Below is a list of my favorite and what I consider best African Violet supplies that I use or my fellow African Violet friends use. Most of my items are purchased on Amazon because I am a prime member and returns are free. This way if I don’t like it I simply return and try the next one. I will only recommend what works for me or what my other African Violet loving friends use and work for them.
Please let me know if you have any recommendations. I’m more than happy to buy any new African Violet supplies and try them out. Just don’t tell my husband!
Best African Violet grow lights.
I have a grow light on one of my entertainment center shelves for my miniature Africa Violets. And also one on a wire rack in my kitchen to display some Standard African Violets along with a few miniatures. These Foxgarden full spectrum plant strip are the ones I use and I have had two for over a year with no problems at all. They are both set for 12 hours on and 12 hours off.
Desk Grow light for African Violet
My latest obsession to add to my list of best african violet supplies is this Romsto individual grow light. Since my desk isn’t near a window I wanted a light so I could still enjoy one of my African Violets while at work. The violets can easily be switched out if I want a different color bloom to look at!
Grow light bulbs
If you have a larger area and you can use a Briignite LED grow light bulb in the existing light I recommend these. Have used them in the past, they work great and last for months!
Table Top grow lights
These are all on my list to buy soon, I have a friend who has them all and loves them! My living room has a very dark corner. Since it gets no light at all, I plan on putting this single plant light on a small table in the corner. This double plant light would be perfect for a slightly larger table. And finally my dream a triple plant light! This would be great for a sofa table or large table in windowless spot of home that needs some plant life!
African Violets Pots
Personally I use three different types of pots for my African Violets depending on the Violet. A majority are water wicking, some are in ceramic African Violet pots. And finally a few in regular pots with trays below as these are watered from the bottom. Below are just a few examples of what I consider the best African Violet supplies for your African Violet pot needs.
African Violet Self Watering Pots – Specifically Water Wicking Pots
The majority of my African Violets are water wicking and for these I use these 4″ multi-colored plastics pots. Next I put these round screens over the bottom so the soil does not fall through to my water reservoir, they work perfectly.
For the wick I use yarn that is cut to length so it will drop into water reservoir and come up to top or at least middle of pot. I usually cut them to around 6 inches, these are 6 strands so I split them into 3 strands. This way they won’t pull up too much water into the plant, causing root rot.
I like a different look for displaying my violets so I have played around with different ideas. These glass bowl vases work perfectly for the base and the 4″ plastic pots fit perfectly in them. I have even experimented with Alcohol ink to color my glass vases. This alcohol ink set is easy to use and has multiple colors, I have colored over a dozen pots so far and still have enough for probably 30 more!
Here are a couple of my glass bowl vases colored with alcohol ink – love how they turned out and love matching them with the color of the blooms!!
Water Wicking for Miniature and Micro-Miniature African Violets
My new obsession is miniatures and micro miniature African Violets. Mainly because I can have more in a smaller space! These 2″ plastic pots work perfectly for my miniatures. And they fit into a shot glass and you can find pretty shot glasses like these to put your violets in.
Ceramic African Violet Pots
Ceramic pots are great for your moisture loving African Violets. The unglazed inner pot allows water to seep through slowly from the outer pot. Although I have had few that don’t do well in them so like I’ve said before do what works best for your violet. One of the issues with these pots is they tend to get mineral build up in the porous inner pot and no longer absorb water. You can fix this problem by soaking the inner pot in a mixture of 75% white vinegar and 25% water for 30-60 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and then pot as usual.
Best Pots for African Violets with trays or saucers to water from the bottom
These pots are for your really picky African Violets that don’t like the soil to stay moist. I have a few Russian/Ukraine Violets that are extremely picky prefer to dry out between watering. You can put these in any pot with bottom drainage and place them inside a tray or decorative bowl. To the bowl I added some clay beads that retain water I had left over from my hydroponics project! I love this economical eight pack of plastic pots and their various colors. Also these are the clay beads if you would like to use them. I add a single layer to any pretty bowl the pots will sit down inside.
Best Soil for African Violets
I use my own mixture, mainly because I have so many and it’s just more cost effective for me. My soil mix is 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite and 2 parts sphagnum peat moss. I have friends that use Miracle Grow African Violet potting soil. Others perfer Black Gold African Violet potting soil.
Best African Violet Fertilizer or Best African Violet Plant Food
Some people call it fertilizer and some plant food so I decided to put both in the title. For me the best African Violet Fertilizer/Plant Food is the Schultz African Violet Plus Plant Food. I put 2-3 droppers full in my one gallon of purified water.
Plant Stands
Below are multiple plants stands that can be used to display your African Violets. I have mine on both the wooden plants stands and a metal stand with plant lights.
- Large Wooden Plant Stand – I own multiple of these type in different configurations and all very easy to put together with large shelve space to hold your African Violets. Uneedem Tall plant shelf, Bamworld Tall Plant Stand , Bamworld Large plant stand to hold both hanging and shelves for plants, GEEBOBO tall plant stand and Bamboo tiered stand just to name a few!!
- Metal Plant Stand – these are great for attaching grow lights to the top, set on 12 hours on and 12 hours off and fill up the stand with color in a room where you have no windows!
- Another absolutely beautiful large metal plant stand – Potey 6 tier heart shaped metal stand that can be used together or separated-beautiful either way!!
Please be sure to check out my Gardening Blog Post Page for more tips on all types of gardening. Including Seed Saving, Seed Starting, Orchids, Water Gardening, Coldframe Gardening, Indoor Bulb Gardening, Hydroponics, Container Gardening, Mums, Herbs, African Violets, planting Bulbs, Flower Gardening, Vegetable and Fruit Gardening, Indoor Houseplants of all kinds, Cactus, Succulents, Hanging plants, Deer resistant plants and even Bird, Bee, Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardens!