African Violets part II--Transplanting

After Propagation--African Violets Part II

The main  leaf cutting has rotted off, so it's probably a good time to pot this one up.

Greetings gardeners and flower enthusiasts!

Yesterday I posted a talk on propagation of African Violets, and now realize that I really didn't finish with the subject.  In fact, I think I left out the most exciting part--making it look like a new plant for your collection!

It's been a long three month journey trying to get these little plants started, and there have probably been up's and downs along the way.  Maybe a leaf has rotted before a new plant has shown up and you've had to start over from scratch, or you've had an animal knock over your pot and just ruin the whole project.  Whatever the case, it's always exciting when you make the decision that it's now time to put them into pots and make them real, honest to goodness houseplants.   Before you start, you should gather up a few things and have them all handy while you work.

Example of good potting medium and a few small pots, which will be best in this instance.  Spoon and  Misting bottle not shown.  Neither is the gravel for the bottom of the pot.

Supplies you will need:

1. A pot of suitable size, nothing too big, smaller is better.
2. A small spoon of some kind.  A kitchen teaspoon will work (not a measuring spoon, but a regular small spoon.
3. African Violet Potting soil or some other rich humus that is well draining.  African Violet soil mix is the best medium to use though IMHO.
4. Spray bottle with Misting capability.
5. About a quarter to half inch of rock or gravel for the bottom of the pot.

Depending on what you are planning on doing with your plants, it's always important to determine a good pot size for your project.  For me, when planting cuttings like this, I'm basically looking to do two things.  I want to get them growing as fast as I can, and I want them to flower as soon as I can.  In order to accomplish this, I want to use a smaller pot.  Smaller pots encourage flowering in younger plants because of the lack of space.  The plant doesn't realize that your not going to let it die, so when the pot becomes full, it thinks it better reproduce as soon as it can, and it triggers a mechanism in the plant telling it to flower.   So, for me, a small pot is the best way for me to go if I want to resell my plant fairly soon after rooting.

The first thing you want to do is to throw a few small rocks in the bottom of the pot.  You don't want to overwhelm the pot by filling it with rocks because roots won't do so well trying to grow in that particular medium, but a small bit of gravel or something to fill the base of the pot is good to assist with drainage.  This is especially important if you decide to use a pot that has no drainage holes.  The rocks at the bottom of the pot will provide a place for excess water to go if you accidentally overwater, and overwatering can be a real problem with African violets.  Too much water can cause root rot, in addition to a whole host of other nasty problems.  I really prefer and strongly recommend a well drained pot when it comes to this particular plant.

After adding the gravel deep enough to cover the drainage holes a bit, you'll want to add your potting soil.  Since I"m using a small pot, I use a teaspoon to add my soil.  I add two or three teaspoons and then spray the soil down with water so that I know that my soil is wet through and through.  Once I'm about half to three quarters of the way full, I set that aside and grab my violet sprouts.

Not a good photo...sorry.

Once again, it's time to pull out your trusty teaspoon, and dig as deeply as you need into the pot, trying to scoop out the plant and getting all of the roots.

Plant with all roots lifted out of the vermiculite.

There will still be a lot of vermiculite on the roots, but you shouldn't worry about that too much.  I try to shake some of it out without really messing up the plant, because I want to make sure that some of the roots are exposed to the new potting soil that I've chosen for it.  The sooner it becomes used to the new soil, the sooner it will start to grow and get used to it.  

Bring your new pot back over to where you are working and sit your new plantlet into the pot.  You're doing this to determine just how much more soil you are going to need.  You don't want to plant your new plant in a pot that's half empty!  Once you sit it back on top you can determine just how much more potting soil you will need to bring your plant up to the point in the pot where it will look attractive, yet still have enough room for watering without overflow.

After I saw this, I shook off some more of the vermiculite.  There was still too much around the roots for my taste.

Once the plant is sitting where you want it, fill in around the sides using your spoon and the African Violet soil, making it look like it's planted in only the soil.  Make sure that your soil isn't packed too tight, but firmly around the plant.  Packed soil doesn't drain as well as loose soil.

Pack the soil in, and clean up as needed.  I still have to clean this one up a bit.

And you're done!  Water your new plant once a week roughly, depending on how dry the soil gets.  If it's completely dry, water it thoroughly.  Make sure the water drains out though and that your not leaving your plant in a bowl of water (again...the root rot thing).

As I discussed yesterday, you'll want to find your new plant a home in fairly indirect light, I have luck in a North facing window, but you can try different windows in your home until you find one that works.  Just don't forget about it.  If your plant starts yellowing and losing leaves it's trying to tell you that something is wrong, and many times it's trying to tell you that it doesn't like where it is.  Try different light, and eventually it should find a place it likes.  Once you find the spot, it will be happiest if left there permanently.

Now, I am going to plug a fertilizer that works well for me.  Schultz African Violet food is gooood stuff for my violets.  If you are using Miracle grow soil with premixed fertilizer, don't use the Schultz food, but rather let it run it's course for about six months and then start using the Schultz food.  I use seven drops per quart of water, and I water the plants once per week.  They love it and grow like crazy!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to chat with everyone again soon!  Comments are most welcome!  Share your thoughts and advice with me.  If you find I've done something Terrible, please let me know.  As I say, different things work for different people.  What I have written here is what has worked for me, but it's not written in stone!

Happy Gardening!

PS...found another link to African Violet clubs and societies!
http://www.grownotes.com/african-violet-clubs/

Enjoy!