The plants often develop multiple crowns, which can be split apart and used to propagate new plants. Repot your cutting by burying the stem up to the base of the leaf. What’s Your Favorite Method of African Violet Propagation? , cut the stem at a 45-degree angle down to about 1½ inch. Press the soil firmly around it and water thoroughly with tepid water. They’re so simple to propagate, you can easily fill a sunlit room or office space with them. I used a paring knife to remove this African violet leaf from the mother plant. African Violet Plants - How To Grow African Violets, Dividing An African Violet Plant – How To Separate African Violet Suckers, Starting An African Violet - Growing African Violet Plants With Seeds, Growing Indoor Calla Lilies – Care For Calla Lilies In The Home, Jade Plant Look Wrinkled – Reasons For Wrinkled Jade Leaves, Different Dieffenbachia Varieties – Different Types Of Dieffenbachia, Chervil – Growing The Chervil Herb In Your Garden, Lemongrass Herbs: Learn About Growing A Lemongrass Plant, Indoor Herb Garden – Growing A Window Sill Herb Garden, Dream Garden Improvement - Back To Nature, Propagating Houseplants 101: Tips For Propagating Plants, Sprengeri Fern Plant: Growing Houseplants As Family Heirlooms. Change the water every 7-10 days to keep it fresh. Share your tips and tricks in the comments below! In a few more months (around 6-7 from the original propagation), your plant is ready to move to a traditional African violet pot and start producing beautiful blooms. A bit of Epsom salt can help to lighten the soil even more. Removing them also encourages better blooms on the parent plant. div#stuning-header .dfd-stuning-header-bg-container {background-image: url(https://africanvioletresourcecenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/small.jpg);background-size: initial;background-position: center center;background-attachment: initial;background-repeat: no-repeat;}#stuning-header div.page-title-inner {min-height: 100px;}. Your email address will not be published. The first, inferior method is to water the plants from the top with room-temperature water, being careful to avoid wetting the leaves. At this point, they simply aren’t strong enough to be separated from the mother leaf. The ease with which African violet can be rooted and acclimatized facilitates its commercialization, making it a popular flowering pot plant (Teixeira da Silva et al., 2016). They always lend a soft touch of bright color and coziness to any room. Required fields are marked *. Miniature has a diameter of 6-8 inches or less, semi-mini is 6-8 inches, standard is 8-16 inches, and large is 16+ inches. You can reuse the old pot for one of your repotted plants, if you want. Even inexperienced growers can quickly produce additional plants and expand their collection. Never use cold water, always lukewarm or room-temperature water. Using a sterile knife or scissors, remove a healthy leaf along with its stem from the base of the plant. A mature African violet might have one pup, or it may have several. First and foremost, you can’t grow a healthy violet baby without a healthy violet mother. Propagating your houseplants is an easy, inexpensive way to multiply your collection and grow thoughtful gifts for others. They are put into four different size categories based on diameter. Not sure where to begin? Without question, the African Violet is the worlds most popular houseplant. For miniature African violets, our 1.5 inch plastic pot works well. African Violet Care – Keeping Them Healthy. On the opposite side, a violet that is not getting enough light will produce thin, dark leaves and leggy stems. How To Propagate African Violet Chimeras? Remember that violets don’t particularly like to be placed in very large pots, they prefer snug quarters. Tiny plantlets will start to make their way to the surface within four weeks. Add just enough water to the potting mix to dampen it. Place in bright, indirect sunlight. The plastic will allow light to permeate and capture the moisture in the soil to create a mini-greenhouse effect. There are several methods of African violet propagation, from cuttings to division. Propagating African Violets from Seed. The longer you wait, the more durable your rooted plant will be. Otherwise, make sure you have 2 appropriately-sized pots. Growing African violets from leaves or cuttings is a simple propagation method for new plants. 