Air Layering Your Leggy African Violets

By Sharon Rosenzweig

Many of you are probably familiar with rejuvenating an old African violet with a long neck. The common practice is to cut off the root ball leaving about 1-1/2” of the neck, scraping off the dried brown stuff until moist green tissue is showing, placing the scraped neck into potting mix and cover with the plant with a plastic bag. This method puts a lot of stress on the plant while it is trying to make new roots.

Another method of re-establishing an old plant with a neck is to air layer the neck.

The first step is to remove outer leaves until the plant is no more than six inches in diameter. Clean the stem of stubby leaf bases and scrape the dried bark until moist green tissue is showing.

Wrap moist (not wet) sphagnum moss firmly around the stem. Cover the moss with plastic wrap, making sure it fits tightly both above and below to prevent it from drying out. Use twist ties to secure the plastic on the top and bottom.

Treat the layered plant the same as you would any other African violet. However, periodically check the moss to be sure it has not dried out.  If it dries, moisten with a gently spray of water.

After about two to three weeks, the sphagnum moss should be filled with roots. When the plant is well rooted, cut the neck just below the ball of moss and roots and place in a pot of suitable growing mix. Water and cover with a plastic bag for a week to ten days. Remove the plastic bag when the plant seems firm in the pot.

The advantages of air-layering are:

Little or no risk of losing the plant

Shock to the plant is minimal

The plant will have a new root system

The plant will produce new growth and flowers sooner