African Violets My Way: Rachel's Reflections

Starting Leaves
I have tried many of the written methods and had some success, but never as well as just relax and have fun with it. The more I worried, the less the violet thrived. I loved them to death!
NOTE: recent findings.... I have noticed that rooting powder actually takes longer to make babies. The leaves do root faster but they concentrate on making roots more than making babies. Now I just push the leaf into the vermiculite just to cover the cut end and keep very wet. You will have to prop them and be very careful not to jostle them but I think it is worth it in the waiting time. Also worth noting here leaving long stems is not necessary. With the longer stem I tended to push the leaf farther down in to the rooting medium, which of course adds to the time it takes to see the babies emerge.
Now I find a tray (the plastic salad take-out trays work just fine) use a hot needle to burn a bunch of holes in the bottom, fill it with coarse vermiculite, packed quite firmly WHILE DRY, add water and let sit. Take your leaf cut it on an angle at the front, poke a hole in the moist vermiculite with a pen. usually the leaf you are working with is strong enough to push into the vermiculite at this point, but if you do not want to take chances, use the pen, insert the leaf, prop it against a popcicle stick at a bit of a right angle. Firm very lightly around the base of the leaf and by watering again. Be very careful not to pack your vermiculite. I do not cover my leaves.	drawing by Ninette Brownlee
I set them on the top shelf of the light garden and don't worry about them. Of course most important to this method is lots of water! I have mine sitting in about an inch of water at all times until the babies begin to show. I am sure this is why I do not have to cover mine. With this method I can boast a high percentage success rate on my leaf starts. Perhaps it is because it is carefree! Covering the violet you must be right on the ball as to whether there is too much condensation on the baggie etc.....
I have also found an equal mixture of coarse vermiculite, perlite and fine peat moss works well as a starting mixture! The mixture must be light whatever you choose, and remember do not pack while wet! Set your pot up with a wick and fill with the soil mixture. Take a teaspoon out of the center and fill the resulting hole with coarse vermiculite. You must wick these though, for standing in water keeps them much too wet and they will eventually sour and die. I find this method is good for my community watering set up which can be found here. Again they do not need to be covered because they are kept in a humid atmosphere by the water that is in the tray beneath them.
A broken leaf??? No problem! I have cut them into pie shaped wedges and had great success in rooting them! Most people though will use the shaping at the right. It has happened that during one of my frequent absences one "Midnight Magic" leaf gave up and fell over. It was my last chance at saving that leaf, and I discovered the stem was hard and brown but the tip of the leaf laying on the soil gave some resistance when I tried to pick it up. I nursed that tiny "tip" but now I have two beautiful plants! I no longer give up on a leaf if I can find the tiniest bit of green on it.
WEDGES Not enough leaf left to make a stem? No problem! Cut into wedges. Just make sure that there is a vein in the cut and press snugly against the vermiculite. It takes about the same length of time an average leaf would and does just as good a job.
Here are some new babies just peeking through the soil	pop them out of the pot when they are big enough to handle. You will easily see where to separate them.
When the babies are large enough to separate and be potted up use the 2-1/4" pots, pot them up and care for them as you would a plant. I like to use my teaspoon of vermiculite in the center of the pot just to give these little fella's a rootin' chance. I explain this in more detail below. Their roots quickly take over the vermiculite and spread out into the soil beyond.
Rooting and Starting Suckers You will find young plants tend to "sucker" in the first year or so. Some are worse for this than others. Take advantage of them ..... they are another plant for your collection! Prepare a 2-1/2" pot with your potting medium. Scoop about 1 teaspoon of soil out of the center and fill the resulting space with coarse vermiculite, water thoroughly, and set aside.
More on potting up suckers here	Take the sucker off the main plant as cleanly as possible, then prepare the bottom of the sucker by lightly scraping the outside edge , with your fingernail or sharp knife. Brush lightly with a #1 rooting hormone powder, press sucker in the vermiculite in prepared pot. There, now in just a few short weeks you will have another blooming plant. Water thoroughly and keep soil as moist as you would your leaf starts.
Within just a few days it will be obvious that your "sucker" has taken root. At this time treat as a regular plant. This plant will grow up identical to "mom" and be just as big and beautiful as those grown from leaf. Actually this method is much faster than starting from leaf because you have begun with a plant!
I am always open to constructive suggestions.


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