Also it's helpful to plant the stem shallowly (versus deeply) so that the new leaves don't have to clear so much dirt to emerge. That's probably also an issue from what I think I can see. You can do better next time. Shallow angles....better.

Thanks guys. Actually the angles are as shallow as I could get them - I did see that advice somewhere, before planting. The leaves are laying really flat, although it could be that my trimming off the top 1/3 of each makes it looks like they're upright, in the photo: an illusion. I think the greatest depth of soil at the stem end is 1/4" (which is why I don't dare play around down there too much). There are lots of roots, even as far as 1.5" from the stems (!) - I can see these at the soil surface - so I know they're growing. I just ugh want babies, ha ha!

Okay... I guess it's just patience. ;-p

Thanks again!

Yes, good things come to those that wait...patience. I've had violets take six months and others that take only a few weeks...it's pretty variable ;)

Aww, dbarron. Thanks. Six months?!!? [omg] Well, good to know. Just gonna keep waiting then...

Meanwhile, have to say I feel a little bit less hesitant about ordering leaves, when well-grown plants aren't available.

Anybody want to say anything about experiences with some cultivars taking longer, and others taking less? Just while I'm twiddling my thumbs here...

Joan

Yes, It often helps if you trim off the tips of the leaf blades, as sometimes the leaf will only grow itself instead of plantlets. However, Violet leaves don’t need rooting hormone added, as they produce enough of their own. Also, you are correct about using older leaves. It will may work, but sprouting takes longer. Sometimes, a little more light will help, but not too much. Some growers use individual pots for each leaf as smaller containers might give faster results. If growing leaves are disturbed too much, it may cause an interruption in growth. Ideally the best leaves come from the middle row, cut at 45 degree angle, planted in soilless mix, under plastic for humidity. Hope this helps.

Yes, AlabamaAV, it really does help. :) Good info about the hormone: The only comment I heard about it was "some do, some don't, they'll be fine without," so I just went with it. (Perhaps it has helped with the aged leaves: I do see plenty of roots.) I admit my goal here was to learn how to do it with what I had, not really *really* propagate. But I've gotten a little more serious, after all this waiting, so I'm cataloging these expert tips, for instance about individual containers, too. Next time I want to try this I'll look around and see if the little 2" square pots I have will fit under the dome. Thanks to everyone!

Hi All, please let us know once you see babies. All of us want to know.

Yolanda

Ha, Yolanda, I'll totally do this. I'm reading more and more this afternoon. VioletBarn.com and babyviolets.com are good resources. (One can waste a lot of time on YouTube, don't you think? What do you all think? It seems to me hard to find truly authoritative or knowledgeable info on YouTube, when it comes to the refinements. Not unlike using "gopher" to try to do research in the early days of public internet. Ugh.)

I think I'm seeing more on those two sites now, after some experience/thought and especially after input from the people on this forum, than I was able to incorporate the first time through. It's interesting to me, how the (or at least my) learning brain works: you take in the basics the first time, more details the second time, then experienced observation starts to kick in, and you see more and ask more cogent questions every time and start to dig down into real details. Which is why I keep asking questions here on this forum: many have made the journey before me. I rely upon you all.

The lid might be too opaque. Try plastic wrap.

For my house (high humidity usually in 50-60% range), no covering is necessary. Unless you know your house is a desert, I wouldn't cover. Free air flow is going to be more beneficial and you won't have to harden off the plantlets.

That's a good idea. Yeah, my humidity can also be higher in the summer, but I can't stand it, so I use a dehumidifier to keep things at 50 or less. It makes me feel more human.

Is fall an okay time to start leaves? Will they need extra light?

Joanne, good idea! I hate trying to get that stuff off the roll but it might be more transparent. These lids are pretty clear, though. They're not that cloudy, translucent kind.

If using natural light, obviously fall is sending the wrong signals (decreasing temps, light duration, intensity), but it's not too late. It'll just take longer.

OK. I think I'll add artificial light then. Thanks again. Temps should be okay, and intensity for at least as long as it lasts is actually greater here in the in-between seasons, since the sun can get in under my deep, 4' eaves that are lower than ceiling height.

I would say ... keep the planted stems to no more than an inch long.

As long as the leaves are healthy, you know it's just a matter of time.

Like a watched pot, violet babies will pop up when you're not paying attention ...

