Newbie needs rooting help...

I don't have any african violets, but we were visiting some friends Monday evening, and a leaf broke off one of her avs. She knows how I love plants and said I could take it to try to root it. I have the leaf stuck down in moist potting soil. Is that the correct/best way to do this? I'd really like to keep this one alive, since I don't have any others. About how long does it take for it to root?
Thanks for the help!
RG

This is the best link I've found for propagating by leaf -- step by step, with photos!

http://www.robsviolet.com/violets_by_leaf.htm

What you did is fine, but there are some good tips here. If you have any questions, we'll be happy to try to answer them!

Thanks for the link! That was fun! We buy the yogurt that has the clear raised lid with cookie crumbs or granola in it, so I save those cups and lids. I put half MG potting mix and half perlite in the yogurt cup, moistened it, trimmed the leaf as in the pictures, stuck it in the mix, and snapped the clear lid on it. Couldn't have been easier!
Now we wait... that's not so easy! LOL
Thanks again for helping me!
RG

You did great!!!. Waiting is the hardest part. It takes about 6 weeks for the little babies to appear. Have fun!!!

Nanna

Great idea using the yogurt containers!!!!

This message was edited Nov 16, 2005 1:56 PM

Hi RG
Welcome to the wonderful world growing African violets :)) It may take time but you can get several babies from your one leaf :))
I like to let my babies get big before I separate them.from MOM leaf.
Grwoing African violets by leaf is so much joy, and addicting. First I had one leaf then before I knew it I had hundreds :))
Hope you can let us know how your leaf does and if you'sd like to grow more ")) Nice to meet you. Allison
PS We are all here to help each other :)) And share the Joy !

I must check around and see if any of my neighbors are eating that kind of yogurt... or switch to it myself.... LOL!

Allison... I have several babies coming up. I'm curious what does "big" mean?? The largest baby I see has probably 4 small little leaves.... I'm fairly confident I could transplant it safely, but I'm always confused as to what other people's idea of "big enough" is... I'll try to snap a few pictures in a bit, and post them for you to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down! :)

I am a little concerned that if I try to pluck out this one, largest baby, that I will disturb the others and hinder their progress.

hmm...

Thanks in advance!

Sarah

I like to wait until they have enough good size leaves and a little root system of their own. But if they don't no worry it's ok they will root like a sucker.
For me the bigger the plants the stronger they are when leaving Mom to be on their own, they grow and mature faster .
Sometimes if their big I take a couple from Mom and put Mom and roots and small baby back into new solo cup fresh soil-less mixture.
I have taken them away small but feel the longer I leave them the easier it is for me, also they make for stronger babies.
I put my leaves down in 3 oz. solo cups and like it when the leaves are well coming over the top of the cups. Now if the Mom dies or for some reason it needs so I transplant at any needed given time. I wish I had a digital camera :(
But here is a picture of some of my babies still with Mom

I set my leaves in 3 oz. solo cups, hole in bottom ( or holes) , wicked , labeled name of plant and date.
I use to have these two green house full but I don't have as many leaves down so 99 percent of my containers are all under lights now.

Few more babies. I think it was Jill or Nanna that asked ? The variegated one is Mac's Scarlet O'Hara. I am addicted to babies.

Hey Guys!!

I found an interesting egg carton at the grocery store this week. Thought it might be just the right thing to set semi mini leaves in.

The carton is divided into three sides and they fold over each other. Here it is layed out with the leaves in their little nests. The top folds over the middle and then the bottom encloses and keeps the moisture in.

Here's the picture with everyone snug in their beds.

Pretty neat, huh?

Wonderful...have to see if I can find some like that.

Well, my attempt failed. It rotted. :o( I know I did something wrong, but exactly what, I'm not sure. I followed the directions in that link the best I could. Just thought I'd update you all and thank you once again for the help.
RG

Ssorry RG. Maybe the leaf was old, Or it could have got ccold. Too much water. I use warm/hot water on all my AV's. Leaves do not need a lot. I give mine 12 plus hours a day light and also keep them wamr.
I would try again. aaaaand again and again. It will get easy. Allison

One thing I've noticed on the five leaves that I've been able to get roots on so far is that my success was related to the soil blend. For most of the leaves that rotted, the culprit was it being too moist, same with my begoinas. Especially this time of year when the temps in my 'playhouse' are lower over all and things aren't drying out as fast. Maybe you could try again wilth mostly perlite.