3. This should also be the temperature of your soil for optimal sprouting. If your African violet appears to be struggling, nurse it back to health before attempting to propagate. Houseplant Propagation Promoter & Rooting Hormone, Root Stimulator, Plant Starter Solution for Growing New Plants from Cuttings (Formulated for Fiddle Leaf Fig or Ficus Lyrata) ... Buy African Violet Plant Food on Amazon Now! Interested in African violet propagation in water? African violet leaf cuttings can successfully produce roots in water or soil. Step 1: Remove and trim leaf. Remove these and pot up independently. Stayin’ Alive! To make the transfer with the best success and with the least danger for your developing plant, use a small butter tub cup containing a bit of water. Each of them will give you a brand new plant. ! This fact makes African violets relatively unique in the plant world … Remove the cutting entirely from the pot, dirt and all. Stick the leaf in the plastic so that the stem touches the water. Your African Violet leaf should still be waiting patiently on the side at this point. Once the roots appear, the cut stem will begin to produce a new plant; this may take at least a month. In fact, everyone seems to know that African violet babies come from leaves. (Our Beginner’s Guide to African Violet Care can help!) African violet propagation—. Oct 27, 2014 - Free weblog publishing tool from Google, for sharing text, photos and video. Removing suckers is a good way to propagate a new plant, but it also keeps the mother plant healthy, as suckers can rob the plant of nutrients and energy, thus reducing flowering and shortening the life of the plant. Slicing the stem, or petiole, diagonally increases the surface area available for roots to sprout. You can propagate this plant from a healthy leaf cutting. Purchase a commercial potting mix that contains vermiculite and perlite soil conditioners. Using a sharp-bladed knife or pruning shears, cut the stem at a 45-degree angle down to about 1½ inch. Sign up for our newsletter. Trim the stem down to about 1-1.5 inches (2.5-3.8 cm.). Within 4-6 weeks, the mother leaf will start growing plantlets. Poke a hole in the plastic wrap with a chopstick or skewer. Despite numerous studies on the micropropagation of African violet, these studies were confined to propagation on gelled media. Choose leaves that are almost full size and remove from the plant with the stalk attached. There are several methods to choose from … Explore our other. Removing the top half of the leaf can force the cutting to put more energy into sprouting roots, reducing grow time. 1. Wait until the baby plant is about half-an-inch big and move to a small pot, following the directions in Step 5 above. Do you find yourself wanting more African violets? Buy African Violet Plant Food on Amazon Now! Droplets inside the bag/container indicate adequate humidity. Choose a Leaf. We recommend waiting for a month or two (or even three!) 4. At around 12 weeks, the plantlets that have emerged can be separated from the leaf cutting and moved to a small pot. Pro tip: Don’t let the cover or bag touch your cutting; trim the leaf or prop up the bag if necessary. For minis and semiminis, us a … To sprout these tiny seeds, it’s good to use a light soil mixture of peat, vermiculite and greensand. Some of … I made a short video showing how it’s done and there is a step-by-step tutorial (below) as well. Tiny plantlets will start to make their way to the surface within four weeks. 2. Leave them in bright light for 2 to 4 weeks. longer to ensure your plant babies are vigorous enough for replanting. Now that we have our mix and our pot ready, lightly moisten the mix and fill the pot. A positive reason for planting by seed would be that it is a relatively easy method of propagation. Separate the small new plants by carefully pulling or cutting them apart. Most standard African violets, grown as a houseplant, will require a 4-5″ pot at maturity. Ready to repot? Skip to the end of this guide for a start-to-finish checklist! African Violets Propagation Directions. grow vibrant and strong. Whether you’re a green or seasoned grower, African Violet Resource Center has everything you need to help your plant (and plant babies!) Once your mother plant is thriving, follow these simple steps to grow infinite new plant pals. Sign up for new African Violet articles, free growing tips and much more! “Can I propagate an African violet in water?”—the answer is YES! It’s fun to see your home propagated seedlings turn into full sized, flowering plants. Don’t be alarmed if your plantlets don’t have many roots yet; they’ll grow more vigorously once repotted. At this point, they simply aren’t strong enough to be separated from the mother leaf. African Violet (Saintpaulia) plants are a popular species of houseplant, native to East Africa. Roots will begin to form within a few weeks. A. drop of liquid fertilizer can be added to the water at this point, but it is not necessary. (Cling wrap works excellent!). Trimming the leaf: Removing the top half of the leaf can force the cutting to put more energy into sprouting roots, reducing grow time. If you’re wondering. Adult plants occasionally produce small plantlets or shoots from the side. Potting. and a little propagation booster, and then plant as you would any other houseplant. 1. Skip to the end of this guide for a start-to-finish checklist! Once you have chosen which leaves to harvest for propagation, proceed to snap off the tender leaf stem from the African Violet plant or use a sharp clean knife to cut the tender leaf stem off of the African Violet … Now, stick the leaf (stem side down) into the mix, positioning the leaf directly in the center of the pot. If you’re wondering, “Can I propagate an African violet in water?”—the answer is YES! If your African violet appears to be struggling, nurse it back to health before attempting to propagate. