In my long inclination of “ favorite plants , ” the African violet sits well somewhere near the top .
That ’s because of its profuse and true blooming , the informality of guardianship , and the mystique of being a plant aboriginal to Africa . But there ’s a more personal rationality in there , too .
When I was in charge of maintaining glasshouse blood at an erstwhile occupation , I aim exceptional pridefulness in the condition of the African reddish blue .
Photo by Matt Suwak.
For skinny to four yr I was handling hundreds of plants ( in summation to the remainder of our stock ) and am proud to say I lost a bare handful .
They were also a favored plant to bring family , and in the years I ’ve spent caring for these tough yet delicate plants , I ’ve study the ins and outs of the African violet .
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Photo by Matt Suwak.
They have a well - document history and arerelatively easy to care for , but propagate them from cuttings is an exercise in delight .
Whether you need more violets in your own home , or are planning before towards Christmas , Mother ’s Day , or Easter , instal African violet cuttings is a surprisingly gentle exercise .
What You’ll Learn
By the time you ’re finished read this , you ’ll be armed and ready to take up your own African violet gathering note !
Supplies and Equipment Needed
PropagatingSaintpauliais relatively easy . You only need a few items for the undertaking :
The scale of this operation is up to you , the nurseryman . For simplicity ’s sake I harvested leaves from a exclusive plant life , five total leaves for propagation .
When it comes to any kind of cuttings or seeded player growth , it ’s always better to start with more than you recall you want .
Garden Safe TakeRoot Rooting internal secretion
That ’s why I used a rooting endocrine for this labor , to help these cuttings base themselves .
GardenSafe Take Root Rooting Hormone is one of my favorites , and it’savailable on Amazon .
auxin are a plant hormone located in the tip of a stem that promote extension . Applying a rooting endocrine to engraft cuttings unnaturally squawk up the supplying of auxins and helps the plant to grow stronger roots .
For the rootle culture medium , I made my own . But you may also plunk it up at your local nursery , or rule a worthy mixture online .
I suggest Miracle - Gro Perlite commingle with Miracle - Gro ’s African Violet Potting Mix . I ’ve always defaulted to perlite in the past tense .
The divergence between it and vermiculite is peanut , and I can also readily buy perlite in convenient eight - quart sized bags .
Miracle - Gro ’s African Violet Potting Mix is excellent for many young plants . It offer a slightly acidic opus that drains well and is full of plentiful constitutional textile , making it useful for more than just African violet . I ’ve used it for other small projects when in a bind and it works just fine !
To arouse it up , any household mixing bowl will do . ( Shh , I used one from our baking set ; do n’t tell my fiance ! ) A bucket or planting container without drainage holes will also do the job .
For this kind of delicate work , I prefer to use pruner , like the Fiskars Softtouch Micro - Tip Pruning Snips . These areavailable on Amazon .
Fiskars Nonstick Softgrip Micro - Tip Pruning Snips
As for those shaping tidy sum , drainage mess are a must , and you ’re look for something small .
I used a few two - inch pots that were leftoverfrom some succulentsI buy a few months ago . Always save those pots ! You never know when you might need them .
For each leaf , you ’ll postulate one potty around the 2 - inch size for this project .
Another lesson in Reduce , Reuse , Recycle – for those plastic supports , I used quondam industrial plant tags . There always seem to be a few lie around . But plastic forks – or even play Army men – could be used .
Finally , to create a mini nursery for your cuttings to grow inside , you will need a open plastic to - go container , the clamshell kind .
It will need to be great enough to lay your smoke deep down , and for the pots and the leave of absence they contain to remain upright when the lid of the container is closed in . I convey mine from the salad bar at a local grocery computer memory .
10 Steps to Propagating African Violets
Now , let ’s get set out !
Step 1 – Prepare Your Rooting Medium
Saintpauliaprefers well - drain ground , but cut are even more special .
For this undertaking I ruffle two role perlite to one part African reddish blue potting mix . It should depend like a delicious crumbled cookie mixture .
Step 2 – Add Water
Add some water to the rooting mass medium , just enough to be able to flock the mixture together into a scarcely - there ball .