I'm def NOT LOOKING (LA LA LAAAAA I can't hear/see you!) till January, hah!

New here, and not an experienced AV grower so I need lots of help. About babies - I had a leaf broken off so I stuck it in a little juice glass full of water with the leaf supported by plastic wrap that was a tight cover. Basically forgot about it. Weeks later it had lots of roots and 2-3 little baby leaves. In the process of potting it the cat knocked off the new leaves. Bad cat! I went ahead with potting and it’s been a couple months - nothing. Give up?

Chris, welcome! I'm no expert here, a complete newbie myself, but I sure hope our experienced forum-leaders will step in. (Love the cats. But they come with, uh, liabilities, shall we say. Especially if smart, which means curious and active, of course.)

As long as the mother leaf had roots,,,,she should be ok! (not a cat fan so I would either put the cat in her own room or have a room just for the violets!) Rosie

Joan,

We have all been where you are at so we appreciate your sharung. Basically, it takes 9 months, from the time of first "sticking" a leaf to having a plant.

Blooming can take another 3 months, or one year. Best to stick it and try to forget it and admire the Home Depot adults in bloom.

You are a "good helicopter mom."

The Optimara website has videos on the process. Even they say about one year for a fully grown plant.

Also, the AllAboutAfricanViolets.com videos are fun while you are waiting. She is also on Facebbok. Joanne

Joanne, thanks so much for that videos site recommendation. Something for me to do with my AM coffee other than plague you all, hah. :p

I figured it would be a minimum of a year, and I suspect more, but the claims of early plantlet-sprouting I've seen in some places, while encouraging, seemed dubious to me. So I bothered the Real People about it.

The lengthy time horizon is why it's only if I want something in particular that's available no other way than by leaf, that I would order same. I'm on the older side. Spending $5 more to save a year is, to me, a no-brainer.

Still gonna mess with leaves. Just for practice/play. :) Thanks again to you all.

Hahahaha!!! Yeah keep telling yourself you are just going to "practice/play" with leaves. THAT is how you eventually become an ADDICT!!!! And you are in the right place,,,we will enable you FOREVER!!!!!!!!! And a lot of us are older I bet than you but we are still starting from leaves!!!!!! Laughing all over the place!!!! Rosie

😁

Okay I'm going to go get my violin out now instead of obsessing over plants....

OMG!!!! You play violin??? So did my mom and boy was she good. I still have the violins she played on in 1935. She was 5 years old then. sigh,,,,,,sniff sniff,,,,,memories. Rosie

Semi-pro, though all our concerts were cancelled after March. We're aiming at a no-audiences, pre-recorded season for 2020-21 and hoping for donations, as I understand it. Also the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, which is quite a different beast, though some of the same skills transfer. But I haven't been practicing during the pandemic and I'm out of shape in SO many ways. Did your mom perform? Did you listen to her practicing? My kids did too, though neither of them had the patience to take it up.

My mom was born in 1926. I bet you and I are about the same age.

I'm writing again now because I just threw my back out, carrying laundry, uff da, speaking of out of shape. Feelin' kinda useless until this calms down.

Mom started lessons very early and by the time she was in high school she was 1st chair violinist for the Detroit All City Orchestra. From earliest memory she would play at home. Lots of times we would just listen to her play. She didn't persue a vocation, she just played for us. I have all 3 of her violins. And pix of her holding them. sigh.

I gather we are about the same age. hmmmm,,,,,somewhere in the 70s????. Rosie

Rosie, can we take this offline? We're getting far afield from violets, ha. So email me at j dot covington at me dot com.

Hey Rosie, Hey Northern Gardener, I do not think you are getting that much off topic. My Mother was born in 1922, I think. Her mother and father got married in 1920. My grandmother was 24 (an old maid then) and my grandfather was 36. My daughter had a baby in January, 2019. She was 33 when the baby was born and the baby's father was closer to 40. As they are not married, I asked her what the father thought about the pregnancy. She said that he was more excited than she was. She then added he's old anyways.

Now I am the one getting off topic. I think it is interesting that we do, as then we know that others have lives also.

Just saying.

Yolanda

Hey Yolanda!!!! Long time no hear from! How are the violets doing? Well, had we not got off topic you wouldn't have posted! So all is well. Good to hear from ya! Rosie

Hey Rosie, good to hear from you also. The violets are good. I believe that I had mealy bugs, but I treated them with alcohol wipes which had the appropriate amount of alcohol in them. People in the house, including me, have been through some medical issues, so we have wipes.

