My Mom and Dad came to visit today, and brought me fifteen african violet leaves they had rooted. The probme I have is that they were rooted in water, the stems to the leaves are anywhere from six to four inches long, and babies are underwater!! I have put them in new cups of water and raised the leaves and babies up so that only the roots are in water to dry out the babies. The problem I have is that if I pot them up and leave the babies above ground, the leaves are so darn big they will pull the whole thing out of the soil Also, I was thinking I need to put them in a cup of water, gradually add soil, and then poke drainage holes in the bottom. I can't figure out what to do about those big leaves. Do I cut them off and start some more new babies?? I NEED HELP HERE :-)
Sharon
a real predicament-need help
he he HI Sharon...a marvelous predicament....am sure several will RUSH>>>>>>>to your aid,,,you might want to ck the STICKY as well..you know the first two listings in this forum...has help on this kind of thing...congrats on your windfall..
You can always stake the leaves with something - bamboo skewer, cocktail straw thingy etc. You can also use tall pots/cups but only fill part way with soil and rest the leaf against the pot side (this only works if you grow under lights because otherwise the plant won't get any light).
I've heard that people who root in water transition to soil by first adding perlite, then vermiculite and then a bit of potting mix.
Question: I have a question about starting new African violets,I keep breaking off 3 every month from the bottom and put them in water and they are rooting but some have little leaves on the bottom where the rooting beins,do I plant it as is the whole stem with the leaf attached or do I cut the stem where the leaf is? please advise I have quite a few in water some with little leaves by the roots and some with just roots started.
Answer: I usually recommend starting leaves in potting mix to avoid this problem. I think you can go ahead and plant the rooted leaf now into light potting mix, but only set it into the mix about a half an inch. You will probably need to support the leaf to make this work. Ideally, you should move the leaf from the water to potting mix as soon as there is evidence of root development. Once you get the leaf planted, be sure to cover it with a clear plastic bag to maintain high humidity while it gets comfortable in the new location. I would be remiss not to mention that starting three new leaves every month from the same plant will result in 100 or more plants (each leaf will produce three plants on average) after a year's time. That is a lot of the same plant to have in one collection and can often be a lot of work without much enjoyment. I would recommend that you be very selective as you grow out these plants, choosing only the strongest ones and disposing of those that are extras. In the long run you will enjoy your plants a lot more. Happy Growing! Joyce Stork
found the above in our shttp://www.avsa.org/FAQ.asp?Selection=Rooting+Leaves&action=FindSubjectticky with avsa help...faq...etc
This message was edited Mar 4, 2006 6:42 PM
Sharon Wow how nice of them to bring you rooted leaves with babies ! Exciting ! Are they named or noids ?
I would do like Keyring mentioned. I'd take small pots with holes or solo cups with holes. If you like to wick wick them. Use very light soil-less mixture.
Fill the pot and make a tiny circle dentation in the middle just enough for the roots to lie gently on top . Gently add little bits of soil-less mixture on the roots around the babies becarful not to cover up the babies.
Press down gently . Water just tiny bits of warm water with 1/4 strength of food. You can use something to stake the leaf up but sometimes if you potion the leaf just right in the middle pack it gently and put a tiny bit of soil-less mixture behind leaf it will stay up !
Good luck :)) take some pictures please !
Oh PS you can cut the top of the leaves off / in half !
allison i didn't know that...is that to give more energy to the babies?
yup, cutting the leaf tip stops the mother leaf from growing a lot (it will still grow some) - that energy gets re-routed to the babies instead.
The Mom leaf is BIG ... I think if I can cut it off and root the babies, I can get the Mom to start more. They are all NOIDs , but really pretty ones. According to Dad, there are 13 different kinds. I'll try to take pics - the babies are so cute. I figure they need to kind of dry out for a few days before I put them into shock with soi/perlite.
I would not take them from Mom leaf until the babies are a few inch tall keep them with Mom in the soil to get big and strong. In the soil they will give you several babies. Many time I get 3-6 or more babies from leaf. I leave my babies with Mom until their good size and and each has their own root sysetm. Taking them away now and potting them up along would be like taking a premature baby away from Mom. They may grow up , but they'll be slow growers and may not be a s strong and healthy.
