African Violet Soil / Potting Mix

The soil or potting mix in which an African Violet is planted is very important for the overall survival of the plant.
This is because the plants roots spend all of their time within this soil mixture.
Healthy soil promotes healthy root growth which in turn will lead to a healthy African Violet plant.
Healthy roots also ensure the efficient uptake of water and nutrients from the soil.
Below are perlite recommendations, useful as an additive to soil or even used a thin layer at the bottom of a pot for drainage.

Three most important points to remember about African Violet Soil / Potting Mix:

The soil should be light, loose and airy (this can be achieved by the addition of perlite, vermiculite or sand which can create air pockets in the soil promoting healthy root growth).
Conversely, the soil should not be compacted, heavy, dense or packed hard, this will prevent root penetration through the soil, leading to poor root growth.
African Violets should be re-potted in fresh soil every 6 months and kept in the same size pot. Do not re-pot to a larger pot. African Violets like to be slightly root bound which promotes flowering. Root bound is when the roots start to grow out of the pot holes underneath the pot or when roots show on the upper surface of the soil.
For more information on re-potting African Violets, can visit blog post, “How Often To Change African Violet Potting Soil Mix & Why?”.

Below are vermiculite recommendations, useful as an additive to African Violet potting soil

Below are three common African Violet Potting Mix recipes:

You can also use the commercially available Miracle Gro African Violet Potting mix; however, this soil is too dense for violets, so remember to add peat moss and vermiculite or perlite to lighten the potting mix.
This commercial mix also contains fertilizer, so remember not to over fertilize if you are using your own fertilizer.
For more information on fertilizing African Violet plants, can visit blog post, “Fertilizer for African Violet Plants“.

Prepare the soil mix in a well-ventilated area.
Add room temperature or tepid water to the soil mix till the mix is moist but not wet.
Fill up the pots with moist soil mix using spoon or hands.
Use a pencil or tool to make a hole in the center area of the soil mix.
Take out African Violet plant from existing pot and remove any dead/ dry/ mushy/ yellow leaves.
Shake/remove excess soil sticking to roots. Can also trim roots if too long.
If plant has a long neck, clean that area by gently removing roots and dead /dry plant tissue.
Place African Violet plant , its neck and its roots inside the center area of soil mix.
Cover roots /neck of plant with soil mix till the lower ring of leaf stems just graze the soil.