Your Year Around Flower and Garden Guide

Violet Pots

By Linda Paquette

Violets and African violets grow in just about any type of flowerpot they’re put in, but usually when someone talks about violet pots, they’re talking about the two part ceramic pots, especially made for the African violet.

Although violet pots are a bit more expensive than standard flowerpots, they are well worth the added few cents. The main reason for failure in growing African violets is over-watering. When you use African violet pots for your plants, they have a steady supply of moisture without becoming saturated. Also referred to as “self-watering pots”, violet pots are two-piece sets consisting of a reservoir, typically made of glazed ceramic and an unglazed ceramic pot for growing your plants. When you add water to the reservoir and reinsert the unglazed pot, it displaces the water, makes it ride up the sides and provides even moisture for your potting mix. You simply refill the reservoir every week to ten days.

Although filling the reservoir can be tricky at first, some pots have a fill-line to help you keep from over-filling. In addition, African violet pots come in all sizes, from 3-inch wide pots for young plants to 12-inch wide pots for the old-timers. You’ll find them in a wide range of both color and style at most nurseries and garden centers that stock African violets and other African violet supplies. Gift boutiques and antique shops are also good places to look for violet pots. Often they are hand-made and nearly as pretty as the flowers your plant in them!

Container Gardening - Strawberry Pots - Violet Pots