Maintenance conditions of African violets. Sunlight

African violets, in their natural habitat, they grow and develop in tropical forests, under foliage.

What are the light places preferred by the plant?
First, at the latitude where the Usambara mountains are located, practically there is no seasonal difference in terms of the length of the day - throughout the year the light is present during a day for 12-13 hours.

For lovers of Parma violets from the temperate zone, this fact suggests that in autumn and winter, African violets will be illuminated, artificially increasing the length of the day up to 12 hours, and during the summer the duration of the night.

Secondly, African violets grow under trees and belong to the category of shade-tolerant plants. The optimal lighting for these plants is 1000-1200 lux. In reality, the level of illumination differs from one variety of African violet to another.

There is a general rule regarding lighting: Violets with dark leaves need more sunlight, those with open leaves, mai gingase, corrugated, fluffy and with large leaves prefers more shaded places.

The place where we usually place the plants is the windowsill, a place where the lighting conditions differ depending on the season,outside weather, window positioning. Windowsills facing the east or west are recommended, and the sunlight must fall evenly on the surface of the plant.

The lighting on the window sill is an average of 1200 lux (40% outside light), but this value varies, from 5000 lux on sunny summer days to 250 lux on gloomy winter days. To provide the violets with optimal conditions for development, in summer the plants will be shaded, and in winter the plants will be illuminated additionally.

As, African violets grown on the windowsill, they will rotate constantly to avoid the asymmetry of the rosette. Violets grown on specially designed shelves with overhead lighting do not face such a problem.

By the appearance of the Saintpaulia, it can be determined whether the lighting conditions in the room suit the plant:

Too much light: The leaves thicken, they turn yellow, turning even brown, the stems of the leaves are short, the rosette sticks to the pot, the first row of leaves seems to hug the pot. The center of the rosette thickens, the flowers are crowded between the leaves and cannot come out from under them. The flowers are small, pipernicite, paler colored, they wither faster. They give the impression that they are hiding under leaves from the strong sunlight.

In this case, plants need shade. Gauze can be used, muslin, living room. Some florists paint the bottom of the window with whitewash. If paper is used for shading, tinfoil, these materials will stick to the opposite side of the glass, because the air near them, during the hot season, it heats up strongly and causes burns on the leaves.

Lack of light: The leaves rise up, they are pale, thin and tender. The stems of the leaves elongate. The flowering of the plant stops. In this situation, the plant needs additional lighting.

The changes suffered by the plant due to the wrong lighting are irreversible: even if the plant will be moved to another place where the lighting conditions are favorable for the plant, a normal coloring and a correct shape will only have the newly appeared leaves.

Of course, African violets grow, they bloom and multiply on windowsills without artificial lighting throughout the year. But if we are dealing with a rather large collection, window sills become cramped and then artificial lighting becomes a solution.