A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Are these suckers on my African Violet?

Ok, I'm new to AVs. That means I may not always know what I'm looking at. Do I have suckers? If so, are they large enough to pot? Or are these a part of my plant's growth that should be left alone?
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h144/AmanyB/Suckers/Picture022.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h144/AmanyB/Suckers/Picture028.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h144/AmanyB/Suckers/Picture027.jpg

Amany I also am new to AV's Barleychown is the resident expert on them. She can tell you I looked but could not tell anything. Just want to welcome you to the forum.
Jimmy

it is very hard to sepparate babies off an african violet. i've snapped the whole top of a plant off the roots trying to do it. they are very fragile. i would not bother. if you want another plant, try rooting a single leaf.

I certainly don't want to cause any damage. I'd rather just remove the leaves. First I want to make sure that what I have are suckers.

Thanks Jimmy. I've been lurking around here for a few months now. Because plants have become a recent hobby (obsession?), and I don't know a lot about them, I haven't had much to contribute. But you good folks are certainly teaching me.

SUCKERS ON THE AV plants......


I THINK THE SUCKERS ............ARE US!!!

DODGE

I think maybe what you think of as suckers are just little AV's forming. You can leave them, they don't hurt anything and make the plant look fuller until they are actually large enough to separate without doing any damage.

Take a look through the past threads for some of the AV ones - Barleychown has posted some good ones.

Hi there! Sorry I didn't see this post sooner.

Yes, those are suckers! Good eye. Now, you need to decide what you want to do with them? Do you want to remove them to make a new plant, or do you just want to remove them to promote better growth on the main stem?

Hi Barley!

No apology is necessary. I would like to remove them to make another plant. I don't want to harm the mommy plant though.

Don't worry about them. If you want another plant, just clip off an outer leaf with a little stem, stick in some fresh soil with some rootone and in a couple weeks you'll have a baby AV. Always remember never to run water on AV leaves and water from the bottom only and you'll be rewarded with beautiful blooms several times a year.