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If you’re a houseplant lover, chances are you’ve propagated plant babies in water. Based on the growth habit, an African violet can either be rosette (single-crowned) type or trailing (multi-crowned) type. Each piece can be planted its own pot with suitable African violet potting soil mix to instantly multiply your collection of African violets. Read more articles about African Violets. Then wait for the water to drain out from the bottom and return the violet to its home. Overheating can cause the delicate leaf to burn or rot. Overly dry soil can give you a hard time creating “greenhouse-like” conditions in Step 4. Slicing the stem, or petiole, diagonally increases the surface area available for roots to sprout. Your cutting will propagate fine without this step, so consider it optional. Using a sharp-bladed knife or. No need to go buy new plants…they’re easy and fun to propagate. Overly wet soil can cause the leaf to rot. This novice-friendly guide breaks down everything you need to know. If you’re a houseplant lover, chances are you’ve propagated plant babies in water. But. The best leaves for propagation are fully developed but not showing any signs of poor health or aging (brown spots, holes, curling edges). Repot all plants every 6-12 months. Explore our other articles, visit our online shop, and connect with other houseplant lovers in our Facebook group to learn everything you need to know about this rewarding hobby! African violets are one of the many species of houseplants that easily propagate. Leaf cuttings. African Violet chimeras can only be propagated from bloom stalks or suckers or crown decapitation to produce suckers. It may sound intimidating to propagate an African Violet in the first place, but it is actually really simple – even beginning gardeners can do it. Known for their striking resemblance to violets, African Violets have become a household favorite due to their resilience and easiness to grow. Don’t let the cover or bag touch your cutting; trim the leaf or prop up the bag if necessary. You can propagate African violets from seed, but it does require a couple of specific conditions. plant micropropagation using african violet leaves Through the use of biotechnology, desirable genetic traits can be transferred from one organism to another by transfer of DNA. Whether you’re a green or seasoned grower, African Violet Resource Center has everything you need to help your plant (and plant babies!) African violets are very hardy and do best in indirect or filtered sunlight. Also, African Violet seeds are extremely small and often hard to handle and the success of the seeds is not guaranteed. Add 1 teaspoon of the liquid promoter into the soil before planting to reduce time to new roots. Avoid exposing the cutting to excessive heat or cool air. Cover with a clear plastic bag, or place in a plastic container (used pastry and cookie containers work great!). Using the division technique involves cutting the crown from the plant or separating the pups, or suckers, from a plant, making sure that each portion you’ve cut away has a piece of the main plant’s root system. Take a healthy African Violet plant and cut a few leaves. African Violet Plant Propagation. As a child, I remember going over to the homes of many of my relatives in St. Louis, and while there I would always admire the rows upon rows of African Violets lining the insides of windowsills, or sitting in little rolley carts in sunny areas of the house. Propagating African violets from leaf cuttings is the most popular method because it’s so easy and successful. Separating plants is another method of easy African violet propagation. The answer is propagation as it allows for the acquisition of your own African violet without going to the nearest store. A Beginner’s Guide to African Violet Care, Bottoms Up! And there you have it! This is great if your African violets have grown too large for their pots. Fill pots with free draining compost such as seed and cutting compost or mix equal quantities of multipurpose compost and sharp sand or … Your cutting will propagate fine without this step, so consider it optional. Our guide to, selecting and home-mixing African violet potting mix, giving your cutting an extra boost with a. . In time African violet leaf cuttings should produce a new plant, but using rooting hormone will speed things along considerably faster. It’s important that you have a warm space, so make sure your room temperature is between 65- and 75-degrees Fahrenheit (18-24 C.). Prepare the potting medium. Shoot for moist, not damp. Prepare a small, well-draining plastic pot with African violet soil and a little propagation booster, and then plant as you would any other houseplant. Add this to a small plastic pot until it is 3/4 of the way full. Be sure that you cut as close to the root as possible. African violets can be propagated from leaf cuttings or from offsets. Once you understand how simple it is to propagate African violets, it’s easy to become a bit obsessed with them. This post focuses on propagation in potting mix. The leaves of new little plants usually appear in 6 to 8 weeks. African violets