Some people say to reckon it ’s like oatmeal , but I ’ve never grabbed a smattering of oatmeal before . It feels more like a handful of backbone when you ’re building the perfect sandcastle .
Step 3 – Fill Your Pots
Fill the two - column inch pots ( or whatever size of it you have ) with the rooting medium . Use a pencil or any likewise - sized object to poke holes through the soil . You ’ll be place the foliage staunch in here .
Step 4 – Choose Leaves
slay ripe and sizeable leaves from the host plant life . These leaves should be well - developed and free from any planetary house of pest or disease issues .
Select go away from the middle quarrel of the plant to use as cutting . The leaves form from the very nub of the plant are the youngest , and the largest leave on the outside are the oldest . The leaves in those middle rows are the best candidates for cuttings .
Make trusted to remove as much of the leaf radical as possible from the crown to keep buncombe in the host plant .
Step 5 – Prep Leaves
Shorten the leaf stem to a length of about one column inch using a knife , your fingernails , or sharp snips .
Step 6 – Apply Rooting Hormone
Before we get take off with this tone , tell apart that rooting gunpowder is a very mild irritant . If ingested , it can cause stomach uncomfortableness and it can irritate any mucose membranes it come into contact with . Gloves and eye protection are always a good precaution , but not a essential .
gently douse each stem into the root internal secretion . I ’ve always dipped my cuttings properly into the bottle of hormone powder , but you’re able to shake some of the hormone onto a flat surface if you choose . You do n’t require to coat the entire leaf stem in hormone powder , as long as about one-half of the length of the stem gets a fine coating .
You do n’t need much , only a light coat . cautiously tap off the extra powder from the foliage root word . Like soy sauce , a trivial rooting hormone blend a long room .
Step 7 – Potting Up the Cuttings
Carefully position the stem of each leafage into the rooting culture medium . The blade of the folio should just bear upon the surface of the root medium . The unexampled plant stem canker will form from this country .
tauten the mass medium around the stems so that the parting are vertical and in place .
Step 8 – Add Support
Use the moldable plant tags ( or whatever support you have choose ) to act as a stand , ensuring the leaves do not crack into the soil .
If the farewell you curve are too tall to go inside the container , there ’s an easy fix for that .
you could make one clean cold shoulder across the top of each leaf , effectively slice away the top half of the leaf .
This will not affect its ability to take base .
Step 9 – Create a Mini Greenhouse
Place the potted and before long - to - be - beautiful African violets into the clamshell containers . cautiously fold the hat nasty , ensuring that the cuttings and pots all fit inside of the container .
It is vital that the container can close tightly , mesh up the pot cutting in a affectionate and humid environs .
Position this container in an area that is lustrous , but not hot .
Your ultimate goal at this point is to do your best to mime the born habitatSaintpauliaoriginates from . By placing the plants in a well - drained rooting sensitive and containing them in a miniskirt - greenhouse with some bright light , you are effectively duplicating their native swarm forests .
open up the container on occasion to air out excess wet or to add together more , as necessary .
encounter more backsheesh on make indoor miniskirt - greenhouses here .
Step 10 – Transplant Your New Violets
After a period of approximately eight weeks , your folio should be developing into proper violets . They should have developed a few baby leaves at the base of the plant ( seriously , they ’re endearing ) and have reached a height of about two inches .
Transfer these plants into a one - size - up container with a one part African Violet Mix and one part root intermediate mix , the same as the one we put together for the cuttings .
Final Thoughts
I love African violets . They remind me of the grandness of Africa . I may never delve into the jungles of the Congo or race across the Serengeti on a wildebeest ’s back , but at least I ’ll have mySaintpauliato help me imagine the wonder of it all .
And in a few months I ’ll have absolutely fine endowment to give to people for holidays and birthday – and you canbet your bottom dahliaI’ll teach them how to propagate their own film editing . Then we ’ll all have something in common .
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Photos by Matt Suwak © need the Experts , LLC . ALL right wing RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product photos via PUR , Garden Safe , Miracle - Gro , and Fiskars . Uncredited photo : Shutterstock . Originally published July 25 , 2017 . Last update April 16 , 2021 .
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Matt Suwak