In fact, yesterday I repotted one of Allison's AV babies (it had a wobbly neck) and I noticed that the soil was mostly perlite. Whichis what I've been having success with. The only exception is the one I have been posting the progress of. The difference is it's in a clay pot which naturally wicks away moisture. The soil-less blend in that one has very little perlite and quite a bit of compost like materials.

I've been getting roots like crazy on just about everythink in my perlite only tray. It's 100% perlite in a plain old black plastic propagating tray on a heated mat. I had roots on my Hoya in a matter of days, same with succulents and even AV leaves.

Allison, what are your thoughts on the soil content. I'm tempted to do an experiment where I buy a $2 violet, and lay down leaves in severl different environments all at the same time and then track their progress. See who roots the fastest. Now I just need to find the space to do it!.
Cheers,
L

Lali
The heat factor is a big thing . But mainly in the winter . Any time year round it does not hurt to use a heat pad. I never have just beacause I don't have any but I know many people do with freat succes and fast healthy babies
I don't use clay pots , I see them as a thing in the past , only kiddng to you all that use them and like them. lol They easliy get salt build up. Well when I go to local av group they all use plastic pots to proper size and they've been growing and showing 30 plus years with great show plants . Plus you have to show plants in white pots, except trailers and gessies.The pot also must be the proper size for the plant.
Good rule to keep or your in for root rot and a very unhappy plant down the road.
So I buy pots from thumb print size up . With so many babies I order the 2" pots by the 500 and I go threw them fast. A baby can stay in them until their 6 inches across and the perfect size for Mini's year round. for life.
Of course you need to transplant , ( re-potting does not mean always going to a learger pot if the plant does not need a larger pot keep it it the same size pot but a new pot with some new soil ) but always using new sterile soil-less mix ( I like mine for very light a lot of Perilite my husband has the amounts down pack as at lest once or twice a week he mixes me about 20 gallons) and pots new. If the pots are not new make sure you have soaked them over night in the strongest bleach and hot water. I never save a pot or solo cup. Used once it goes in the trash less chance of having any insects or viruses. I also bleach soak all new ones. I use solo cups for putting leaves down. I never re-use any. Then the solo cups with leaves are kept in the clear like shoe boxes . I have from 6 quart I started to use in the begining to ones that hold 50 plus cups. This way not spilling messes and the boxes go right on the plant stand under lights or int green house.Makes a lot of room for many leaves down in sma;; areas :)) .
Most sellers sell them in solo cups, I just have never been able to do so . I like them in pots and when someone gets a plant from me it's in a new pot " Always " :))
I know a lot of people that grow just in Perilite and vermiculite half and half. THey have allergies and must do so. but they do need to feed their AV's more.
Soil-less mixture is so important. What's important with a plant is not what yu see on top but under neath the root system and healthy they are and their ability to absorb the nutrient they need. I use Special stuuf in my soil to help inhance growth and promote healthy root.
I have done leaves everyway you can imagine but once I learned a special way at my av group I 00 percent stuck with it as it gives me fast healthy plants. Most imes I can put a leaf down and have several halthy babies of it ready to go to a new Mom in 3 months. Like well'll take Vespa Sensational a new wasp. I bought the leaves in summer end of August. It gave me four healthy babies :)) Everyone wanted one it's special and only the leaves " No plants " have been sold only on Ebay for high prices. Two friend in Canada got one and friend in MD my wasp loving friend and I kept one for me. I kept the smallest on that is now in 2.50 pot a good 5-6 inches across :)) I shipped out the three babies different times in the first two weeks in November. . I had put the leaves down the thier week of August. And I don't ship my babies out too small. Now tis does not happen all the time. Sometimes it's 6-8 months before I can ship a baby out.
On an other group I belong lot's of people did experimants putting leaves down at the same time same plant many different ways. I think that most fount the light soil-less mixture to be best. But that does not mean it's going to be est for you.
Lali I feel it's a super great idea :)) to do your experiment and see which way you like best :))
I keep so many leaves down I need an easy orginized system that works well for me. You can't put leaves down each day and have 200-500 leaves in a small home being diabled without being organized and having it easy care and of course I like fast healthy growth :))

Allison, you're the best! I love the info you provide, now what is your 'special stuff' that you use in your soil, or is that your trade secret!

Another thing I know to be true in the begonia world is that some begonia cuttings put out roots in a matter of a week or two, I have some that have been sitting in a soil less mixture 30/30/30 (perlite/planting mix/sand-vermiculite) and I pulled them yesterday to check on them again. NO ROOTS. They've been in since September. Others I put down about two weeks ago have roots and they have been sitting in a stagnate glass of water in the kitchen. I just changed it (bad mom, bad mom)

My point being that each plant - even within a plant group can behave differently. i.e. I was reading on one of the links you provided that no matter what, some are just going to rot!

