Before I sat down to write this post a couple of things entered my mind. The first being that it's been observed by those close to me that I may possibly have an African Violet addiction. Just to be clear, I may have a slight obsession but definitely nothing that qualifies as an addiction. Just to be sure I did a count before I started typing. I have 15 precious little African Violets in my home. In the grand scheme of things....that's nothin.
The second thing that entered my mind was how I would stay within my bandwidth if I started going on about them. Over my last month here on steemit AVs have come up a few times in conversation, mainly regarding propagation. So I decided to start out there for now.
~this is a little sweetie that I propagated last year alongside one of my more mature plants.
Disclaimer: If you are someone who likes doing things by the book and incorporate all of the words of wisdom from professionals into your execution, this may not be the tutorial for you :)
For some reason I'll read about all the technicalities of a subject before hand but then proceed to try and push my luck seeing how many short cuts I can get away with. So you've been forewarned, while the Emily way of doing things is much easier than the technical tutorials, you may not see as good of results. I tend to have about a 65% success rate. If nothing else, you can always try the "right way" the next go around as there are many good tutorials out there.
Here is all that you will need:
~Small pots that can stand up to moist conditions for several months. I used an old plastic 6 pack from some veggie starts and have been using the same one for a couple of years now.
~Soil. One thing I don't skimp on is soil. I heed the advice of the pros and source a small bag of pre-mixed "African Violet" soil from my local garden store. For the more industrious do-it yourselfers...equal parts peat moss, vermiculite and perlite is what these little plants love.
~1 gal. zip lock bag. You don't have to use this exact bag, but one with stiff sides is needed. I like the freezer variety and have been using the same one for quite some time.
~Cutting of a small healthy leaf from your favorite plant.
To start find a healthy leaf on the plant you would like to make the babies from. It's suggested that you use one that's not too old nor too young. One taken from two or three layers from the bottom of the plant seems to be just right. Take your cut at an angle about 3/4" down the stem from the leaf.
Next you will be setting the leaf into the slightly damp soil in the growing tray/pot you have chosen. I am adding this one to a tray that already had some starts.
I nestled the stem down so the leaf sits about 1/4" from the soil.
African Violets can be somewhat dainty about things. One thing they really don't care for is getting their leaves wet. This mini greenhouse makes taking that into consideration quite easy.
As you can see I set the tray down to the bottom of the bag. Another tip I heed that was suggested is to not let the leaves touch the sides of the bag. I assume this is to keep them from touching any humidity build up on the side walls. You wouldn't want to stress them out while they are trying to grow babies.
The easy part is that all you have to do is make sure you keep about 1/4" of water in the bottom of the bag at all times. In true Emily style though I have to admit I have let it totally dry out before and nothing awful has happened. Just don't let the soil dry out entirely. When you go to water them let the water flow down the side of the bag to the bottom careful not to let it hit the leaves. The experts suggest using rooting hormones, keeping them in optimal temperatures, yada yada yada. I just put the open bag near some filtered light and away from any drafts, pretty much nestled alongside my other A. Violets. My home stays generally around 68°f so I guess that's a good temp to suggest.
Now on to the hard part, the waiting. It's taken me anywhere from 2 months to 4 months to get a good enough start for a replant. In the pictures above all of the leaves that were in the tray prior to adding the new one had been rooting for about 5 weeks. After all of that time I'm just now seeing signs of baby leaves forming at their bases.
I think though this may be one of the prices you pay with Emily's little shortcutty half assed method. Following the experts may result in faster propagation times. I wouldn't know though because I've never done it that way. I should try to harness some patience here soon and give it a go , if nothing more than to have a success rate comparison to report. I'm in no rush though so I just let them do their thing.
Once you get about 6 or so healthy looking leaves then it's time to replant them. It's said that African Violets don't care for being relocated, again they're quite picky about some things. In order to not cause them too much trauma at such a young age, choose a pot that's not much bigger than the initial pot they were started in. Trying to keep as much of the original dirt cradling the roots nestle them into enough additional dirt in the new pot so they're snug in their new home. Once the plant has become well established you can snip away the giant parent leaf and the little plant will officially be on it's own.
This is plant has been in it's new home for about 6 months. It looks very happy and well established. No blooms yet, but I will be patient. Just like us humans, there are so many variables that effect development. I just try to give them enough water and light, tell them how amazing and beautiful they are, and again....just let them do their thing.
You may have noticed the pot the baby is in has a double lip at the top. This is what's called a self watering pot. Due to the fact that African Violets don't like to get their leaves wet many people use this type of pot for them.
Here's a picture of one of the pot bases with the insert out to the left. The bottom part of the insert is left unglazed so that the water you put in the base can slowly seep through to keep the soil perfectly damp for the Violets. This variety of the self watering pot even has a hole at the top side of the base so that you dont have to remove the insert to fill. They are super low maintenance as you only have to fill the water every couple weeks or so.
~another pretty self watering pot I scored over the years.
I also recommend self watering pots for any of your house plants that thrive in damp soil. They may be a bit more spendy and trickier to source but I think it's worth it.
All of the self watering pots that I have were found at second hand stores over the years. I'm always on the hunt for them. There are also other places to get them but I don't have any specific suggestions other than asking at your local plant supply store or ordering them on-line.
Unfortunately I chose to write this post at a time when only a handful of my African Violets are blooming. I know it's probably true that if I followed stricter guidelines for care then they would be blooming more often. Some say they can be manipulated into blooming all year round. Sounds tiring to me and for them :). I guess I more prefer a natural approach and am always pleasantly surprised when they bloom.
Here are the two other types I have blooming right now in addition to the giant white one featured at the top of the post.
If I was a more professional African Violet hobbyist I would be able to tell you what cultivars I grow. I have read that there are thousands of different types of African Violets, all of which have stemmed from the original couple of varieties in the coastal forests and mountains of Eastern Africa. What's in a name anyway when the beauty they behold speaks for itself.
The lighter pink bloom above is a trailing variety and I'm currently trying to come up with a way to try and mimic the damp cliff sides of its African ancestors so that it doesn't become a victim of gravity. The darker pink is one of a handful that I have that pretty much has gorgeous blooms all year round regardless of my "neglect". I love its "curly" dark fuzzy leaves in contrast with the beautiful color.
African Violets come in so many different varieties. It's definitely worth an on-line search to check them out.
If you have made it this far in my long winded post, I hope I have provided you with at least a smudge of useful information or a new found excitement for these precious little plants. If you have any questions I am happy to do my best to answer them.
On a side note.....Look at this little cutie I picked up at the flea market today!!! So tiny....and so cool!
I think I subconsciously forgot to write down the name so that I could use that as an excuse to go back to his booth next time ;) From the looks of it I imagine it'll be easy to propagate as well. Perhaps in the future you'll see another one of Emily's half-assed propagation posts.
Until then...thanks for reading and happy propagating!