Propagating African Violets

I know the majority of my posts are on outdoor gardening, but I really do enjoy a good indoor gardening project too. Lately, I’ve been on an African violet spree and I don’t see the end in sight! They just cheer me up! I’ve got a new office and I’ve decided to display a collection of them there, so I bought a few this summer (a few is putting it mildly). I talked the ladies in the office into doing a bulk order with me and it was like Christmas when we opened our box full of green goodies! We all loved each other’s so much, we decided to propagate them so that we could share. I’ve done this before with great success; here’s how:

Leaf Propagation Instructions

The way most people propagate African violets is with leaf cuttings. It’s a slow, but satisfying process. Violet experts say the process goes a little better and faster in spring, but don’t limit yourself to one season.

1. Choose a plant that you want to multiply and simply snip or snap off a healthy leaf at the base of the stem.
2. Trim the leaf stem to about 1.5 inches. Shorter is fine.
3. Slide the stem into a light rooting medium, such as peat moss mixed with perlite with only about a half inch of the stem in the rooting medium. Make sure the stem goes into the medium at an angle. Using a rooting medium helps, as soil can be heavy, and harder for the plantlets to grow through, but don’t stress about it. Use what you have.
4. Water thoroughly.
5. Keep the rooting medium moist, but not soggy, being careful not to wet the leaf.
6. Label your pots if you’re doing more than one type of violet.

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