Rooting African Violets From A Leaf

Rooting African Violets from A Leaf

By Joseph Parish

I have always been fascinated with the beauty and the texture of these popular house plants. These plants brighten up any room that they are placed in. I cannot think of a time when we have not had these plants in our home. It seems like with a little patience and the proper care they bloom forever. These plants have no difficulties in growing and flowering under normal household light. The huge variety of these plants are one of the characteristics which make them so appealing.

Some African Violet growers hold patents on certain plants they have developed. These patented plants tend to improve the quality of the African Violets produced. An example of such improvements can be found in the series of Holtkamp patents. Usually a patented African Violet is under the protection of the law for approximately 20 years. Technically, what this means is that legally you are prevented from reproducing these particular plants. I however, do not believe that this protective clause applies to a home grower who is propagation an African Violet for their personal use, but more so to those who create the plants for sale to others. It is of interest to know that even though the plants may be protected by the patents, as an average African Violet grower, we can grow, transfer leaves to other freely without violation. The patent primarily involves large greenhouse growers who make a living selling plants. In the early days these growers would be required to pay 3 cents for each name tag they purchased to sell the patented plants.

Moving on, now that we have brought that little detail about the patent issue to your attention, let's see exactly what is involved in growing these little beauties from a leaf. For optimum growth the African Violet requires Intense light, but no direct sunlight. If the amount of light is too low the leaves become thin and deep green, and strength up towards the light. This effect would require additional light to be provided by the grower. On the other hand, excessive amounts of light will make the leaves pale or a greenish-yellow color. This reduces the size of the plants and prevents flowering. African Violets require 8 to 12 hours of light along with 8 hours of darkness daily to thrive. They can be grown under incandescent light; however, a fluorescent lamp gives much better results.

The ideal night temperature should be about 70°F, but they can endure variations from 60 to 80°F. Prolonged high temperatures reduce growth and flowering. During hot, summertime weather, locate your plants in the coolest locations of your home or in an air-conditioned room. Here is a useful hint which involves watering your plants. Always sit the pots in a water tight plastic tray filled with pebbles. Never put your pots directly in water or you risk them developing root rot.

Drainage is vital for African Violets along with choosing your soil mix. The ideal choice of mix would be equal parts of peat moss, perlite, and vermiculite. In the past we have used the readily available pre-packaged African violet soil mixes with good results. The pots used must have adequate drainage.

Generally, water that is safe for human drinking is good for your African Violets. My father used to purchase gallons of distilled water for his African Violets and they did very well. I have a machine which distills my water and produces mineral free distilled water which I use. Do not water your plants on a particular schedule, but only as needed when the soil begins to dry out. Don't wait until the soil has completely dried out or your plants start to wilt.

You may water your African Violets from either the top or the bottom with room temperature water. Discard any extra water after providing the plant with a drink. Do not wait until the plant becomes hard or the plant wilts. If you allow cold water to touch the tender African Violet leaves, they will cause yellow spots or streaks on the leaf surfaces. To water from the bottom place the pot in a container along with about one inch of water and allow it to sit until the soil is moist. A future article will describe a self-watering container that is ideal for African Violets.

When fertilizing your plants, employ a water-soluble 20-20-20. We use an African Violet fertilizer of 15-30-15. Mix the fertilizer in water using only a fourth of the recommended rate and feed the plant each time you water it. If your plant shows a gradual loss in its leaf color along with reduced growth, then it needs to be fertilized.

Now let's get to the fun part where we propagation these little beauties. These plants are easily grown from cutting of the mother plant. Select a healthy leaf from the plant and cut it at the stem, leaving the leaf stem intact. Trim the petiole to about 1 ½ inches in length. You can use a combination of half vermiculite and half sand as a growing mix. Insert the petiole into the mix by gently pushing it into a pre-made hole. Roots should develop within three to four weeks, with another three to four weeks after the roots form you will see green growth. The complete plant with flowers should follow in another six to nine months.

In this experiment my wife accidentally broke a firm leaf from one of her African Violet plants. After handing it to be I decided to do things a little bit different this time. I took one of my Aquaponics quart jars with a peat moss pod inside and inserted the cutting into it. Now it's a matter of waiting to see if it will take. My calculations are that it will. Here in the jar we have the best of both conditions. The pod keeps it moist as if I were rooting it in water and when completed I merely have to plant the leaf in the dirt.

Be sure to watch for my future article on the construction of an African Violet lighted growing bench.

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