DH and I had a 'date' today. He set it all up, packed a picnic, got the gear ready and loaded and said all I had to to was be ready by 8am to go. So off we went for a day of kayaking. He surprised me with a pair of kayaks a few months ago. So we had a gorgeous day on the lake near here. (I'm getting to a point, I promise)

Anyway I convinced him to swing by the garden center- he obliged but not without a good groan!

(NOT HD, but it just got bought out by them darn it!) I needed snail bait and sticky white fly traps. Anyway, I grabbed four new AV's. Some real cuties too. They are going to be my guinne pigs! I'll try and set down as many leaves as I can without making the mother plants bald. One has very cool leaves. Dark green with a lime green center and very curly. Kind of non descript flowers. I'll try and get some shots later, camera batteries are dead and I used them up today while kayaking. When we stopped to picnic and eat fresh smoked salmon and crackers (sans the red wine darn it! -no paddling while intoxicated!) and fruit, I found some great lichen and mosses and fungi. Wish I had a better macro lense for the 35mm camera! If they're any good, I'll try and post them over in the photo section.
Boy I digress...

Any way Allison, please keep the info coming. We newbies need as much advise as we can get. And I also realise that for every gardener, there is a different technique that is successful for them, but may not be for another. Never hurts to know what others do that works - that way I don't have to reinvent the wheel. I might even try the water only method compared to perlite etc...

Take care!
p.s. do you have a green house too?

p.s.s I tend to use only clay for my begonias, they are so different in that they love the clay because of the evaporation factor and they like to almost dry out before they get watered again. Clay works so well for them. That's probabaly why that one AV leaf that has babies is in clay, I just have tons of pots! (had to go buy solos for the violets but find they are perfect for begonia cuttings too! I'll stay away from clay with my violets, see, I learned something else today!)

Hope everyone had as good a day as I did! Cheers

That sounds delightful, Lali. It is just way too cold here to hike or anything, and the lakes are frozen to the bottom. How nice of you to warm up the thoughts of us cold-climate folks!

I started using clay pots for my big AVs some long time ago, because I am liable to overwater them. Now I have trained myself to let them dry out, and monitor them by weight before I water them. Picking up a pot to see how heavy it is is the best habit I have had for house plants in a long time. When I forget or get lazy, some poor thing gets slowed down from drying gout or drowning!
Kenton

Oh Lali what a beautiful date. Nice day. We use to go out on our boat all the time. I could fish 24 hours a day. I sure miss that. What a wonderful day.
The av with the variegated wavy foliage sounds wonderful. Do they have any names on them ?
Thanks for sharing your wonderful romantic day :))

naw, they are no names. just super market varieties, but cute none the less.
Happy to 'share' my date. It's great to have a best friend, even after 16+ years of marriage!

I'll try to get some photos, but DH had the 35mm camera, and I had the digi, so not many of me on my camera. Mostly lichen and moss (yawn!)

Weather was in the mid to hi 60º's at least! SUNNY, no wind (which makes the paddling easier!) and a few bass jumping here and there. We saw some nice Canadian geese, ducks, deer and evidence of pigs rooting in the oaks. Oh, and one beautiful big Hawk! saw her swoop down and get someting (rodent?) and then screech and go back up in a big oak!

Treasure...Do you replant the leaf to get more then one plantlet? Or do you just get several plantlets?
I am very new to propagating too :)

I very rarely replant leaves except if its perfect condition and something rare , or if it has roots and srill more small babis on it. No I get many babies off one leaf I also keep babies with Mom until well coming over the 3 oz. solo cup. Some leaves give me 5,6,7 plants some only one. Allison

Here are the new guinne pigs on parade.

seems a shame to cut their leaves off just to be a mad scientist and do experiments on them!

#3

#4

Oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE number 3

Here are the cool leaves on #2, Are they 'girl' leaves?

Look at the ruffled edge

Oh Begonia that's the prettiest girl leaf :)) Oh I love her. Can't you just take a few leaves off each one to keep plants ?
Also what is the white stuff on flowers of plant 6 ?
Just send plant 2 to me I'll test it for you. lol

Honestly I believe it to be pollen. I took a small paint brush and it comes off easily, and it's only on the petals, not leaves, so I don't think anything was spilled while it was at the garden center.

