31 Different Types of African Violet Varieties
Thinking of adding some African Violets to your garden but aren't sure which varieties to pick? There are many different types you can choose from, so picking just one can be tough! In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen looks at the different varieties of African Violets you can grow.

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African violets, Saintpaulia spp, are one of the most common indoor plants available today. They are small, readily available, and with proper care, they can bloom almost continually. African violets can thrive indoors in the average home. There are many different cultivars available that bloom in many different colors.
African violets are native to mountainous regions of tropical eastern Africa. The original native wild plants to be collected and named were Saintpaulia ionantha. These violets grow in rock crevices and along rocky outcroppings in rainforest areas. They have simple, rounded, fuzzy green leaves and single purple flowers.
Almost all of the cultivars available today are derived from the hybridization of two native species: S. ionantha and S. confusa. Many of them bloom in different colors and sizes. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the top varieties of African violet you can grow!
Types of African Violets

There is a tremendous variety of modern African violets with thousands of cultivars. Each variety has a great variability in size, leaf color, flower color, leaf and flower shapes, and plant growth habits.
To get familiar with some of these plant characteristics, let’s have a look at some definitions. There are two main types of growth forms: rosette and trailing.
Rosettes have leaves arranged in a circular pattern around a central crown. The flower stalks grow from the center of the plant.
Trailing varieties have multiple crowns that develop from the central root. These give the appearance of clusters of flowers growing together. Flower stalks grow from the centers of each crown for a more haphazard look.
From there, they can also be divided into at least five different size classes, with diameters ranging from tiny to quite large.
Size Classes
- Large: 12 to 16 inches across
- Standard: 8 to 12 inches across
- Semi-miniature: 6 to 8 inches across
- Miniature: 3 to 6 inches across
- Micro-miniature: Less than 3 inches across
Their flower types can be divided into many categories based on overall shape and petal arrangement, as well as petal texture.
Petal Type & Texture
- Single: A single row of 5 petals, the top two petals being smaller than the lower three.
- Semi-double: Flowers with more than 5 petals, with yellow stamens exposed.
- Double: Flowers have 10 or more petals, with yellow stamens typically hidden.
- Frilled/Ruffled: Flower petals are wavy along the edges.
- Star-shaped: 5-petaled flowers with all petals of equal shape and size.
- Wasp-shaped: 5-petaled narrow flowers where top two petals are twisted.
- Cup-shaped: 5 equally-sized petals are joined together to create a shallow cup shape.
- Bell-shaped: 5 petals joined together into a narrow, semi-tubular bell shape.
Finally, African violet leaves show a great deal of variability as well. Leaves may be solid green or variegated green and white. The surface of the leaves may be smooth and flat or ‘quilted’ with highly textured patterns.
Leaves also have highly variable textures around the edges, ranging from smooth to slightly indented to very wavy. The one thing the leaves from all varieties have in common is they are all fuzzy and covered with fine soft hairs.
31 Popular Varieties
There are far too many African violet varieties to try to list them all, with more being developed and named each year. Let’s take a look at 31 beautiful and unique varieties of African violets. When thinking of the perfect variety to grow, all varieties of African violets are incredibly easy to propagate, meaning you can create additional plants for yourself or your gardening friends!
All of these plants are in the family Gesneriaceae and the genus Saintpaulia. The common variety names, however, are often as colorful as the plants themselves!
‘Amethyst’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Light purple
- Flower Type: Single
This unique variety produces a rosette of somewhat heart-shaped dark green leaves. The leaves have a quilted texture which gives them a nicely patterned look.
Flowers are single bloom and pale purple. This standard-size plant is a typical-looking African violet, similar to the varieties most commonly available commercially.
‘Champagne Pink’

- Plant Size Class: Semi-miniature
- Growth Habit: Trailer
- Foliage Color: Variegated green and white
- Flower Color: Light pink
- Flower Type: Double
Here’s a charming vareiety. ‘Champagne Pink’ has light pink double flowers. Leaves are highly variegated with plenty of white and light green.
This plant is a small trailer and will eventually fill its pot to overflow with flowering rosettes.
‘Cherry Princess’