should be grown single-crowned. You may want to dip the tip of the stem into some rooting hormone. Make sure you place the stem in water immediately after cutting; African violet leaves will start to harden up within a few minutes of exposure to air. You can propagate African violets from seed, but it does require a couple of specific conditions. Common African Violet Problems & What Comes Next, Visit Our Online Shop for the Best African Violet Products, Your email address will not be published. Propagation. Choose 4-5 leaves from one African Violet plant if possible, otherwise 2 leaves are also fine to start with. If the inside of your mini greenhouse appears dry, check the soil. If it is getting too much light, you may notice brown spots forming on the plant. Your seeds should germinate in 8 to 14 days. Place the cutting in a one-inch deep (2.5 cm) hole in potting soil. It’s best to use a mature leaf, but not one that’s old and tough. African violets are very easily propagated from leaf. African violet propagation takes eight weeks, at a minimum. Fill a wide-mouthed container with lukewarm water. African violet propagation requires lightweight, well-aerated soil. First and foremost, you can’t grow a healthy violet baby without a healthy violet mother. African violet cultivars can be categorized based on size, growth habit, flower variation, and leaf variation (2). African violets are easy to propagate from leaf cuttings. I put a small amount of rooting powder into a small bowl to avoid contaminating all of my rooting powder with moisture. Propagating African Violets in Potting Mix, Small plastic or paper plant tag (for support), Once you select your leaf, pinch it off the parent plant. Propagating African violets does not bring instant results, so be patient. Most African violets look best with no more than 5 rows of leaves. Once your mother plant is thriving, follow these simple steps to grow infinite new plant pals. Interested in African violet propagation in water? Propagating African violets is a great pastime for people who love them. Inspect your setup every few weeks. Propagation of African violets to gain more plants of the same variety is normally done by leaf propagation. Characteristics of a typical African violet are that it is a tropical, herbaceous perennial. A pup grows from the plant’s main stem – not from a leaf or from the crown. Propagation Of A Chimera African Violet With A Potato? First and foremost, you can’t grow a healthy violet baby without a healthy violet mother. In a few more months (around 6-7 from the original propagation), your plant is ready to move to a traditional African violet pot and start producing beautiful blooms. If the water evaporates, add more. Place the plant near a bright window but away from direct sunlight or other heat sources. , and connect with other houseplant lovers in our Facebook group to learn everything you need to know about this rewarding hobby! Middle-row leaves are excellent candidates for propagation. You have probably seen this done in water but you can also root them directly in potting mix. If it’s bone-dry, add a small amount of water to the potting mix and reseal. Delicate, fuzzy-leafed African violets are exotic, agreeable plants with flowers that come in a wide range of pinks to purples. Roots will usually form in 3 to 4 weeks. A bit of Epsom salt can help to lighten the soil even more. But hold your horses! Perhaps this is one of the more odd posts I have done on this site, or maybe experimenter I have done in an effort to propagate a chimera Africa violet. African Violet Propagation: Step-By-Step . It’s a good idea to create a little greenhouse environment for your cutting by covering the pot with a plastic bag and securing it with a rubber band, being sure to give the cutting some occasional fresh air. Copyright © 2020 African Violet Resource Center, 5 Tips to Keep Your African Violet Alive for Years to Come, Everything You Need to Know About African Violet Leaves. And you’re in luck! This method is difficult because it’s nearly impossible to avoid wetting the violets. Note: This post focuses on propagation in potting mix. If your African violet appears to be struggling, nurse it back to health before attempting to propagate. (Our Beginner’s Guide to African Violet Care can help!) [1] X Research source Vermiculite and perlite help your soil retain moisture. Remove a fresh leaf from the plant that you wish to propagate. Plan to do this project in the spring. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! Look for a leaf that is healthy and fresh, but has been established on the plant. A healthy leaf will usually take about a month to develop roots. Select and prepare an African violet leaf following Steps 1 and 2 above. A rosette type would have leaves growing outwards from a central stem and flowers blooming at the center. Put the leaves in the bowl of water. First, get your supplies together. Propagation . To sprout these tiny seeds, it’s good to use a light soil mixture of peat, vermiculite and greensand. Place the pot in a sunny location, keeping the soil just moist. can help!) 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