African Violet Propagation

Home page	African Violet Propagation by Gerald Morissette	It is easy to propagate African violettes from a single leaf. First you need to cut a leaf with its petiole. In a 4-inch pot filled with potting soil, make a hole with a pencil, then, you can insert the petiole in the hole until the leaf, and then press the soil around it to firm it up. Water it well, and keep it moist. The roots will be formed on the petiole. You can put several leaves in the pot, since anyway you will have to separate the young offsets later.
	The soil must be kept moist all the time. Use very diluted fertilizer. Check regularly for bugs, and if needed, use very diluted insecticide.
		When the baby plants are big enough to be transplanted, they can be potted individually. The pot shouldn't be too large. A pot for an African violette should never be larger than 4 inches. Personally, I have had some bloom in little 2-inch pots. Anyway, there is no hurry to separate them.
	I feed the young plants every time I water. As far as I am concerned, it is better to use diluted fertilizer every time, than more concentrated every 2 weeks. Be patient, it will take several months before the young plant .
		Here is the reward, after several months, flowers at last. But now that it started, this plant will bloom almost year around. Growing continuously, it will need to be repotted twice a year. You can now replace an old or sick plant, exchange plants or leaves with friends.
	See how minuscule this pot looks on this plant ready to be repotted. Repotting a plant can make it stop blooming temporarily, but it will start again as soon as it has filled the larger pots with its roots.	Desert Tropicals Home Page Text and Pictures © 2001 Gerald Morissette , All Rights Reserved.