- Plant Size Class: Semi-miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Deep fuchsia pink with white edging
- Flower Type: Semi-double and Double
This stunning little plant will wow you with its super-showy bright blooms topping a deep green rosette. ‘Cherry Princess’ flowers are deep fuchsia in color with white edging, or you may prefer to think of them as white flowers with broad fuchsia stripes on each petal. Whichever way you think of them, they are beautiful!
‘Crimson Ice’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: White with fuchsia
- Flower Type: Single, ruffled
‘Crimson Ice’ has uniquely colored flowers. It looks as though someone took a relatively large ruffled white flower and dipped the parts of some of the petals in bright fuchsia paint.
The coloration may vary slightly from flower to flower, furthering the look of an artist’s touch. The leaves are solid deep green and slightly heart-shaped.
‘Devotion’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Variegated green with speckled white along the edges
- Flower Color: Deep purple
- Flower Type: Single
This is an elegant plant that can grow quite large indoors. ‘Devotion’ sports an abundance of deep purple single blooms that look charming amidst deep green and white variegated leaves.
The leaves are smooth-edged and heart-shaped and look great by themselves, even when the plant is not blooming.
‘Diamond Tiffany’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: White with pale greenish edges
- Flower Type: Semi-double, ruffled
‘Diamond Tiffany’ is a head-turner. Slightly ruffled deep green leaves grow in a low rosette. At the center, oversized semi-double flowers fill the space. The flower petals are densely ruffled and white, with a pale green edging along some of the petals.
There’s a lot to look at with this plant, and it can be difficult to tell where the leaves stop and the flowers begin.
‘EverGrace’

- Plant Size Class: Large standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Light purple with pale greenish-white edging
- Flower Type: Single, ruffled
‘EverGrace’ is a large standard-size plant that grows a broad rosette of solid green ruffled leaves. The flowers are single blooms with ruffled edges.
The flower color is light purple with pale greenish-white edges. This is a stunning plant, both in size and colorful ruffled form.
‘EverLove’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Deep pink with pale pink-white edging
- Flower Type: Single, ruffled
‘EverLove’ is hard to miss! It has dazzling dark pink flowers with pale pinkish-white ruffled edges. Leaves are deep green with very wavy edges. An EverLove violet in full bloom is quite something to look at and uniquely beautiful.
‘First Kiss Blush’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Rich pink with purple freckles
- Flower Type: Single
‘First Kiss Blush’ really does look like it’s blushing. It produces single flowers, and the flower color is a rich medium pink with a smattering of purple freckles across the petals, referred to as a fantasy-type pattern. Leaves are solid green and heart-shaped and form a neat standard-size rosette.
‘Harlequin’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: White with dark fuchsia edges
- Flower Type: Single with lightly ruffled edges
‘Harlequin’ is a brightly dazzling variety. The flowers are large and primarily white, with a healthy dose of pink around the edges.
Some flowers are entirely washed with pink, adding some interesting variety to the blooms. Leaves form a neat standard-size rosette and are deep green in color.
‘High School Sweetheart’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Dark pink with greenish-white edge
- Flower Type: Semi-double, ruffled
‘High School Sweetheart’ has deep dark pink semi-double flowers. The flower petals are ruffled with pale greenish-white edges. Leaves are also lightly ruffled and uniformly dark green.
The contrast between the dark green leaves and the dark pink flowers, combined with the ruffled leaves and flowers, makes this a lovely violet.
‘Irish Flirt’

- Plant Size Class: Semi-miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: White with pale green borders
- Flower Type: Double to semi-double, ruffled
‘Irish Flirt’ has large, showy flowers that practically cover the entire top of the plant in full bloom. The flowers are double or semi-double, with large petals ruffled around the edges.
Flowers are white, bordering on pale green, with most flowers having various patterns of both white and green coloration. Leaves are compact, solid dark green, and lightly ruffled around the edges. This is a very cute plant with a dramatic bloom!
‘Julia’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Pink with light purple edges
- Flower Type: Double, ruffled
‘Julia’ is hard to miss. This is a standard-size rosette with amazingly large flowers for its size! The flowers are big and bright with double-ruffled blooms.
The flower color is light pink with a complimentary light purple border along the ruffled edge. Flowers are so densely petaled and ruffled that they look almost rounded.
‘Little Intermezzo’

