Propogation of African Violet

[quark1]

I salvaged a couple of broken off leaves and stems from and African Violet I got ridiculously cheaply from my local co-op - just 75p including a nice ceramic keeper pot - I was mulling buying the same plant for £3.99 the day before - hows that for timing! It was a bit dry when I got it but otherwise given a good drink, it picked up beautifully. With 3 cats, a mad Jack Russell and a rather 'clumsy' adult son, lots of things get knocked into in my house.

I originally placed the larger of the 2 stems in water and when I thought I saw some root-like structures placed it and another broken leaf into compost. It was purely by chance that the leaf was reduced by half when it broke as I have since learned that this is part of the propogation tecnique.

After several months (3-4) I have 4 mini leaf structures forming around the base the larger stem. I cannot believe I've actually got something to grow from what would otherwise be a plant casualty!

My question after all this is how large should the new growth be before the donor material is cut away and it stands independantly to mature on? Does this new growth deliver just one new plant or can it be divided straight away? I'm not trying to be greedy, I'll take one at a time, just wanted to know if the youngster could be split early on.

Thanks.

[Kristen]

I think you'll knock it back by disturbing it, or cutting away any parent material that looks healthy, so I'd be inclined to let it do its own thing, so to speak.

[quark1]

Ok I'll try that - thanks.

[Tam]

You will normally get a number of plantlets from each stem. African violets must be one of the easiest plants to propagate as long as you always use ericaceous compost. You can plant the new little plants up as soon as they have a root system started. I find it better to plant cuttings straight into dampish compost as water roots are not quite as strong as normal roots.

[di]

Cheers Quark!You've just given me inspiration for christmas pressies!!My Grandma used to be a real whizz with African Violets~I'm sure she just used to take off a leaf,pop in water for it to root then plant up & leave well alone until well established~to then start the whole procedure over again!

[shirlthegirl43]

Interested to read about putting the leaf into water to root. I always thought African Violets had to be watered from beneath as the leaves didn't like being wet.

[Flummery]

They don't like water directly on the leaves Shirley, but rooting from the stem is a different matter. They have a fleshy, slightly hairy leaf and this can rot if it get soaked regularly. I've done this before myself but you've just jogged my elbow, so to speak. I was given a beautiful dark flowered one recebtly, with a white eye to the flower. Really unusual. Might get propagating!

[shirlthegirl43]

So you just put the end of the leaf stem into the water? My African Violet split into three plants in its pot so I just separated them and repotted. Wish I had something other than a boring purple one - mind you it was a rescue plant from Focus and I only paid about 10p for it! Off for a wander round the garden centre later

[quark1]

Thanks everyone for your tips and hints - think I'll leave alone for now and let the new growth become bigger before any attempt to separate either from parent or themselves.

Shirl - you're even meaner than me - topping me out by 65p! Hey - but did you get a nice ceramic pot? Eh, eh - well did 'ya? LOL!

[shirlthegirl43]

Shirl - you're even meaner than me - topping me out by 65p! Hey - but did you get a nice ceramic pot? Eh, eh - well did 'ya? LOL!

Hmm, not sure if the pot came with the African Violet but I did get a pot with something I bought dirt cheap. I am definately mean when it comes to buying houseplants though. I am building up a collection of orchids at the moment - haven't paid more than 2.99 for them and they were all retailing between 9.99 and 14.99. The most recent purchase is about to flower again - haven't worked out why they reduced its price as it has nearly 20 flower buds on it - bonus!!

[bluemoon]

I remember reading about this and trying it at about age 7. It was an unmitigated disaster, with the leaves going black, mushy and mouldy and then spreading the infection to the nearby, and previously healthy, pelargoniums in my grandad's greenhouse. - I wasn't popular, especially as I'd 'liberated' the cuttings from my Nan's plant - and had had to sneak into her best, only-used-at-Christmas, sitting-room to do it. It's a good thing I'd already had some success with other plants or I might have been put off gardening for life. BUT I didn't use ericaceous compost, it's taken me forty years to find out where I went wrong. Thanks.

[Alison]

Not very keen on African Violets myself but my nan used to have dozens of them around the house. She expanded the number she had by spliting them when they formed baby plants, by putting the leaves in water as described above and also by putting broken bits of leaves straight into the soil. All seemed to work a treat and she used to put extras in the church bring and buy sale too.

[quark1]

Just thought I'd let you know - and also for those on a seriously steep learning curve like me! - the second 'salvage' which was a broken off peice of leaf plus about ½" of stem has now delivered!

As there was so little stem it had to be buried by up to half of what I kept of the donor leaf/stem. It also now a has a few new growths emanating from it. I was even more delighted when I gently lifted the leaf to reveal a couple more potential planlets do their thing underneath! On balance I guess the half-sunk 'leaf' method 'may' deliver quicker and more prolific initial results as the new plantlets are growing from both leaf and stem segments.

I know peeps have said these are dead easy to grow - but I've never done anything 'good' with 'dead' drop-off houseplant material before. Perhaps I've never really bothered or tried hard enough - but for those in the same categrory as I once was - please give it a go. You may chuck out more than half you try and salvage - but each success is a real personal pat on the back and the satisfaction is wonderful!

So many typos as soooo excited about getting something right for a change!

I've also separated the 2 start-ups as there was some root material above the surface on the first.

Put into another pot and there are several hidden shoots beneath the surface - so reckon I'll get at least 2 plants from the first attempt. And hopefully much the same from the second.

Must look out for more colours next year as I'm going to end up with a houseful of traditionally coloured Blue variety for next year! But great gift idea.....?

[marigold007]

And just think - I was happy yesterday when my small dark blue African Violet with a white bit in the middle bloomed for the first time since I bought it last year! Or, is this the only time of the year that they bloom? I have changed from watering it often to giving it a huge drink of water once every week or so to reproduce desert conditions. Way to go Quark!

[flowerofshona]

I imported over 500 AVs from the USA and have sent them to Dibleys who are now releasing them slowly for sale the vast choice is amazing from standards, semi mini, minature, trailers, chimeras, varigated and nearly every colour you can imagine !! stars, stripes, fantasy sparkles, to name just a few !! over here we have blue or pink and they are badly grown !! i would say well over 1,000 names varietys can be had in the USA and when leaf cuttings are sent over they root well in a really light compost of 50% perlite and a very open compost cover and put under lights and babies will appear in a few weeks
AV's need good light but not full sun light, if yours wont flower feed it and give it light !! fluoresant is fine but it needs to be fairly close to the plant.