Propagating African Violets for Fun and Profit!

Creating baby African Violets--Easy and Fun!

This is the parent plant that I've decided to use.  Notice that it's a nice huge plant and very healthy.

Without question, the African Violet is the worlds most popular houseplant.  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.  Back then, in the 1970's, there were a few different colors but mostly they plants were light purples to deep purple, but you'd occasionally see a nice pink one.

Today the colors and varieties of African violets have exploded and hybrid's abound.  One can find African violets ranging from pink through deep purple colors including magenta's and even whites, but you can add nearly ANY variety or mix of colors, as well as ruffles, and anything else you can imagine to make the African Violet an always interesting houseplant to keep at your home.  It seems every time you turn around there is some kind of new hybrid of this plant, and keeping up is nearly impossible. 

Beautiful Magenta Blooms--a real treat for the eyes!

 Just like any other flower, African Violets have obsessed enthusiasts.  There are clubs and organizations specifically dedicated to this most popular of houseplants, and information abounds on the web and in books regarding their flowering, growth and propagation.   If you love African Violets as I do, check out the following: The African Violet Society of America http://www.avsa.org/ (Includes links to clubs and societies dedicated to violets all over the USA.) 

Lately, I've been admiring  the African Violets at my Mother's house.  She has one that is a strong deep magenta color, and it's simply HUGE!!  I've talked her into allowing me to take cuttings from it and so I figured that I would share the "root from leaf cutting" process with the people who read my Backyard Garden blog.

First off, you're going to need some supplies:

1. Scissors
2. Vermiculite (preferred) or other course seeding potting medium
3. Rooting Hormone
4. Pot with good drainage or stones in bottom if no holes for drainage
5. Spray bottle with misting sprayer

Add a pair of sharp scissors to this and you'll have it all!

The first thing you need to do is to take the cutting using the scissors or shears you've selected for the project.  This can be more difficult than you might think.  African Violets grow in clumps with leaves sprouting random around the plant.   Personally, I have had more success with the large leaves from the middle edges of the plant more than the older leaves at the base.  You'll want to pick one of those and cut it off the plant, transferring it into water IMMEDIATELY.  Even if all you have is a soaking wet paper towel at the moment, it will suffice.  You need to keep that cut open and water filled if you can.  If for some reason you cannot get the cutting into something wet right away, all is not lost!  Get as much of the leaf stem as possible and when you get the cutting home or to wherever you plan to work, recut the stem just above the place where you originally cut.  When you get somewhere with the cutting that you can transfer it into a cup of water, then it's time to start getting the soil set up.  

Choose a window that gets indirect sun.  African Violets can handle SOME full sun, but they aren't fond of it.  They like indirect light.  Additionally, they don't like to be moved a lot so you'll want to pick your spot keeping in mind that you'll be keeping your plant there for it's lifetime, or at least close to that spot for it's lifetime.  I'm not saying that this is required, but you'll have more success with propagation if you do.  Once you've done that, grab your container, and fill it with Vermiculite or the potting/rooting media of your choice.  I find that the Vermiculite works very very well, so that's what I'll use from now on.

This is Vermiculite.  You can purchase it at any garden center or department store.  It's very affordable and a great rooting medium for many different kinds of cuttings and plants.

One you have filled the pot that you are going to use with the vermiculite, you'll need to wet it down.  I find for this first wetting it's alright to use just a saucer full of water for the bottom of your pot to allow the water to soak up into your medium, and then use the sprayer/misting spray bottle to spray the heck out of the top soil.  Make sure that the vermiculite is fully wet though before you place your leaf cutting into it.

Next you need to pull out your rooting hormone.  There are many kinds of rooting hormone and they sell from $5 to $15 a bottle roughly.  Personally I've been using an inexpensive brand I purchased at a large, well known department store.  It's a dried powder variety, but I understand that it works just as well as the liquid varieties of rooting hormone.  Whatever you use is up to you...your preference.  You want to dip the cut stem of the leaf in the rooting hormone up to about a quarter of the way to the leaf.  In other words, you want to still be able to see 3/4 of the leaf stem and the leaf left after you've dipped in hormone.

Schultz rooting hormone is both inexpensive and easy to use in the powdered form.  Just dip the leaf stem in as deep as you want it, and place the stem into the vermiculite.

Now comes the difficult part.  There are a couple of different ways that this can be done, and people who do this on a regular basis tend to disagree on how to do it...The placement of the leaf in the potting medium.  Many people say that you should just "lay" the leaf cutting onto the vermiculite medium.  This may work, but it's never really worked for me.  My experience dictates that you make a small hole in your potting mixture (enough to cover the rooting hormone and to support the leaf) and place the leaf standing in it.  I usually have it lean a bit against the side of the pot that I'm using so that there is some support to keep the plant in place once I cover it up.  The next step is going to take a while, and that support will become necessary.

Notice how I have the leaf leaning against the corner of the pot.  While not elegant it IS effective for giving the leaf support while it's rooting.

Now we wait for the plant to root and produce new leaves.  This is just nerve wracking, and to be honest on many occasions I have darned near given up on the process altogether during this waiting phase.  You'll want to mist the vermiculite as often as possible, usually once per day, and keep the medium as moist as you can.  I've been told that you can't over-mist the soil, but you want to be careful to not get too much water on the leaves.  Too much water on the leaves can cause them to rot.  If you accidentally soak your leaf with water, take and dab it with the corner of a paper towel until it's at least mostly dry.  That will help prevent the rot from happening.

 It takes about two to three months, but small leaves will start to come up around the base of the big leaf that you've inserted in your potting medium.  When that happens, Viola!  You have a new African Violet plant!  Congrats!  Please note this though...you aren't just looking for roots on your cutting...you need new sets of leaves coming up around the base before you transplant.  A rooted leaf is not a new plant in this case.  If you don't maintain patience--if you transplant too soon--you could wind up with a nice one leaf plant for eternity.  Be patient and wait for the new little plant to come up around the base of the cutting, just like in the photo above.  Notice the little baby plant around the base of the leaf?  That's what you're waiting to see.

If for some reason you come up on six months and still have no baby plant, you may want to give up.  There are certain strains and hybrids of African Violet that can only be reproduced by special means.  If you've got a particularly fancy variety and cannot get the new plants to come up around the leaf, this might be the case.  Make sure you give it a full six months though before you give up completely.  Heck...I don't know that I'd give up even then.  I'd probably just go ahead and put the rooted leaf in a potting mixture and see what happens.  It's hard for me to give up on a plant altogether.  

Tomorrow I'm going to post how to pot one of these up when you've got it to the size where you think it's ready to be moved.  Until then...Happy Gardening!