How Do You Propagate an African Violet?

African Violets are one of the easiest plants for beginners to propagate. In nature, these plants grow on rocky cliff-sides in Africa, and contrary to their delicate reputation, are tough as nails. So long as the plants are properly grown at room temperature in an airy, well-drained soil in strong, but not direct light, you will soon have more plants than you can shake a stick at.

Show-worthy African Violets have large, symmetrical crowns, but the ones in your home probably do not look like that. African Violets constantly sprout little plants called "suckers" that distort the shape of the parent, crowd out and push those beautiful leaves to one side.

So the best way to propagate an African Violet is to knock the parent out of its pot onto a few sheets of newspaper and carefully reach in and tease those suckers out. You may also need a sharp pocket knife to cut through the root ball to detach it from its parent. Early Spring through Mid-Summer is the time for this project, the earlier in the Spring, the better.

Once you have divided the plant, plant the babies in a light soil mixture with plenty of peat, perlite and vermiculite. Miracle Grow Potting Soil, Cornell Mixture and Schulz Potting Soil Plus are all readily available and good for this. Use plastic pots. African Violet leaves rot in contact with the moist rim of a terracotta pot. If you use clay, wax the rim or use decorative foil around the rim to stop the problem.

Use the smallest pots you have, not the largest. The damaged roots will need to heal and expand before they can use all that soil. Extra encourages rot. Don't forget to add a layer of pebbles or broken pot to the bottom of the pot for drainage.

Once the plants have been re-potted, return them to the well-lit window. Seat them on a pebble tray with water for moisture, but make sure the water in the pebbles does not reach the bottom of the pot.

The author often suggests wrapping polyethylene bags around plant starts or seeds for humidity, but never do this with African Violets. Air-circulation is crucial to avoid botrytis and crown rot. Instead, use pebble trays, and add daily misting with lukewarm, never cold, water if the plants are situated in a centrally-heated home or arid environment.

Don't let misted plants sit in a cold room. If the room is on the cool side, the humidity levels will be sufficient without misting. Wet leaves in a cold room equal discoloration or disease.

Many growers choose to water via a wick threaded through the pot and into the wet pebbles below. Never water these plants from above, either wick water it or place it in a water-filled saucer for an hour until the soil has been moistened and then remove. Never let it sit in water for hours. When in doubt, keep it drier. Under-watered violets recover, over-watered ones rot.

Growing the plants from leaves is the most common way fanciers trade new plants. Membership in an African Violet Society offers a wealth of opportunities to obtain older, non-patented varieties. To grow a plant from a leaf, simply insert the stem into a glass of water through a hole poked through tinfoil or paper. Cover the stem and keep it covered, but keep the leaf itself dry. Change the water daily and re-pot the leaf in soil when the roots are an inch or so.

If you wish, you may instead apply rooting hormone to the stem and root in moist builder's sand, peat, perlite or vermiculite. Place the cuttings in a sunny window with indirect light for a few weeks. Plant them in a light soil mixture when rooted.

African violets are among the easiest plants to propagate and grow, just remember their cliff-side origins. Air circulation, warmth, humidity and well-drained soil protect your plants from their most deadly foes.

Sources:
http://www.grownotes.com/rooting-leaves-in-water/
http://avsa.org/