't bloomed.

Tim


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## Guest (Nov 26, 2004)

U plant them terrestrially right? How wet is ure substrate, and how much light do they get?


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I have had them for about 2 months and they have been blooming almost the whole time. I dont reduce the photoperiod, my lights are on for about 14 hours a day. I have all of them under four foot shoplights. They are planted directly in gravel, there is a 1/2" of gravel, and the water comes up about 1/4", so it is kept pretty wet, and it has tripled in size since I got it. I am probably going to get some large african violets(not miniatures), and plant a tank with just them, as Scott said the large ones take over, and I think that will look pretty cool.


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

I have had a few flower in terrariums before and can add that you should have good ventilation for them. Also, do NOT water the leaves as they will rot quickly. They like to be watered from underneath the leaves- so if you have a misting system I wouldn't really consider them- they will not flower this way. 

Justin


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

Justin, this tank has a solid glass lid, and it is misted 2-3 times a day. I havent had problems with too much water on the leaves.


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Geckguy,

How long has your violet been in the terrarium for? 

Justin


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

Justin,

He said about two months.

These were some of the plants I was talking about trading *to* you when you said you had no more room for plants.

s


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

My misting system rains on them every day and they're growing (and blooming) just fine.

I would add that what we're using is NOT your typical African Violet that you see at Home Depot.

These are smaller, somewhat vining, violets. Much neater plants.

I'm planning on having a few for sale at IAD.

s


andersonii85 said:


> I have had a few flower in terrariums before and can add that you should have good ventilation for them. Also, do NOT water the leaves as they will rot quickly. They like to be watered from underneath the leaves- so if you have a misting system I wouldn't really consider them- they will not flower this way.
> 
> Justin


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Scott,

Thanks- I plead temporary insanity. I should have clarified what species/types of violets I was referring to- ionantha and confusa are two I have worked with. These are your "standard" types. I must say that I haven't tried too many hybrids with the exception of magungensis. 

Are you referring to the trailing hybrids like S. hybrida? Or do you guys use miniatures? I really am not attracted to the trailing types; although, some of the hybrids with mutlicolored flowers are kind of nice. 

BTW: Hey man- I had no room and that's why I couldn't trade. I was only selling plants to make room for furniture, but I appreciated the offer.

Justin


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

These are just miniature trailing african violets.

This one now looks like this. Looks like some trimming is in order. 

Also - just noticed this is only 3 months later. I'll probably wait till after it blooms (a BUNCH of buds getting ready to open up on it) before trimming it way back.

s


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## andersonii85 (Feb 8, 2004)

Scott,

Why trim it back? Looks good to me....lol. This is sort of an inside joke as anyone who knows me knows that I love overgrown terraria. Actually, many culturing books suggest that you trim some leaves anyway, which helps it stay compact and flower longer. 

Justin


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

My wife bought me a bunch of the miniatures at the Philly Flower show. I have them in many of the enclosures and they look great. Honestly I do not do anything to them and they bloom on a regular basis. I also have a couple of the "home depot" type in one of my tinc tanks and in with my terribilis, I soak all of them for a couple minutes per day with the misting systems and have no issues with them rotting. The one in the terribilis tank is a monster, it has to be a foot across. I'm always trimming it back to keep it in check. 
The mini's are really nice, my only regret is that I did not propagate them before putting them into the vivariums .... then I would have some trading stock. As it stands now I just make more for my ever growing number of enclosures. 

Scott, are you just taking leaf cuttings and putting them in water? The mini do grow this way but it is a much longer process and I have a lot more rot that I do with the standard varieties. 
Ed


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

The root system that a plant uses to grow in water is (supposedly) much different than one used in soil. I could be wrong, but this is what I've heard in the past and therefore why I propogate my leaf cuttings in soil.

I use a mix much like the ABG mix and this works very well for propogating. I just cut off leaves as low down as possible (get as long a stem on the leaf as possible). I then use a very sharp knife to cut the leaf stem at a 45 degree angle. Supposedly this gives more surface area for the stem to uptake water. 

It's worked for me anyhow. Both in tanks and under plastic seed domes.

s


Ed Martin said:


> ... Scott, are you just taking leaf cuttings and putting them in water? The mini do grow this way but it is a much longer process and I have a lot more rot that I do with the standard varieties.
> Ed


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