i have a large african violet that i took leaf cuttings from to start a new plant. but my new av won't grow. it has been in the soil now for about 2 months, maybe more. i can tell that it has developed roots, but it isnt growing any new leaves. any advice?
Kapr: Your leaf looks fine! Sometimes it takes a few months before you see the little "ears" or baby leaves poking up out of the soil.
Here's a photo of two leaves from the same plant that I potted up on Sept 2nd ... they are just now showing those little "ears" (babies) coming up in the soil.
edited to say: The one on the left is in regular potting soil ... the one on the right I experimented with planting in straight vermiculite. You can see the one on the left has more babies and they are larger.
This message was edited Dec 7, 2007 3:32 PM
Here's a photo of three leaves I potted up in the same little pot. Only one is showing a little baby so far (kinda hard to see, but it's the leaf in the middle in back)
thanks! that makes me feel much better!
Sometimes they just take their sweet time!
What type of soil do you have the leaf potted in? It looks a bit heavy. You might want to try mixing in a lot of perlite for a lighter soil. Hopefully someone else will come along soon with some good advice for you. I am not an expert but we do have a lot of pro's on the African Violet forum. Since you are not a paid subscriber you can't access that forum but I left a message over there so maybe someone will see it and come here to see your photo and offer help!
it is potted in miracle gro african violet potting soil. and thank you again!
This message was edited Dec 7, 2007 3:40 PM
OK here's what I would do, sit the pot on a saucer of water for about 1 hour so the compost can soak up a little water as the soil looks a bit dry to me, these plants dont like any water on there foliage as this is inclined to set some rot into the growing heart (center) it also looks like it is struggling a bit being set in such bright direct sunlight, they do like light, but not magnified through a glass window where the foliage gets burned and struggles to make new growth as it is using all it's energy trying to cope with the sunburn which causes moisture loss from the leaves.
Remember, all plants go through a rest period, usually in winter, so the natural growing of the parent plant will slow down as will any cuttings from it, your little cutting looks normal to me other than the little stress it is under due to the things I have mentioned, after watering the cutting, then let any excess water drain away before placing it back onto the saucer, sit it on the window again, but perhaps behind a larger plant/pot that can take that amount of sun, or somewhere, something that will give it a bit of shade from the direct sunlight. any plants that have little hairs on or under the leaves need a bit of shade and dont like the foliage wet at watering time as the tiny hairs hold onto water droplets and cause the foliage to suffer or rot. hope this helps you a bit, good luck, I would say you should see new tiny leaves form very soon. WeeNel.
Plants or cuttings that have not yet fully developed roots and are not actively growing do not need to be watered a lot. Keep the soil just moist. Especially AV's!
Gita
If you happened to take an older leaf from the bottom row, it may take a very long time if ever to put out babies. A leaf from the middle of mother plant will generally be quicker. Also may help if you keep just damp, not wet, you may want to put it in a container like Tupperware and cover top with Saran Wrap to keep humidity higher. Anyway, as long as its rooted and alive, just give it more time. Karen
I have rooted many AV leaves successfully using the containers that Venus Flytraps are sold in. The bottom is a small pot, and the top is a clear plastic "glass" that fits snuggly over the pot. The glass has to be approx. the same size as the pot.
This would be easy to duplicate. Clear, plastic "glasses" are sold in many sizes.
Using this method, once I moisten the soil in at the time of planting the leaf, I have no need to water it again for a long, long time. The AV leaf loves this humid set-up.
I have also seen the small salad bar containers used to root AV leaves. High domed ones.
Gita
shellimac-that makes sense, i think i did choose a leave from the bottom. next time i will be sure to take one from the middle!
gitagal-actually i do have a venus fly trap, and an extra container...i will try that too!
thanks guys!
I take leaves from the bottom row, middle row, top row of my AV's and root them all the time. Some just take a lot longer to have the babies pop up above the soil. They have to take root before they can produce babies.
You can test to make sure your leaf has rooted by giving it a very gentle tug ... if you feel a bit of resistance then you definitely have roots. I bet you will see babies showing their little ears before too long. I'm sure it has rooted by now or the leaf would have rotted away. The soil in your container does look to be very dry. I think sitting the little leaf pot inside a deep plastic container with saran wrap over the top will give it some much needed humidity. Just be sure not to let too much moisture build up or you will end up with a rotted leaf. I grow mine under lights on a plant stand. A window sill with bright light - no direct sun works well too but I think it's probably too cold where you live to put it in a window sill at this time of year. Good luck on your baby and keep us posted on how it's doing!
my av does definitely have roots, i did the tug test.
Allright! It shouldn't be too long before you see some little "ears" popping up, I bet you will have some New Year babies! Good luck and keep us posted!
all right! thank you for the encouragement and advice!
good going, kapr and Lin is right about Miracle Grow potting mix is really heavy to use for anything in the house. Sounds like this is going to work, but I would suggest next time using either a mix of soil-less African Violet potting mix with 1 part perlite and 1/2 part vermiculite.
My first choice for starting new leaves is 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite . Then you don't have to worry about keeping it too wet.
Sounds like you don't need any of us but that was nice of Lin to post on the AV forum that you needed some help.
I hope I don't get in trouble by saying this (LOL).........subscribe and join us on the African Violet Forum. We have more laughs and fun while learning all the time from one another.
Lin gave me my user ID, gessiegail, as I love the gesneriad family!
kapr,
I want to suggest just one more thing.
The babies come from the end of the leaf stalk. How long a stalk did you leave on the leaf? Maybe that is why it is so slow....The end is waaaay down there.....
I find that a 2" stem is just about right for rooting. Not any longer. Shorter is OK, but you cannot let the leaf itself touch the soil. That's why some people do the water in glass with saran wrap stretched tight and the leaf stem inserted through a small hole. keeps the leaf safe--and the bottom of the stem in the water. besides--this way you can see the baby leaves when they start forming.....
Try it! Gita
The 3 oz solo cups are great for starting leaves. I am sure there are many way to be successful in growing African Violet leaves as I use less than 1" petiole. Sometimes it hard to propagate anything if you have too much soil volume.
I think the soil looks "heavy" too, that's why I made the suggestion of adding lots of perlite to the mix. I use the Miracle Grow African Violet Soil too but I have to add lots of perlite to lighten it up or else I get rot from the soil mix being so heavy.
Many, many years ago my dear mother in law taught me how to root AV leaves in water as Gita described. I had some luck with plants growing on from that method but for the most part when you root in water, you get the feathery, thin, light "water" roots. When you root in soil you get a sturdier root system and the plants do much better in my experience. But, I have had a lot of successes as well as failures with all kinds of plants over the years. Some plants just don't like me or my house! LOL
thank you all so much...your advice will make all the difference and i'm sure my african violets will appreciate it as much as i do!
Kapr: Don't forget to come back to this thread and post another photo when those little baby "ears" begin to show!
okay, i will be sure to!
Hiya! I tried to create new plants (in February, I think) after accidentally breaking off a stem at various times and now I have some babies! Two problems:
1) now that I have babies, what do I do with them?? (ie. move to a new pot?)
2) I kind of just stuck all these stems into a single pot without really thinking about it. I guess I didn't expect this to work!! So, only one of my stems so far is producing babies, I think. What do I do with the rest? Do I have to separate them?
ps to Plantladylin -- I finally found my camera! Expect more pics soon!!
Great, but let the babies grow some more. Then, after they have grown some more for about 3 or 4 weeks at least, then you can separate the crowns (only one crown to a little pot). Good luck........
gail
