African Violet how do you proper gate?
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Propagating african violets by leaf stem cuttings.
African violets are one of the easiest house plants to propagate. They are best propagated by removing mature leaves from the mother plant in the form of leaf stem cuttings. (see photo left ) To take the cuttings follow the stages listed below :-
1. Water the mother plant and leave for 30 minutes, to make sure the plant is not water stressed when the cuttings are taken.
2. Remove the leaves to form the basic cutting as shown in the photo. Select mature leaves which tend to be on the outer edge of the mother plant. Try to take the cutting so it has the maximum stem length. Cutting compost needs to be well drained but at the same time needs to hold moisture to encourage rooting. At GardenAdvice.co.uk we normally mix 50% peat potting compost with 50% vermiculate to create the rooting compost.
3. Insert several leaves into a 3 to 4 inch pot.
4. Water the pots well to firm in the cuttings trying not to wet the leaf surfaces.
5. Finally place the cuttings on a window sill or in a greenhouse remembering to keep them out of direct sunlight as excessive heat during the day will prevent rooting. You should have about 50% of the cutting root in 4 - 6 weeks.
The key to the propagation of african violets is to keep the leaf surfaces dry during the rooting stage. The main problem you will face is the rooting in the stem and leave.
http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/hous...
Clip a healthy leaf from the parent plant as close to the stem as possible. Place the end of the leaf into a cup or bottle filled with water (brown medicine bottles work best) then put the cutting into a bright window or under grow lights. In a few weeks you will see roots on the end of the leaf and can pot it into the media of your choice.
I prefer this method for starting cuttings as I can actually see the roots begin to strike. Also they will live happily in the water jars for several weeks/months so I can start many cuttings at once and not have to deal with starting many pots of media.
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