Author Topic: African violets 102  (Read 7300 times)

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Offline barleychown

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African violets 102
« on: Dec 07, 2007, 12:46:20 AM »
So, you started an african violet leaf, it rooted, and now you have babies!

First, this is a picture of "mouse ears", a newly emerged baby...



Here's one of a little older baby...



And a tray full of rooted leaves. Can you spot the babies?



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Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #1 on: Dec 07, 2007, 12:49:57 AM »
Now, when the a few of the baby's leaves get AT LEAST the size of a dime, it's time to separate them and give them their own pot.

Here's a pot full of babies...the mother leaf was removed a few weeks ago. You have two choices with the mother leaf...you can either cut it away when the babies are of good size, and let them continue to grow for another week or two, OR you can separate the mother leaf and babies all at the same time, and use the mother leaf again. It's up to you.

« Last Edit: Dec 07, 2007, 12:54:40 AM by barleychown »
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Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #2 on: Dec 07, 2007, 12:56:52 AM »


Looks like a big clump, right?



But, if you slowly start to sort the leaves, and trace them back to where they begin from, you can start to see how many babies you have...

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Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #3 on: Dec 07, 2007, 01:01:44 AM »
If you start to tug very gently, the baby and it's roots will start to pull away from the rest...



Continue separating babies, and tugging them apart...



Until you get them all separate...

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Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #4 on: Dec 07, 2007, 01:04:30 AM »
Make sure you label and date the pot the baby will be going into, and then plant it...



The dime is there for leaf size comparisons...




This group of babies is actually a little smaller than I normally separate them, but I needed a model.
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Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #5 on: Dec 07, 2007, 01:05:33 AM »
All in all, it's a pretty easy process. Any questions?
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Offline Triss

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #6 on: Dec 07, 2007, 01:17:36 AM »
Sarah, your tutorials are great and I can tell you from experience it works!  I have very healthy plants as a result of Sarah's efforts and a few new ones using her techniques on my own.

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Offline Dianna

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #7 on: Dec 07, 2007, 11:52:50 AM »
Sooooo...

A mother leaf can make a lot of babies in just one "sitting"? I figured that it would just put out one baby at a time. I can see I will have to make some room when I start this process. :) Can't be blamed for neglect if I provide them all with their own little "cribs"...
"Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success." - Lao Tzu

Offline jv

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #8 on: Dec 08, 2007, 02:48:51 PM »
Thanks to Sarah I now have started my third shelf of AV's on my plant carts.  :Glee: at this rate will have to find more plant light carts and a place for me to live. :BigGrin:

Offline duh

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #9 on: Dec 09, 2007, 11:22:58 AM »
A friend gave me some "teenage AV's"  you know to big to be babies but not big enough to be mature plants.

And looking at one of them today it seems like maybe their are two plants in one of the pots.  Can it wait until after I move to separate them or should I get right on it?

Offline barleychown

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #10 on: Dec 09, 2007, 01:05:02 PM »
Sooooo...

A mother leaf can make a lot of babies in just one "sitting"? I figured that it would just put out one baby at a time.

The mother leaf can make just one baby, or up to as many as 10 babies. Every leaf is different.


A friend gave me some "teenage AV's"  you know to big to be babies but not big enough to be mature plants.

And looking at one of them today it seems like maybe their are two plants in one of the pots.  Can it wait until after I move to separate them or should I get right on it?

Let me explain some reasons to have only one per pot, as well as some reasons to have more than one per pot.

First, if you ever plan on showing your violet in competition, there are rules galore to govern how it should look, which include only one crown (plant) per pot.

Second, if you want the look of a traditional african violet, which is symmetrical, and with flat rows of leaves, you must have only one plant per pot.

However, if you are just growing for fun, or growing for gifts, I actually prefer more than one plant in a pot. If you have two or three to a pot, you end up with a full looking mound of a plant, and different plants mean they will bloom at slightly different times, so you will end up with more flowers over a longer period.

All in all, it's up to personal preference. I grow them both ways.
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Offline duh

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #11 on: Dec 10, 2007, 09:20:47 AM »
Thanks Barleychown, I appreciate all the information.  And I'm glad I can leave them together.  I am so overloaded with pots and plants to move to the new place that any savings on room is a good thing.

Offline Penny

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #12 on: Dec 12, 2007, 01:56:57 PM »
Wow Sarah, you certainly have the knack for growing violets, i have never been able too, not sure if not enough light, too much light, issues with water, i buy them and they never last.

Offline duh

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Re: African violets 102
« Reply #13 on: Dec 18, 2007, 08:43:23 AM »
i'm not sure whether I should post this here or somewhere else.  But, I'm really excited the african violet that my neighbor gave is has sent up blooms.  I love having blooms this time of year.  Isn't that great?  They are a pale purple color.

 

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