- Plant Size Class: Miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: White with dark purple-blue center
- Flower Type: Single, star
With frosty white petals and a blue eye, ‘Little Intermezzo’ is sure to please! Miniature in size, they only grow to be about 2-4 inches.
This is a very new variety, as they were hybridized and made available in 2020 by Optimara African Violets. The dark green leaves are plain and pointed.
‘Little Maya’

- Plant Size Class: Miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Dark red
- Flower Type: Single
‘Little Maya’ is a miniature plant, staying small and compact in size but big in brightness. The deep red flowers stand out against solid green heart-shaped leaves.
Flowers are single blooms, solid dark reddish=pink with the slightest ruffle around the edges.
‘Little Ruby’

- Plant Size Class: Micro-miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Deep red
- Flower Type: Semi-double
‘Little Ruby’ is a sparkling little jewel of a plant. This tiny plant has deep green heart-shaped leaves and grows in a nice compact rosette.
The flowers are deep red and have a semi-double form. Almost anyone would have room for this little violet in their collection. The dark red flowers against the dark green leaves make for a very fine specimen!
‘Lonestar Twilight’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Variegated deep green with white edges
- Flower Color: White with purple edges
- Flower Type: Single, ruffled
‘Lonestar Twilight’ is a really beautiful variety. Leaves are deep green and heart-shaped with a fine variegated white edge.
The leaves form a neat, standard-size rosette. Flowers are single with ruffled edges. The flower color is white with a very attractive deep purple border.
‘Mac’s Jubilant Jamboree’

- Plant Size Class: Semi-miniature
- Growth Habit: Trailing
- Foliage Color: Variegated medium green and pinkish-cream
- Flower Color: Purple with white edges
- Flower Type: Semi-double, slightly ruffled
‘Mac’s Jubilant Jamboree’ blooms with full white flowers that have purple veining and brushstrokes. The leaves are heart-shaped and variegated with pinkish-cream contrasting with medium green.
This trailing semi-miniature plant blooms flowers that are only a little bigger than an inch in diameter. When the flowers first open, the fringe has a green hue to it. Later, it turns white.
‘Music Box Dancer’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Medium green
- Flower Color: Rose-pink with white edge
- Flower Type: Semi-double to double, star
The flowers of ‘Music Box Dancer’ are pink with faded white borders. They have semi-double to double blooms that form a star shape.
The foliage is quilted in texture and has a lovely medium green color. These plants can grow to be about 12 inches wide, so plan a good spot for them to grow accordingly!
‘Myakka Trail’

- Plant Size Class: Semi-miniature
- Growth Habit: Trailing
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Purple
- Flower Type: Single
‘Myakka Trail’ is a nice little trailing variety. Leaves are uniformly dark green. Every single rosette will eventually grow into a cluster of compact plants that cascade over the edges of the pot. Flowers are single blooms in a deep purple color.
‘Ness’ Forever Pink’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Pink with light green edges
- Flower Type: Semi-double
‘Forever Pink’ is a variety that has semi-double blooming flowers that are pink with green edges. They are also ruffled and star-shaped. The leaves are quilted in texture with slightly scalloped edges.
‘Nightfall’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Dark blue
- Flower Type: Semi-double to double, frilled
This deep purple variety is sure to add drama to any home. The frilled edges of the petals are lovely and add a delicate touch to the plant.
The leaves are round with slightly serrated edges. The tiny pops of yellow stamens add bright color to the dark plant.
‘Peacock’

