Propagating Violets From Leaves

                                                                        By MarieMontague

 Years ago when first setting violet leaves, I diagonally cut the stem (petiole) and placed it straight down in a pot. This was not wrong, but a friend suggested another way. Since he had great success with many new plants per leaf (8 or 9 in some pots) and, more importantly, lost very few leaves, I was willing to give his method a try. The following is his technique for “preparing a leaf” and my suggestions on caring for set leaves.

Preparing a Leaf

Select a healthy leaf with as long a stem as possible. Fill a (2 1/4") pot or a “Solo” cup (with drainage holes) almost to the top with wet soil. Place your leaf on the top of the pot and cut the stem, on the diagonal, to cover most of the pot. Very gently scrape the top of the stem with your thumb. If you look closely at the stem it will look a little shiny or moist. Place the stem on the top of the soil scraped side up and lightly add a little soil to the top (approximately 1/8”) to anchor the leaf in place. Water leaf with your favorite fertilizer (adding a little “Marathon” to treat for bugs will never hurt) and set aside so excess water will drain from pot (half hour or so.) Believe at this point the leaf bonds with soil. Label each pot with violet variety and perhaps date set.

 When will you know if a leaf has actually set? Check your leaves after about a week by gently touching the leaf to see if there is resistance. If the leaf doesn’t move, the leaf has set. If slight movement, add a little more soil.

 Creating a Miniature Greenhouse

 Set leaves like to be moist at all times, but never wet, and in the early stages keeping them warm is as important as moisture. Two methods work well in creating your own small greenhouse. Method one, which has been used for years with success, is to cover the leaf and pot with a sandwich bag (zip lock bags tip over) and secure it above the bottom of the pot with a small elastic. Check occasionally to make sure leaf is still moist. When heavy condensation appears, remove the sandwich bag and turn it inside out, water the leaf and place the bag over the leaf again. Still use this method when I receive a leaf that is a little “suspect.”

 The second method, which works if you are setting many leaves, is to place pots in a covered tray with matting (without sandwich bag.) Commercial trays are available but any plastic container with a clear cover will work well (plastic wrap can serve as a cover.) Check periodically to make sure leaves are moist. I prefer to water each plant, but, if time is short, just wet matting. If sides or top of container appear very wet, wipe sides and top dry with a paper towel. This is critical because too much moisture will rot leaves. Water each plant.

 How long does it take before new plants appear?

 This is a difficult question. It depends on the variety that you are propagating and whether you are setting under lights or near a window. Some leaves take 6 months before you see anything and then perhaps only one or two new plants, others seem to take off immediately and the pot is filled with plants. As long as a leaf appears healthy, one must have patience. After plants appear you might want to cut down mother leaf, or remove entirely, to create more space on your trays.

 When should new plants be potted up?

 Every grower has their own opinion and it is much a trial and error process at first. If in doubt, it’s always best to give the plants extra time.

 When one of the new plants looks large enough to pot up with many small plants around it, carefully remove the large plant and reposition the smaller plants in the same propagation pot to plant up at another time. The large plant can actually inhibit the growth of smaller plants in same pot. At times, after removing plants, you will find that the mother leaf looks healthy. If this is a “special” leaf and not easily obtained, cut at diagonal again and place back in propagation pot with new soil.

 Pot up to a 2 1/4” pot. This is a good time to add a wick and treat with “Marathon.” Most of my plants go back to trays where they stay until they are ready to be potted up once again to a larger pot, or in the case of minis and semi-miniatures, moved to a clean pot and new soil. Separate plants you want to keep in your collection from those that you will sell. Do yourself a favor – toss plants you don’t like.