Now it seems that I got rid of the mealies. I will have to keep an eye on all the plants to make sure they are truly gone.

How are your violets? I think we will be having AV Society meetings through Zoom. Now there's something new to learn. Thanks COVID.

Just saying.

Yolanda

Glad to hear you got those darn mealies under control. Thank goodness that is a fixable problem if caught early!

My violets are doing real well. I want a real meeting, not a computer one. Yeah,,,Thanks COVID. (not happy) Rosie

Hi Rosie, I feel the same way. Give me a real meeting. But right now, we can only meet with 50 people indoors, and 100 outdoors. You still have to social distance. So everyone has to sit six feet apart. What would that do to the meeting?

Just saying,

Yolanda

Sigh,,,,,,. Rosie

sounds like you are doing everything right about putting down leaves...it's been showed that more than one leaf in a pot seems to increase growth of babies...cutting off about 1/3 of the tip of the mama leaf seems to put the energy into growing babies...the only thing i might think about is that leaves like warmth to grow babies...in the range of 70's...so put your leaves on the top shelf of the plant unit....keep the soil moist but not wet...i usually put a couple of drops of water at the junction of the stems and the soil if i think it's too dry...when i put the leaves down, i water the soil and then put the leaves down...sometimes they really don't need water for a long time...and i cover the container, so humidity is maintained...i was amazed to see that i have some babies coming after about 2 months...and patience...good luck

Puppypro89, Thanks so much for your observations.

I'm probably incapable of supplying temps consistently in the 70's. I'm, well, a Northerner. Really truly deeply northern. We just had a winter storm, and another one coming in tomorrow, and all I'm thinking is, "Dang, if only it were colder!!!" (Because mildly-freezing is the worst of the worst: heavy wet snow, ice everywhere, the worst possible driving conditions, just frikkin' dangerous.) In the winter I like my house at around 67F. In the summer the AC kicks in when it gets over 71 (I know I know, but I have a super-efficient geothermal system that allows me that luxury). Nevertheless, a couple of babies have started on one of those originally pictured leaves. Bless it. They're growing, slowly.

It's possible that because of who and where I am, I'll always be minimally successful with starting leaves. The more I think about it, the more I'm okay with that.

I really like African violets. Very much. In less than seven months I have learned SO MUCH, and know there is still more to learn.

A long life in gardening has mostly taught me that I do best, and am most satisfied, when I choose plants that are well suited to the conditions I can supply. It is not wise to ask oriental lilies or delphiniums (both prefer acidic soil) to grow in soil that tends to a higher pH. (I'm still giving it a try however, and supplementing the soil in their areas.) It is not wise to ask phlox to bloom in max five hours of sun, even though some of them are part-shade tolerant. It is not wise to plant hostas in full sun, no matter how "sun tolerant" they are advertised to be. Etc etc.

If I can't supply the proper temps/moisture levels/whatever to the violets in my little collection, even while doing my best, well, I'm okay with that. But it helps a lot to know *why* maybe I'm having failures.

It's all an adventure. Thanks for your observations.

I think you should plant what you love, and see what happens. I live in the Adirondacks, and unfortunately I have a fully shaded yard. On a good day it may be possible to get some sun to poke through for a half hour or so. It didn't stop me from buying the MOST beautiful lilac hybrid tea rose I've ever seen, and planting it right in that "sunny spot". That rose bush somehow managed to give me 4 bloom cycles this Summer (its first Summer with me). I also stuck 2 tomato plants out there, and got buckets of tomatoes. Sometimes you just never know. :)

So true. I try lots of things, and keep what works and seems happy. I've been surprised by one of my oriental lilies. The group of them got six feet tall, with thick stems and clouds of fragrant flowers, and were a total show-stopper for all the summer walkers in my neighborhood; but all five other varieties faded out and I didn't bother trying to replace them.

As for roses, I have a tough one here that does well in part shade, but every year during its June show time all the flowers become infested with Japanese beetles and/or rose chafers, which I hand-pick, but it's so very discouraging and they get ragged in spite of my efforts. It's been here for 15 years but is not "giving me joy," so maybe I should pull it.

So yeah - you never know.