- Plant Size Class: Miniature
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Dark purple
- Flower Type: Star
This showy variety is called ‘Peacock,’ and it has star-shaped flowers. This means the five petals are equal-sized and evenly spaced.
The flowers are a deep royal purple in color and quite large in comparison to the miniature leaves. The tiny leaves are uniformly dark green and grow in a neat low rosette.
‘Pow Wow’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Variegated green with white borders
- Flower Color: Dark maroon red
- Flower Type: Semi-double
‘P’ow Wow’ is a dazzling plant with bold colors and contrasts. The leaves are deep green and variegated with heavily speckled white borders.
The flowers are deep burgundy with large, showy, semi-double petals. The combination of the dark red flowers with the variegated leaves is really nice!
‘Quilting Bee’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Dark green
- Flower Color: Antique pink and violet with pale green
- Flower Type: Double, frilled
Delicate and lovely, ‘Quilting Bee’ has a lot going on in a single plant. The leaves are dark green and quilted, as well as being ruffled around the edges, displaying a great amount of texture within the leaves alone.
Then the plant blooms, it’s like looking at something from grandma’s house! The flowers are heavily ruffled in shades of antique pink, lilac purple, and even hints of pale green. This is a very unique-looking variety.
‘Radiant Glow’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Pink to lilac, with white edges
- Flower Type: Star
The slightly ruffled, star-shaped blooms of ‘Radiant Glow’ are very appealing. Flower colors include shades of pink and light purple petals with white edges.
These multi-hued flowers are unique in appearance. Leaves are solid green and grow in a neat, standard-size rosette.
‘Ramblin’ Firedance’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Trailing
- Foliage Color: Medium green with light variegation
- Flower Color: Rosy pink
- Flower Type: Semi-double
‘Ramblin’ Firedance’ is well-named. The leafy rosettes are relatively small, and the leaves are mostly green with a tendency for some scattered white variegation.
This is a trailing variety, and the plant cluster will eventually drape gracefully over the edges of the pot. Flowers are a rosy, pink color with semi-double petals, like little pink flames dancing across the top of the foliage cluster.
‘Rambling Moonbeam’

- Plant Size Class: Miniature
- Growth Habit: Trailing
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: White
- Flower Type: Double
Pure white double flowers bloom profusely across the top of the entire mass of ‘Rambling Moonbeam’. This miniature trailing violet has uniformly heart-shaped green leaves. The combination of the showy white flowers and simple green leaves is very pleasing.
‘Silver Romance’

- Plant Size Class: Large
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Variegated dark green with white edges
- Flower Color: Antique pink with white and pale green
- Flower Type: Double
‘Silver Romance’ looks like a charming old-style antique variety. The flowers are soft dusky pink with white and pale greenish highlights.
The flowers themselves are rather large and intensely double-petaled, making them look full. Leaves are large and quilted with slightly ruffled edges. The leaf color is deep green with a speckled white border.
‘Summer Twilight’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Variegated green with pale greenish-white edges
- Flower Color: Purple and white
- Flower Type: Semi-double
This variety has large flowers that bloom profusely around the center of the plant. The leaves of ‘Summer Twilight’ are a rich green color edged with greenish-white speckles. Leaves are large and lightly ruffled, giving a very attractive appearance.
The flowers are quite eye-catching. This violet produces an abundance of purple semi-double blooms with bold white edges and slightly ruffled petals. What a beauty!
‘Zephyr’

- Plant Size Class: Standard
- Growth Habit: Rosette
- Foliage Color: Green
- Flower Color: Pink and white
- Flower Type: Star, ruffled
The variety called ‘Zephyr’ is a plant that’s hard to ignore. Medium green leaves are slightly ruffled around the edges and form a standard-size rosette.
Flowers are large and star-shaped with highly ruffled petal edges. The flowers are white and pink, appearing primarily white with a modest pink blush in the center of each petal.
Final Thoughts
Anyone who loves African violets will have plenty of choices of beautiful plants available. There are many thousands of cultivars ranging from micro-miniature to large sizes, rosette and trailing growth habits, and countless combinations of leaf and flower styles and colors.
Fortunately for the African violet enthusiast, these plants all require the same basic care and growing conditions. The hardest thing to do may be finding enough space to accommodate all the unique and beautiful plans you will want to grow!