I guess I could mix the pollen up with one of the other blooming ones and make a hybrid, but I'm in over my head there! LOL!

Yea! So I ID'ed my 'girl' leaves on my own! Woo hoo!

Allison, I'll send you anything you want! you see my small collection, just tell me what and remind me how to pack them up. I'm mailing out some other goodies tomorrow for another DGer so I can do yours too. Unless you think they will not make it with the weather. We're down in the low 30's at night here.

Brgonia I was afraid of that as soon as I saw the picture :((
When spilled pollen like this can mean thrip. Clean with hot water and bleach anything near it.best thing to isolate all but this one alone. Take all buds,flowers off this is what they feed on without they starve. And spray. Sorry...
Optimara, and Ultra Violets have a lot of girl leaf foliage plants but only one with a white edge.
Optimara Sagitarius
Single violet two-tone / white edge.
Dark olive green , glossy, girl foliage. I went threw everyone not one other with violet, blue, purple none with white edge/girl
I bet this is yours :)) Sorry I could not find a picture.
Allison

Y'all sure are making it hard for me not to go and get some african violets! It's almost as if you're trying to make another addict..... (Evil laugh)
RG

I would not ship Av's without heat packs insulation always priority mail..it's low 40's here and never warmed up much. How about Spring ?
I'll send you some more too :)) Allison

Eeewwww! I'll do that right away! These gals were by them selves, so I think I'm ok. I have a big loupe so I can take a look. Are AV thrips about the same size as rose thrips or smaller?
spray with what? soap?

Here's the photo of Sag.
http://www.optimara.com/optimarafieldguide/varietiesm-z/sagittarius.html

I fount the picture of sag. and it does not follow the desription of First class. FC says violet two-tonne white edge. Dark olive green , glossy , girl foliage.
First sign of Thrips is spilled pollen. And it can destroy a whole collection.
http://www.optimara.com/doctoroptimara/diagnosis/thrips.html
Optimara has pictures of them.
Pollen: On African Violets, the light yellow, powdery substance which is produced in the anthers and which fertilizes the ovules to make seeds.



your first clue that Thrips are present will probably be the light yellow powder which Thrips leave on the flowers. This is actually pollen which has been spilled from the anthers as they feed on the flowers. If left untreated, Thrips can cause
Sorry Hope everyone is isolating their new plants no mater who or where you got them. Most bugs, insects damage does not show up until the plants have had the bugs, insects for 1-2 even 3 months :((
Good luck, Allison

Treatment

Some advise using Malathion to treat Thrips. This may be effective on some species of Thrips, but the most common species is resistant to Malathion. Also, Malathion may discolor the flowers of Violets. A more reliable treatment employs Acephate, a common ingredient in household insect sprays. Acephate sprays of this type, however, may damage foliage due to a specific additive found in these sprays. As an effective alternative, use a soluble powder, and mix your own spray. Be sure to spray all of your Violets, not just those which currently exhibit symptoms. Thrips spread quickly, so if even one Violet has them, all are at risk. After this initial application, spray twice more at seven day intervals. This will rid your Violets of any unhatched Thrips which may not have been affected by your first application.

As an alternative to traditional chemical treatments, try spraying with Neem (Azadirachtin). Neem is a substance which has natural insecticidal properties, and according to currently available research, it is biodegradable and non-toxic. When sprayed on African Violets, it discourages Thrips by making the plant unpalatable. Though Neem does have some systemic effect in plants, spray it as you would other contact insecticides, being sure to spray in areas where Thrips are known to cluster.

Finally, remove all flowers and buds from your Violets. This procedure has been shown to significantly enhance the effectiveness of the treatment, whether spraying with Acephate or Neem.

Prevention

After working outdoors, always change clothes before handling indoor plants. Always wash hands before handling your Violets, and keep pets away. Finally, keep in mind that Thrips are very small. They also fly. A typical screen, such as one might put on a window or door, may not prevent Thrips from getting indoors.

Important Note on the Use of Pesticides

Please note that almost all pesticides are formulated for specific uses and conditions. When applied incorrectly, pesticides can cause ill health or damage to plants. Therefore, when using any kind of pesticide or chemical treatment, always apply as indicated on the product label.

Very important I have seen people lose large collections ! Always Islolate and
Prevention

After working outdoors, always change clothes before handling indoor plants. Always wash hands before handling your Violets, and keep pets away. Finally, keep in mind that Thrips are very small. They also fly. A typical screen, such as one might put on a window or door, may not prevent Thrips from getting indoors