AV Babies- Need Help Separating From Mom

Here is a leaf I started in late May. I believe the babies have reached a size where they can be separated from mom, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong! My question is two fold:
1.) Do all of those little babies make up one new plant or do I have to separate each "ear" and make each one of them a new plant?

2.) What is the best way to separate them from the mom? Do I just grow continue growing them on in little solo cups until they get big enough for larger pot?

Thanks for any advice!

Take the mama leaf and baby plants out of the cup, and swirl in water. That will help wash away the mix you have them in. It will become real obvious once you start pulling the little babies away from each other whether there is more than one leaf per plantlet. Some people put each of their 'babies' right into a 3oz solo cup. Depending on the size of the babies, though, you could put them into a 1oz solo cup, too.

id let them get a little bigger first
then do what syrumani said,

JIM

Recently I think Gail posted that someone who sells violets waits for 6 months to separate. I also read on AVSa that you should do it when at least 3 leaves are the size of a nickel but wasn't sure if that applied to only standards because the semi leaves that Gail sent me surely will never be the size of the nickel! I read on another site that they should be the size of a dime so it's all very confusing. If I try to think about it from the plant's perspective then it makes sense you want to wait until the plant can manage on its own.

I have read that some in extreme cases have waited for up to a year before separating babiels. I could never wait that long, but I do have some that are going on 4 months now . . . depending on their type, some leaves are tiny and some are larger than a quarter . . . I will be working on separating alot of my babies this weekend.

I am watching my one leaf that has babies like a hawk. I think it started out with just one or two mouse ears and now has many leaves. These might be two babies or it might be three or four right? I've noticed that even almost two months after it started out that there are still new small leaves joining the older ones. I am wondering if these older babies might be able to be removed while leaving the younger babies on mom so they can develop more.

if the babies got 4 or 5 leaves ,it might be ok to seperate them,Ive got babies that i havent seperated in over a year

course i forgot to label them so i have no idea what ive got,im sure i wont be able to id them,they can just grow and bloom for me

JIM

Jim must have been that extreme case I remember reading about! ^_^

maybe lol

When I said that Tea told me she waited for 6 months from sticking the leaf to separate, it was because she wanted more violets. I don't want that many from any mother leaf. I just separated some tonight and got 4 nice size plants from each mother. Two were so small I put them in one ounce condiment cups and the others into 2" standard pots (or you could use a 3 ounce solo.....)

I just use whatever pots I can find.........The right side of this tray was separated from mama leaves last week.
The left side I just potted up tonight.

Jim wait a year????? Am I surprised (LOL)

will say though ,i seperated field and stream already when the babies have about 6 or 7 leaves

JIM

Thanks all!

Gail, I see you use capillary matting for propagating violets. Do you use this same method for streps? How does the rate of water uptake differ from wicking?

ask Jim............He wicks streps on matting............I don't but am going to start doing it his way.

I do wick with no matting my bigger violets or I should say more mature violets............only the babies stay on matting and a dome until they develop a good root system.

This picture shows that these have moved up to a grid and wicking full time now.

These are babies separated about 3 weeks ago and are now on a grid wicking full time but not as big as the picture posted above........you can see that many of these are in solo cups with wicks......they have moved from all matting and doming to the second step.............wicking but not potted up in regular pots yet.

I see, I'm going to try this with my violets. It makes sense.

What is the plant in the back row, furthest to the right?


when you propagate your strep leaves, do you stick them in solo cups with a dome and bottom water, using turkey baster to remove excess?

I do bottom water but try not to put so much excess water that it needs to be removed..........i don't want them to rot.........When you propagate the leaves, I find you just want the matting moist (not sitting in water).

Back row to the far right would be Beachcomber and then (in another tray) I think you are looking at Drymonia Chiribogana. Is it this one?

I wanted to say that there are so many ways to grow your avs, so don't always listen to me. AvPat puts capillary matting on top of the grid hanging down in the water and wicks every single plant this way.

Jim King wicks everything too on matting in permanest tray without the grids................that is what I want to try on my streps. It is taking me too long to water my streps.............the way I am doing it.........having to suck out all the extra water with the turkey baster you were speaking of..........plus I have to make sure that each pot in each tray is the same size or they get over watered or under watered.........

I just ordered more matting today to try my streps Jim's way...........

Hi Growhappy- the babies are so cute! Is this your first time propogating leaves?

She said it was, I think.............

Gail, thanks for sharing. It's very helpful. Growing is such a learning experience: trial and error!

Yes, that is the plant I was talking about! I'll have to google to see what the flowers look like and growing habits, etc. Did you grow it from seed?

