Leaf Cuttings

First, remove a firm, healthy, mature leaf from any row of leaves, except the old outside or bottom row. Old, spent leaves will be very slow to produce baby plants, if at all, and the taking of young, immature leaves from near the centre of your plant will spoil the shape of the mother plant.

Use a razor blade or very sharp knife and cut the leaf stem (petiole) on a slant to make it about 25mm in length. Longer leaf stems take longer to produce baby plants and short stems make the leaf unstable in the propagating mix. Leave for about ten minutes for the cut end to dry. The leaf is then ready to insert in the propagating mix, which can be any one of several things, so long as it retains moisture and is open in texture. A mixture of 50/50 vermiculite and perlite is very good. While it’s recommended to use vermiculite on its own, some use African Violet potting mix, which you want to be loose in texture and with the ability to retain moisture.

For a single leaf, a half punnet is ideal; for two leaves a full punnet, such as what you get form the nursery when you buy seedlings. Or if you have many leaves, you may use a large tray. Fill your pot with the propagating mix and insert the leaf stem up to the base of the leaf and leaning slightly backwards. Support the leaf with a label, of which you have written the name of the Violet. It’s always wise to label the pot with the name of your leaves or plants so you remember the name; but if you forget to label it, the chances are you’ll never be sure what its name is, as it’s very difficult for even the experts to name a plant that hasn’t been labelled.

Having inserted your leaf in the mix and labelling it, you must then moisten the mix. Place it in a warm, well-lit position and wait for it to take off. Some growers put supports in the corners of the pot and enclose the leave in the pot in a plastic bag, taking care that the plastic doesn’t touch the leaf. Then it’s seldom necessary to use any more water until baby plants appear. Others simply mist the leaves regularly.

After the leaf is rooted, which is usually between two to four weeks, a very weak fertiliser may be used. Depending on temperature and light, the babies will appear in about six to eight weeks, although some leaves may take months for this to happen.

It’s then a matter of waiting until the baby plants are large enough to divide and pot. Should the mother leaf be large and shielding some of the baby plants, the top half of it may be cut off to let more light on them.

When the baby plants are about 50mm high and have four leaves each, they may be divided into individual pots. You may get anywhere from two to three baby plants, to as many as twenty, depending on how good the mother leaf was at the beginning and the conditions.

You probably won’t require so many plants of that variety, and therefore, it’s best to keep only the strongest of the babies.

Remove the mother leaf and the clump of baby plants from the mix and proceed to divide the baby plants into individual plants. Insert each one in the centre of a 50mm pot—half punnet or the smallest pot you can find. Fill in around each baby plant with moist African Violet potting mix and gently push it down until it’s firmly in the pot. Place a label with the Violet’s name in the pot, or better yet still write the variety on the side of the pot on a stick-on type of label. A soft lead pencil is best for writing on labels.

The baby plants may then be placed in a warm, well-lit spot and watered sparingly for the first week or two. Select only the more robust of the baby plants to pot, as the weaker ones with fewer roots will struggle to survive. Experience will tell you which of the baby plants are worth keeping. From then on, it’s just a matter of keeping them moist and warm; plenty of humidity is best, if possible.

Some growers prefer to strike their leaves in water. This is fine, although little is gained by this method because once rooted the leaves are placed in propagating mix, and a new set of roots begins growing. Some even grow the cuttings in water until baby plants appear and grow. This may cause losses when they’re divided and planted because the roots are made weaker by watering. Generally, any method that’s successful is worth persevering with.

A type of Violet called Chimera, which has two different colours radiating from the centre, may only be propagated from suckers. The use of leaves for this variety will only produce flowers of the base colour. Suckers or side shoots of any variety may also be used for propagating.

Ease one of the suckers from the main stem and strike in propagating mix—the same as for the leaves—this will produce only one plant but will be quicker than from a leaf cutting.

Many African Violet flowers have two small leaves just below the flowers. These may also be used to propagate the Chimeras or other hard to get varieties. The flowers are cut-off just above the pair of leaves and with about 25mm of the flower stem left below the leaves and struck in propagating mix—again the same method used as for leaves. This is a rather slow process and usually produces only one plant.