African Violets are beautiful and popular indoor plants but they scare many people because they're considered hard to grow, yet nothing could be farther from the truth.

Yes, they do require a bit of special care, and the biggest reason for failure is because people either under or over water their plants. Choosing the proper type of flower pot will eliminate most of your problems.

African Violets need a steady supply of water, but not too much...they don't like wet roots, and getting water on the leaves may cause brown spots, so having a pot designed specifically for African Violets is paramount to your success.

There are several types of violet pots available on the market today, but the two part self-watering pot is probably the very best.


As you can see in the photo above, these planters consist of an outer "base" pot and an "inner insert." The base of this ceramic planter is completely glazed to hold water, while the insert is left in an unglazed state allowing the water to be absorbed and soak through to the soil and root system of the plant.

Usings the self-watering pot means you only need to water the plants approximately every ten days by lifting the insert out of the base to add water or using the "watering hole" that is a feature on many African Violet pots.


You'll notice that the insert pots all have a lip of some kind, usually a wavy ridge. This is to keep the leaves lifted up and away from the damp soil thus reducing the risk of brown spots or disease.


Give your African Violet proper light, use a self-watering pot (plus tell it occasionally how much you love it) and your plant will reward you with blooms nearly year around.



Happy Gardening!

Robnzak is a full time eBay Powerseller, Trading Assistant & Moderator of a seller group
dedicated to growing their eBay bid-ness & is active in several Artist groups.
An artist, potter, avid gardener and all around goofy fella, Rob has been a member of the
eBay community for over eight  years.