African Violets.

Do we have any experts on here?
I adore these pretty little plants but I don't always have a great deal of success with them. I think I probably kill them with kindness by over watering/feeding etc.
I have just started off some leaf cuttings and I would love to get these to stay alive!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
By the way, am I being completely stupid or is there no house-plant forum on here?

 

Definitely not an expert but I grow and propagate African Violets - only just started last year - but I have had success and my last year's has over'wintered, given me 20+ plants and plantlets and the same leaves are still producing and at the moment my original is flowering a lovely purple. I have bought 2 more this year (different colours)

What colour is yours ? Mine are just common ones from B & Q - but you can get beautiful named varieties - they sell the leaves on Ebay too. Apart from watering from below, (and sometimes I have forgotten and they have dried a bit too much) - and the odd feed (when I remember) oh and they don't like direct sunlight - they are quite easy to grow.

They take about 9 months from sticking the leaf to flowering and I pot mine on as they grow. Once you stick the leaf it takes about a month for it to root. After about 2 months you get "babies" from the top of the stem/bottom of the leaf . I keep my pots sealed in a freezer bag and under the kitchen lights - they need a moist atmosphere to root/have babies.

S

 

Hi sumbody. Thank you so much for all that advice. How often do you water and feed? What do you feed yours?
I have Amethyst Star and Summer Frost leaves just potted up. I got them from http://www.cloudviolets.co.uk/african_violets_leaves.html Mainly because they are cheaper than Ebay.
I also got another really pretty pink and white plant from Homebase last night so I will pot a couple of leaves from that as well.
I just love these plants and could easily get addicted.

 

The *only* thing I know about African Violets is: you water from the bottom and never the top. (Cheers, Mother, still remember all these years on )

There is an active thread called: "Show us your houseplants in bloom now" and that comes under the forum heading: "Other plants" (which is where you have posted your thread).

I think it is a GC cunning plan so that the houseplant mafia don't outnumber the proper "out there and dirty" gardeners The word "houseplants" is just a dead giveaway

 

Lea, I water probably weekly (more or less depending on weather/heat - lifting the pot to see the weight - I sit them in water for up to 1/2 hour till they have soaked up and the pot feels quite heavy. I don't use specialised compost either - mix multi-compost with a good bit of vermiculite mixed in to keep it light. I feed a bit of Miracle Grow once they have been in their final pots for a month or so probably about once a month (if I remember).

As I said I am no expert but had some lovely healthy plants to pass on to my friends this year - definitely can be addictive - I have a purple one, a white/purple splash, and a salmony pink that I bought yesterday at B & Q which had been left to dry out and the leaves and flowers were dying - got the plant for £1 off rrp £2.98 . Came home, gave it a good soak and it was 100% better (although still missing some leaves/flowers) but plenty of good leaves for me to take. The white/splash leaves I stuck about 2+ months ago have now started sprouting plantlets really tiny at the moment just poking from the soil.

Very interesting that site too -Thanks for the link - much cheaper than Ebay - loving the Amethist star with the white edges. and Summer Frost looks like a pink version of my white/purple splash. I might buy some - going back for a better look I think.

S

The ones I started last August were large, lush and flowering by the end of May this year.

 

Thank you.
I went the path of buying a special one today! I hope I don't kill it!
It is a vibrant red and very beautiful. This is it: http://www.dibleys.com/dibleys-shop/Dibleys-Kaarina--2617---703.html Would you like a couple of leaves from it when it is settled?
Your variegated and salmon pink sound lovely!
Hmmm, I have the stuck leaves in the polytunnel atm. Should I move them somewhere where they get less pampering perhaps?

 

I keep mine indoors - do you have the leaves enclosed in a plastic bag for humidity ? My pots are very small and I stick 3 in a pot and cut the leaf in half beforehand (sorry forgot to say that bit before).

Here's a pic of mine

and inside the bag


And all three of them


Your new one is a beautiful colour - vivid red - and by looking at that my purple one is a semi-double.

Thank you for the offer of leaves which I would love to accept and of course I will reciprocate the offer. How were the leaves delivered to you as a matter of interest (so I can post to you safely) ?

You might be interested in these sites I found a while back plus there are videos on youtube
http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/11/my-african-violet-growing-guide/

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/hort/landscape/African_Violets.htm

S

 

Ah....... I'm just going to hunt out some bags and run down to the poly tunnel now!
The leaves were individually wrapped in bubble wrap and then put into a jiffy bag for posting. They were in perfect condition when I got them.
When my new red one arrives I'll take pics of it and the others. Then if you let me know what leaves you would like I will get them off to you.
Those links are really good. Thank you for those.

You don't, by any chance, have Christmas/ Easter/Thanksgiving cacti as well do you?

 

Compost should be light and airy, but kept moist during the growing season. They like humidity, but dislike the leaves being wet. They need good light, but direct strong sunlight should be avoided.
If you go to Dibleys website I'm pretty sure that they had a good page about care.

As far as leaf cuttings go, I recall that there is a particular way to cut the leaf. It should be in a moist airy compost too, in a bag as previously stated. The bag should be opened for a while every day to stop the leaf rotting.

That's the limit of what I know.

 

Thank you.
Yes, my beautiful, new red one is from Dibleys. They are very helpful too.
There seems to be many ways of propagating these plants. I just hope I am doing it right and that I don't kill the poor things!

 

I am sure you will be OK Lea - When I started last August I had 9 leaves of the purple one - a couple had fallen off and I stuck those too - not realising how many they would produce - approximately every 3 months - here are photos of what I have today (excluding any that are in the bags) I have already given five larger flowering ones away (no pics).

You can see they are all different size - each set of plants being 3 months older - the last 3 pics they are in a 12 x cell tray (cut in half) to give some idea of size.



This last one is a little runt that is going to live with my daughter-in-law



Looking at these photos, they need a bit of a water - and I will be potting on those in the first pic to their final pots - and moving the second pics to the empty pots etc. Will be interesting to see if they flower in 3 months or not until next May time - not sure how that works with these whether they flower regardless in 9 months or only at their allocated time. These are all s/d purple - could send you a little plantlet of this if you want as well

S

 

Those are lovely.
Yes,a plantlet would be wonderful. Thank you.

 

Been a bit under the weather the last couple of days - needed cheering up - thought I would look again at Dibleys site - thought the delivery price was a bit steep if only buying one plant - so ended up buying 6 - worked out just over £3.50 each .

I got Arctic Frost, Bon Serbin, Green Ice, Ness Antique Red, Rhapsodie Clementine and Warm Sunshine. A good mix of colours - hmmm strange how I am feeling a bit better now

I noticed delivery is within a month - hoping it doesnt take that long - well excited now.

S

 

Yes, it cheered me up when a new yellow (Mellow Yellow) one arrived today.
Those of yours sound gorgeous.

 

Mellow Yellow sounds good - did you get it from Dibleys ? Just wondering how long their delivery is on average - I like the yellow ones - the Warm Sunshine one is yellow too.

S