By Kathee Mierzejewski

African violets are a beautiful flower to add to any room in your home. A lot of people like them above the sink, in a window where they can get a little light. They are remindful of spring and summer, even when it is cold and dreary outside in the middle of winter. Propagating African violet plants is also very easy. There are several ways to accomplish propagating African violet plants: growing from seed, rooting African violets and by division.

Can I Grow African Violets from Seed?

“Can I grow African violets from seed?” is a good question because most of the time rooting African violets is done from leaf cuttings. African violet propagation can be done from leaf cuttings, or they can be grown from seed.

 

Peat can be used to germinate the seeds, but perlite, vermiculite, greensand and Epsom salt should be used to make the soil lighter. The seeds should germinate in about eight to 14 days. The best thing to remember is that the temperature for the soil should be between 65 and 75 F. (18-24 C).

Most of the time, however, rooting African violets is done by leaf cuttings. African violets do well with this method.

How Do I Propagate an African Violet from a Leaf Cutting?

A lot of people propagate their plants with leaf cuttings. African violet propagation is usually done in the spring time.

Simply remove a healthy leaf with the petiole or leaf stem by cutting it off or snapping it off neatly at the stem of the plant. The petiole should be trimmed to about 1 ½ inches long for best results. Take the leaf and insert the leaf stem into a hole in the growing medium you have chosen. Then water it thoroughly.

Propagating African violets is not as hard as one might think. Roots should appear at the base of the petiole within three to four weeks. When the roots appear, new leaves and plants should start peeking through the ground three to four weeks after that.

One thing to remember when propagating African violets is that it really doesn’t take long before you have a new plant to repot. Two to six months after the process starts, the new plants should have two to three leaves. At that point, they are safe to repot.

Propagating African Violet Plants by Division

African violet propagation can be done by division as well. All that needs to be done is to cut away the crown from the plant so that each portion has a piece of the root system. Each division can then be planted into pots with violet potting mix and they should do well.

Now that you know the answer to, “Can I grow African violets from seed?” and “How do I propagate an African violet from a leaf cutting?” you can go on and create as many new African violet plants as you want.