Cutting the tops off does let energy gets re-routed to the babies instead. Also they won't be as top heavy !
But please keep them with Mom !
It's wonderful your Dad grew them, took the time and the time and thoughtfulness to share them with you :))
I'm with allison - I wouldn't remove the mother leaf until the babies are a bit established in potting mix. You should still be able to take the mother leaf and re-root it then.
Yes let them get big and strong. Mine are real big sometimes before they go into their own pots ! Even sometimes Mom leaf dies I keep babies together they keep each other strong ! How about your Dad how does he grow them from the water to soil ?
He just gives them away. LOL I have moved the leaves into larger containers in an effort to let the roots untangle themselves. They were in small glasses - three or four to a glass. I think I will cut part of the mother leaf as Allison suggested, and prop up with skewers. I have to get new batteries for the camera, but will take pictures of the progress :-)
Sharon
Here is what I am dealing with. I have four "wads" like this.
Oh wow how cool :)) Heh I would put them into a small pot not to big but not too little to give them plenty of room together !
If you have to it's no problem keep them together :)) Really Cut the tops off. Just put them on the top in little hole of light soil-less mixture . Cover gently press gently around , make sure all roots covered but not babies. Just let them grow crazy together . When their large enough 2-3 inches high then you can start taking them apart for thir own pots . when doing this any too small just keep with mom or together and put them in a new pot and soil together until they grow larger.
I've seen people make a slit into a stame and stick another one in and wrap two different ones together. Sometimes it works for a new named plant. Mine all rotted when I tried it but kow many that did it. I've seen links on it.
So I feel you may have some pretty cool great plants !
Thanks Allison. I hadn't even thought about just planting them all together. I took one of the "wads" a little while ago and held it under barely running lukewarm water, and got it separated, but lost a baby in the process :-( Hopefully that leaf will grow another one. I think I can plant the one in the picture all together, but have another bunch with babies at different levels. Maybe I can wiggle them around enough to get everybody's head above ground level.
I know from experience that this is a difficult task. I have not had any success getting the plants to transfer from water to soil.
I wish you well.
I would really recommend starting with a mix that is almost all perlite.
Another thing to keep in mind is that water roots will not function in potting mix. That means that you should give the plantlets a little extra humidity, as if they have no roots. (Make sure the leaves are dry before you do that though, or they'll rot off.)
Good luck! I think they'll be fine.
I think I will leave the groups together if I can get everybody at the same level, and layer perlite on the bottom, then a layer of potting mix which is still very light, and then perlite on top, and wick them. I am going to cut the mom leaf some as Allison suggested. Will keep you posted. This is sure a lot of trouble for noids, but they are very pretty ones. I'm guessing some may be optimaras that Mom has picked up here and there.
I just found this thread... how cool to have all those new varieties!
Given the apparent variability of success with water babies, and given how really good & healthy those leaves look in your photo, here's what I would try with a couple of them just to hedge my bets. Some of those water babies look pretty well developed, with more than 4 leaves apiece... I would treat those as small suckers, potting them up in moist mix (very light, mostly perlite) in 1 inch thumbprint pots, maybe putting 2 or 3 to a pot if they are really tiny so roots take less time to fill pot. I'd then ignore the water roots on the leaves that have had their waterbabies removed and cut the leaf, treating just as you would a freshly picked one for propagating in potting mix.
Again, this is only something I'd try with a few leaves, in case the waterbabies don't make the transition to potting mix as well as we're hoping they will... maybe pick a couple of leaves with the biggest babies. I also think the procedure you outlined above sounds fine.
Keep us posted!
Don't worry they'll make it ! Long time ago I had water babies and potted up just like I mentioned super fine !
I also grew some cool babies on a damp paper towel in a gallon zip lock bag blown up no soil. The babies grew really big. I also gently potted them up with mom until they were big and strong. If mom is good condtion the longer they can stay with her the more healthy they will be :)) Just like a pre-mature baby, will make it maybe but with mom full time would have a better chance.
Also with the roots all tangled up you could get a new variety ! Fun ! It has happened :))
Have fn your going to have some beautiful blooming surprises !
There are enough of these that I think I am going to be able to try all the methods suggested! LOL Will keep you posted
You Lucky Duck :)) So much fun ! Can't wait to see all the plants.