Grow and Care for a Flame Violet

Grow flame violet in bright indirect light, keep the mix barely moist, and raise humidity without wetting the velvety leaves. Flame violet is Episcia cupreata. An African violet is a tighter rosette that does not send out these strawberry-like runners.

Give it bright indirect light, keep the mix barely moist, and raise humidity without wetting the leaves

flame violet is Episcia cupreata, a creeping gesneriad from Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. It makes a low rosette of velvety leaves with copper, silver, or green markings, then sends out stolons tipped with baby rosettes. Small tubular flowers, usually red or orange, rise above the foliage in spring and summer. [1] Set it in bright, indirect light. An east or west window three to four feet away is enough; a sheer curtain on a brighter sill also works. Keep the mix slightly moist, and let only the surface dry between waterings. Always use room-temperature water, and pour it onto the mix so the leaves stay dry. [2] Humidity above about 50 percent keeps the leaf edges from browning. A humidifier, a pebble tray, or a cluster of plants raises the moisture in the air without wetting the foliage.

If bloom stalls, move it a little brighter, still off hot glass. Cold water spots the foliage white, so keep the spout under the leaves.

1. Place it in bright, indirect light, about three to four feet from an east or west window.
2. Water when the surface of the mix feels just dry. Use room-temperature water on the mix, then empty the saucer.
3. Raise humidity with a humidifier, a pebble tray, or nearby plants. Keep water off the leaves.
4. Keep the room between about 65 and 80°F, away from cold drafts and heating vents.

Water less in winter, and keep it above about 60°F

Growth slows in short winter days. Water a little less, still without letting the mix go bone-dry, and skip fertilizer until new leaves show. Keep the plant as a houseplant. A few hours below 50°F can kill it, and growth already stalls near 60°F, so bring a patio pot in before a cool night. [3]

Plant it in a wide, shallow pot or hanging basket with a hole

The roots stay shallow, and the stolons want room to trail. A wide, shallow pot, or a hanging basket with a drainage hole, fits that habit better than a deep, narrow cup. [4] Fill it with an African-violet mix, or a peat or coco blend loosened with perlite or vermiculite, so water moves through. Set the crown at the mix surface. Wait to repot until spring, when the mix is tired or the clump crowds the rim, and step up only a little. Rooting a plantlet is a separate job on How to Propagate Flame Violet.

1. Choose a wide, shallow pot or a hanging basket with a drainage hole.
2. Fill it with African-violet mix, or a peat or coco blend with perlite or vermiculite.
3. Set the rosette so the crown sits at the mix surface, not buried.
4. Water with room-temperature water on the mix until it runs out, then empty the saucer. Hang or set it where the stolons can trail.

Snip extra stolons if you want a tighter clump

This plant does not need pruning like a shrub. Cut brown leaves at the base, and cut spent flowers so new buds can open. If the basket is a tangle, snip extra stolons. To pot a plantlet, use How to Propagate Flame Violet.

Not an African violet — and not a strawberry begonia

A shop tag that says flame violet is sometimes confused with African violet (Saintpaulia): a tighter, fuzzier rosette with clustered flowers and no trailing runners. This plant trails. Cape primrose is Streptocarpus, with long strap leaves. See How to Grow Cape Primrose if that is the plant you bought. Strawberry begonia is Saxifraga stolonifera, a different family that also runs; see How to Grow Saxifrage. Lace flower is Alsobia, split from this genus, with small green leaves and white fringed flowers. A succulent labeled Chocolate Soldier is Kalanchoe, watered dry between soaks; see How to Grow Kalanchoe. The same name also shows up on some Episcia and Alsobia tags, so read the leaf: velvety patterned foliage with tubular flowers is this plant, felted succulent paddles are not.

Keep it in bright indirect light, with barely moist mix and dry leaves. Pot a four-leaf plantlet if you want a second basket.