I hope I don't seem presumptuous since I only began growing streps about two years ago, but I have just come from my plant room where I have been separating baby streps from the mother leaf. I put them in a bigger container with a top such as a flat bottomed salad box or a roasting pan with a cover.
I usually take the mother leaf half (planted horizontally(lengthwise where it was cut from the rib) With great gentleness I pry away all the babies. These can be as many as 22 or 23.
Some of them will be the tiniest little single leaves, but I take them too. It is remarkable how fast all of them grow in their own community containers. Even those tiny ones scarcely any smaller than the larger ones after a couple of weeks. Even if the baby doesn't appear to have a root, plant it anyway; it will grow roots. One of the good things about enclosing them in the humidity chambers is that they don't need any real attention for long periods of time, just occasional checking to see if the soil is still damp.
Someone sent me $20.00 for Christmas and I just decided what to do with it: get ten more leaves from Pat's Pets for $11.00 plus postage. This is the only place I have ordered leaves. Mine arrived in August and some of my little ones are already blooming. After they begin pushing at the tops of the community chambers, I put them in 8oz styrafoam cups. They really grow even faster then.
I replant the mother leaf, making sure there is good contact with the soil all along the horizontal (lengthwise) cut. Mother plant will then produce even more. Even if you only have a small piece of leaf left, plant it; there is a good chance it will produce lots of young again.
I am looking for Bristol's Sunset. I would glad to trade a plant for a leaf or two. I have a wide variety of streps.
neat tricks in producing huge numbers of streps
Hi gloriag,
All very interesting how you prop streps. I have tried the horizontal method but unfortunately my leaf rotted. I now just use leaf sections which works well but gives fewer plantlets. With your reported success, I will give it another go. What do you use for rooting medium? Also, have you ever grown streps from seed? My seedlings are nice and green and healthy but just seem to be content sitting there and not actively growing. They are enclosed and have been given a weak dose of fertilizer one time. The medium used was ground sphagnum.
I haven't tried seeds yet! That sounds exciting. I wouldn't worry about the seedlings. You know the old saying, a watched pot never boils.
I read on one commercial site that they use only perlite or perlite with some vermiculite to propagate streps. I can't quite bring myself to do that, but I use a general soiless planting medium, and now I am using lots of perlite too. Since they are in the chambers, I don't have to worry about them drying out so soon. When I put them in their 8oz cups, I will use more medium than perlite.
Also, I read one posting where someone keeps the planted leaves from drooping by using toothpicks. I think that sounds like a good idea and I will try it soon. I can't wait to hear what your seedling blooms look like.
Hi Gloriag,
Great Info Thanks for sharing !
Streps are fun and so easy to grow ! If you can grow an African violet you can grow a Strep.
Good info gloriag !!
In our Sticky and in sthreads do a search you will find lots of postings and thread with pictures of what gloriag was telling us about too !
Here are some pictures this one does use Perlite
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/streppropagation.html
How to take leaf cuttings from Streptocarpus plants
http://www.dibleys.com/cuttings/index.htm
This is not greatest sight for Streptocarpus photo's and information gallery.
I try to donate everyone in awhile when I can as it's exspensive for the owner to keep it going and I know I enjoy this sight very much and would miss it !
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/index.html
Along with the photo gallery it has all kinds of other info
These pictures are available ONLY for your personal use NOT COMMERCIAL USE. Links from Ebay are NOT permitted as this IS commercial use. Thank you.
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/index.html
And even more fun information !
Showing picutres of propagations with Perlite
http://www.streptocarpus-info.com/streppropagation.html
How to take leaf cuttings from Streptocarpus plants
http://www.dibleys.com/cuttings/index.htm
Strep Forum
Strep vendors
Strep Society
Other Strep Forums
Cross-Pollinating
Species Link
Classification
Propagation
Cultivation
Pests and diseases
Definitions
Please check out our second sticky for lots of more fun on growing Streps and other Gesneridas !
Also do a search in our forum and you will find more threads and pictures with step by step propagation of Streps both by leaf and by seeds !
Have fun !
The seedlings I mentioned to you were 'Iced Canadian Sunset x Self' - so looking forward to at least a few variegated offspring. I have a spare leaf from this variety, so will try the horizontal method again.
Here's a pic of Iced Canadian Sunset not in bloom now. I will follow with a blossom photo.
blossom...
beautiful flower snow
Here's a pic of the seedlings camping out taking their sweet time. I gave them a little very dilute fert solution just now and jostled them a bit with a toothpick. Maybe that will wake them up and get them going. As you can see, the moss is growing nicely, too lol!
Hi Snowrose;
Just thought i might add that if you pic up those little seedlings with a tooth pic & move them they will grow faster. even if you just pic them up & put them back down, just watch how much faster they will grow.
bonnie
Thanks, bonnie, yes, that's what I meant when I said I "jostled them a bit with a toothpick". I learned this trick from Dale Martens in her article about episcia seedlings.
Quote from Dale -
Seedlings looking different although they are of the same age!