Ellen- Not my first time propagating leaves. I've been most successful with violets as opposed to streps.

It as already gotten 3 feet high before and I cut it in 5 pieces but still no blooms............now these I rooted won't bloom either so I am giving up I think.

http://www.gesneriads.ca/drymon29.htm

I don't think anyone else can get her to bloom either..

I think it is best to wait as long as possible, and I like the "leaves the size of nickels or dimes" rule - the bigger the better, because you can be more sure than that the plant has some decent roots and is tough enuff to survive a transplant shock. But since there are no definite ways to do things, I find myself waiting till I "feel" it is the right time, and going by how the plant looks. If it seems of the approximate right size, and looks sturdy and strong, then I guess it is a good time to separate. If it looks weak and wimpy, or just too much like a "baby" then I think it is better to wait a little longer.

Also, for those that are not looking to get more than one baby per leaf, rather than wait to separate, one could also thin the babies, by gently pulling out any smaller plantlets crowding around the best one. Sort of the same as thinning out any type of seedling you would grow - though the key word is gentle...does anyone do this or would it be more dangerous?

This message was edited Sep 11, 2009 3:53 PM

Personally,I would never pull any.The root systems are too fragile.You could cut them off though.

Gail;
The picture you recently showed, i believe it to be a calethea, think thats how you spell it, they are usually grown for there foliage, i don't think there flower is anything special.
mrsbonnie

those are pretty,i like it gail,you should grow it out to see its full glory

JIM

We have caletheas everywhere here, Bonnie, but they like cooler weather than I can give them.........

OK>>>Jim, I have invested this much time with this Drymonia so will hang in there..........

I have found some plants that really do well inside the house, Bonnie (better than caletheas for me) I found them on PJ's Plants and Things on ebay for 6 bucks............called aglanema (sp?) and they grow like crazy inside.

http://shop.ebay.com/pjsviolets/m.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A1%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A1205&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_pgn=4

Just wanted to say that when I have a pot of babies and they are still too small to transplant on their own I just put the mom and babies gently into a bigger pot so they can grow straighter and bigger and then I separate them when they are bigger ( leaves tend to get babies faster when they are first put into a small pot ) .........just what I do :)

Connie

Connie, our club president does what you do when she is in a hurry and the babies aren't quite big enough to separate. She just plops the mother and babies in a two inch pot............

Well i just do that so they have room to get bigger and stronger before I separate them , it makes for better babies for me :)

Connie

Really? That works? Hmm. . . will have to try that . . . I've got some babies for semi-mini's that have leaves made for mini's!!! I'll try potting them up like that tomorrow, and see what happens!

remember Nichole that Marjorie uses her wicking mix to grow av leaves..........so I am just guessing........but if yours are in perlite and vermiculite, I would just rinse off as much as you safely can and put the mama with babies in your mix.........to grow on out.

is your mix for starting leave vermiculite and perlight
?????

Mine is.............Tea told me she used her regular mix so I am trying some very very expensive leaves from her in my regular mix..........let you know what happens...................they are domed but she warned me to only keep the soil barely moist.......never wet...........

I have always just used 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite so I don't have to be so careful about overwatering them.............

I know all or most of you use mostly pelrite and vermiculite to start your leave in and I know you get babies but are they rich and green or thin , pale and anemic looking ? .................. I use my mix with just more perlite as I think the babies get more nourishment if you use some soil in your mix . I just wondered because I have gotten baby plants from ebay sellers that were planted mostly in perlite and they were pale and weak , they lived if I transplanted then soon after getting them , they got greener and stronger I wonder what your experience is , is it just that maybe these growers didn't give their plants enough light or was it the mostly perilite they were planted in ? your opinions please :)

Connie

I think mine are very healthy and dark with color............but then..........I start fertilizing them two weeks after sticking them with a 12-36-14 fertilizer............that high phosphorous count really helps those roots develop............

Here are some babies that were potted up about as soon as last week and as long as 3 weeks ago...........they have plenty of color and root system..............( and the bright lights are on these so you can't tell how dark and healthy they really are)

2nd tray..............

and these were planted up less than a week ago.........

Very nice Gail , yes i am sure keeping up with the fertilizing makes them green and healthy , maybe some of the ebay sellers just don't want to put too much money into the growth of their AVs , they sell them for what they are and not so much for how well grown they are , your plants are just lovely :)

Connie

I think perhaps it is because some ebay vendors are doing this just for the money..........if you don't love what you are doing and have a passion about it, you aren't going to do a good job. (regardless of the profession )