Can you believe it?

Whoa. Someone just paid $33.99 on eBay for Buckeye Butterflies. The starting bid was $4.99 which I started. I just sat back as soon as I was outbid (as usual, by my stalker) and waited to see how far it would go. NO WAY would I pay that much when there are two other listings open right now for the same plant. It's not as if you'll never see it offered again either.

Marilee :)

Those are beautiful!!! : )

Way too much people are paying. I even saw Morning Thunder real high ,,so many high

Seems all kinds of crazy places. lol
MORNING THUNDER
Item number: 7742451141
Current bid: US $20.50




Time left: 9 hours 35 mins

It is lovely but I dont' pay that much for any plant!
Even my storytellas I wouldn't pay that for!

I'm learning real fast how to be patient. If I don't win it this time, I know it'll probably be offered again soon. I also just do not have it in me to be so blood-thirsty as to want to win at all costs. I'm probably too nice for the competitive sport of eBay purchasing. :)

Oh well. I have more plants/leaves than I know what to do with. I clearly don't have the sense God gave a duck since I went and bought all sorts of AV leaves when I have yet to have any success in rooting them.

Last night I mixed up a batch of equal parts Schultz african violet mix, perlite, and vermiculite and moisted it. I filled little solo cups with my mixture. I sliced at an angle across the bottom of the stem and then placed one leaf in each cup. I labeled each cup and then placed them in ziploc baggies.

So, what do you think my chances are for success? I hope pretty good because I'll be sick if I lose some of these leaves. Amongst many varieties, I have:

Painted Silk
Heavenly Girl

These two have the most adorable little leaves. I also have:

Apache Midnight
Buckeye Boysenberry
Lucien Croteau
Opera's Juliet
Rob's Mango Mongo
Silverglade Dolls
Silverglade Laces
Silverglade Flashes
Silverglade Sparkles
Silverglade Trinkets

I also have a couple of leaves that came off plants I purchased. They are

Blue Dragon
Ultra Violet Dusk

Then I have various freebies that were sent to me, too. So you see, I am clearly in over my head with AV leaves. If y'all feel like saying a prayer or two over something as silly as my african violet leaves, I'd really appreciate it. I'd hate to have wasted the money for nothing. :)

Have a great day, everyone!

Marilee

But see, Marilee, I was worried to death when Allison sent leaves to me. I put them down, just knowing they would die. Humidity is almost non-existent in our house during the winter. Gas heat, you know... My leaves have gone dry a couple of times. When I just couldn't stand it any longer, I checked the leaves of one of my NOIDs I had put down the same day I put down the leaves from Allison. ALL of them had little tiny roots! :o) I didn't bother any of the ones from Allison, because I know I'm supposed to leave them completely alone, but I get impatient, just can't help it. So then I got to thinking, wonder if I ripped off all the little roots when I put them back in the cups, so about a week later, I checked ONE of my NOID leaves and it had even more roots than when I had looked the first time. I have now vowed to leave them all alone and not pull anymore of them up to check the roots. Ironically, the night before I discovered the roots, I was watering the leaves, and I told my husband that I figured they'd all die because they had gotten dry. Just when I thought I had messed it all up, I found that I had done it just right! :o)
The first leaf I tried to root rotted, though, because I let it stay too moist for too long. Apparently, for me at least, too much water and humidity is worse than not enough. I had it in a yogurt cup with a clear lid.
Now, don't take anything from me as advice, cause I really don't know what I'm doing yet. All that was just to let you know you'll probably do much better than you think you will! :o) Keep us posted on how those leaves are doing!

This message was edited Feb 7, 2006 9:06 AM

Wow, it sounds like you're off & running with your propagating! Your method should work just fine... patience is the hardest part of it. I would check to be sure none of your baggies are actually touching the leaves, because if condensation on the baggie gets the leaf wet, it may rot. A couple of toothpicks or wood skewers in the pot may serve to keep the baggie off the leaf. I like to put leaves in a terrarium sort of environement (tray with lid, old aquarium w/cover, cake dome) so I don't have to worry about that, but I've also used the baggie method successfully!

You've got a bunch of wonderful varieties! Good luck!!

I agree - People go nuts on Ebay!!! It's like a fever sometimes.

Good Luck ! And yes it takes time. And becareful like Jill said if it gets too wet in the bags they will rot.
I don't cover anything anymore I guess in Florida I have enough humidty. I do have to water often , my leaves are under lights but this is good I feel that they get air circulation, light, their warm and fed :)) There are more ways to set leaves than there are Gardenrs ! So which ever way works best for you is the road to skip down :))
Happy Growing !