A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 African Violet Help

It will multiply so fast you wont remember asking.

I suggest the southern window .I put my sheer curtain there and they love the protection.

dodge......Welcome to the AV club..Wonder if we influenced you????

shirl

What about us other good girls??

I will show you some of mine.

Share some.

dodge

Dodge!!

Of course I would not forget you! I just need to have more plants. As they grow I will let you know. it takes months though to grow the babies, so be patient with me!

Hi Eniisa

The plant should be an adult plant that you get the leaf from to make babies. If your plant is an adult plant then you can take one of the leaf's from it for babies. Take a leaf from the second row up ( from the bottom). Good luck!

Shirl

Here's something that surprised me a few years ago.
That you can grow a healthy, blooming AV in water, and add a few drops of AV food once in awhile. And the AV will grow like that for years.
My dear friend is Edna Comstock, a well known dahlia breeder. The Edna C. dahlia is named for her.
Edna grew African violets in WATER !!!! Edna is now 93, and it is no longer possible for her to remember how she did it, but I'm assuming that the violets I saw were starts from a leaf.
She used clothes pins to hold the leaves on the rim of the bowl the plants were in.
Edna is more than 40 years older than I am, but a dear friend to me.
I will never forget that first sight of healthy violets growing in water.

Here is the AV that isn't blooming.
web page

Here is my new plantlet!
web page

With the new planlet, will the old leaf die off? It's starting to turn...

Deb...........

You tear me up...........
thats wonderful....
However I tried that some grew and some didnt.

right now i have 9 growing in regular starting soil..........

Dodge

gardenmamma

Heck give that plant time to get a colony of leaves.........Still too little for blooms.. But looks healthy as heck..
b

Hi gardeningmomma

I do have some advice for you on the Av's. The one that is not blooming looks like it is a pot that is to large for it to bloom right now. African violets like to be root bound in order to bloom, so I suggest transplanting it into a smaller pot to start with. The plant looks nice and healthy. The other thing ( I am not sure if you know or not) is that Av's do not like to have wet feet. So let the plants dry out between waterings. I would add some perlite to the potting soil you are using. Don't worry about feeding the violets at this point.

Both the leaf and plant look nice and healthy, so you should do just fine! cut away that brown stuff that is on the leaf ( carefully). It looks like it may be rot ( is it soft or crispy? I can't tell in the pic) you may want to put it into dry soil if the soil it is in is wet ( soaked)or let it dry out.

Dodge, Edna probably did it with either a tiny new plant or a leaf just sprouting.
After I posted though, I suddenly remembered something- I'm pretty sure Edna told me that she dug out mature AVs, rinsed the dirt off the roots and stuck them in water because she had to go to the hospital and had no one to water her plants.
A vague memory from 4 years ago, but I think she did tell me that.

Deb.............& Shirl

They say not to put water on the leaves?/

I grew some out in the rain....Last year .. they didnt die......??
Who is correct?/

dodge

Hi Deborah,

Interesting information about your friend. I have heard of people rooting Av's in water, but it is said the roots are weak. Interesting in any case. Thansk for sharing.


Dodge,

The reason it is said not to get water on the leaves of an av is because when sun shines on the water it acts as a magnifying glass and burns the leaf causing a spot.

The only method I have ever used is the potting soil/leaf method. I have been successful with it. So I say if it ain't broken, don't fix it

Just throwing my 2 cents worth in here...

I have tried several times to grow AVs from a cutting (leaf) in soil and have been unsuccessful. I have always had luck with rooting them in water. I just pinch off a bottom leaf and stick in water and keep the water level up...takes a month or more, but I now have roots and plan to pot it up soon. Now if I can just get mine to bloom...I think I repotted it into a pot that was too large. I can wait!

I have heard folks do grow them in water Tonya! Glad to hear you have been successful!

Shirl

Dodge, I've read that too, about not getting the leaves wet.
But they get so dusty that I sloosh them under lukewarm running water in the kitchen sink.
One thing I have learned for sure-AVs like warmish water. Both for watering and for their showers.
I let mine dry out before watering, and they seem to like that. Too moist and they get fungus-y and grayish.
I pat the leaves dry with a Kleenex after a shower.

Shirl,
I never get water on the leaves of even outdoor plants, trees, and shrubs in sunlight.
You're right on the money with the magnifying thing.

Shirl,
Thanks for the advice. The black/brown spot is soft on the leaf. Do you think I should cut it off? Or leave it alone? I've been pretty good about letting them dry out a little before watering again. I will add some perlite this weekend. Thank you.

Dodge,
Will the colony of leaves just keep growing? At the moment, I seem to lose a leaf for everyone I gain!
Thank you!

gardeningmomma,

they should get more an more leaves as the keep growing........

They will crowd the entire pot......


dodge

Thanks Dodge!

You are more than welcome Gardeningmomma!

The most important thing is to have FUN! We will win some and lose some, but each is a learning experience.

I tried with one leaf.. it's starting to die. It's the end of winter here but it's not very cold. My questions is do these leaves do better in the summer months when it's more humid?

Or would it be better to just start them off with water?

this might help you. http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/27/1683.html
I and some others have had real good luck using Sarah's method here. Good luck.

Yes they do better in the summer months......I have nine growing from leaves right in the soil.
Never did before.

dodge

What kind of pots are you all using? I have mine in a ceramic pot that is made specifically for av's.
Thanks
This has been a really helpful topic.