See the photo with 4 containers of seedlings. All of these are exactly the same age. The two containers on the left have been transplanted every 2 weeks for the first 8 weeks. Then their cotyledons were removed. The container on the right received transplanting every 2 weeks for the first 8 weeks, but the cotyledons were not removed. The cotyledons are yellowish on those plants. The container in the middle is the original seedling container. Those small seedlings are the siblings to the larger ones. It truly makes a difference when one fusses over the plants and transplants often!
http://www.greenculturesg.com/articles/sep05/gcs030905c.htm
Photo credit Dale Martens -
Ok, Gloria, I think i'm doing something wrong, will you help me out, I got these two from you remember the cherry pie and the blue moon? I got the leaves in the kitchen, and only now just one leaf has one baby leaf coming up, what am I doing wrong. Do they need to be in a humidity dome? I haven't done that, they've been just sitting on the shelf and sometimes I look at them and they are completely dried out and the leaf is wilted. so this isn't good on my part I know, I"ve been watching them more to make sure they get enough water. I hope to get babies soon. Remember that cherry pie you sent me , the big one with blooms, well, there are seed pods on it, cool ha? their not ready to harvest yet but i'm going to harvest them and try planting them soon.
thanks in advance for the help
Kathy,
I always use a humidity chamber with my leaves. I learned that the reason some of my leaves rotted is that I kept the planting medium too wet so now I am using quite a bit of perlite (which doesn't hold water,) but since they are in a humidity chamber ( I use flat take flat bottomed clear plastic salad boxes and the smaller ones at the salad bar too which are clear and sort of cheeseburger size.) When I transplant them, I am putting them into roasting pans with plastic covers and they thrive there too. When they begin to push up the covers or grow very tall, I transplant them to 8 oz styrafoam cups. You might want to use less perlite here because they don't have the humidity and dry out faster. It's Blue Mars, not Blue Moon. If you want to pay postage, I can send you another little plant so that you have a back up. I am very glad that Cherry Pie is blooming; it's so pretty! Unfortunately, I have traded or given away all my Cherry Pies and no longer have a blooming one (but I have dozens of babies of different sizes.)
I am planning to buy 20 more leaves, and I think I know how to keep them all alive now. Have patience with the leaf with the little baby; quite likely it will produce more. If the leaves on the larger plants turn brown, use scissors and cut back the leaf to the green part.
Do you have a picture?
you asking me for a picture ? cjolene? or gloria. wasn't sure on that.
Thanks gloria for the help, I just bought some humidity chambers for starting seeds, I will bring one inside the house. one more question. Do the leaves need light? or can I just set it on the counter with no light on it, just light from the windows, which isn't much. I'm not set up inthe house for rooting things. no room, and I think the greenhouse gets too cold for them to root but i'm not sure. my greenhouse gets down to 40 at night sometimes. when it s really cold outside. but heats up to hot enough to have to open the doors during the day time.
Gloria I sent you a dmail.
Sorry, kathy, I meant for gloria. Do you have a picture of the babies on the strep leaf?
cjolene,
I am a dinosaur about anything other than basic computer skills. However, a kind person prompted me to get into the new age by sending me the softwear and disc to upload photos. Now all I need is a digital camera, which I will purchase soon as another very generous Christmas present to myself! When the family shrinks down to almost nothing, one has to become one's own Santa. It's so much fun, and I am getting exactly what I wanted. I have a ton of bedroom slippers in a big bag in my closet.
However, I can describe what the half leaf stretched across the medium, anchored in the medium about 1/4th inch or so looks like when the babies begin developing. The leaf grows roots, then some weeks later, tiny little green specks appear where the leaf and soil meet. Each one of these specks will grow. They develop into single leaves (which is actually an new plant.) The whole edge of the plant will be dotted with these leaves, some growing bigger than others. When some of the leaves are a half inch or larger, I sometimes pull the leaf out and VERY GENTLY pry them away from the mother. Most will have a couple of roots, some a thin root string, and a few others no root at all. If it is at all possible, take them as small as your fingers can handle and plant them all in a plastic covered roasting pan. Then I REPOT the leaf which will be left with some roots and perhaps a few tiny babies clinging to it. It will take a little while, but it will make another litter.
One note, sometimes the leaf seems to push itself out of the medium. Perhaps this would be a good time to anchor it with toothpicks so that it remains in the soil because that contact is critical to a big litter.
here's my blue mars with one baby on the end, I just recently put them all inside that humidity dome, maybe they'll do better now, and that kitchen window is the only place inmy house so far I've got any plants rooting at. seems to be a good place. I will now
try to set up some florescent lights for rooting others somewhere else.
here's my kitchen window
when my seeds on my cherry pie are ready, how do I plant them? right on top of the dirt? or use soiless mixture?
kathy
Nice kitchen window Kathy Ann ! Plants that enjoy and nedd humidity love Kitchen windows !
Violet and gloria I went to that first link, I noticed that I cut my leaves wrong I guess. I cut straight down the middle length wise. I didn't do it like the first picture in that first link. I have a qusetion, why is the vein cut out, does it get discarded? I have a couple of them cut like the second picture.
Yes you cut the midrib out and digard .
Lots of plants can be produced by this method, but leaves are more liable to rot and die. More suitable for the experienced grower.
http://www.dibleys.com/cuttings/method3.htm
If a large number of plants are required, then choose a broad leaf and cut it cleanly down either side of the midrib. The midrib is then discarded and each half of the leaf, cut face down, is set into compost in a seed tray, the cut face being just covered in compost
Other ways
http://www.dibleys.com/cuttings/index2.htm
Borrow picture midrift gates cut out and disgarded
Go to links for complete step by step pictures !
I just use method one or method two now. I have no need for many plants. Method one to me and two is just as fast but safer for the novice and people like me :))
I have never had to cover depends how you humidity is in your home.
Streps do like cooler weather .