Hi Matt
I saw your post on VR. Welcome back to growing African violets again.
When I get new leaves, I usually just wash them off with a little water with few drops of dishwashing soap. Rinse and dry them well. I use MG African violet mix and perlite (no vermiculite) in a 50/50 ratio mix. I moisten the mix until it is just damp, not too wet. I cut the stem of the leaf on an angle with the angle facing the front of the leaf. That's where the babies will form. I use those little cups that come with salad dressing in restaurants or the 3 oz. solo cups I get at Walmart. The smaller cups seem to send up babies faster. So I think less soil is better. I place the cups of leaves in aluminum trays ($2.58 fir oj if 2) I get in Walmart. The trays are placed in bright light, no sun. It takes about six weeks before you see little mouse ears poping up. Usually I don't have to add water to the trays, because they are sealed kind of tight.
Have fun waiting for those little babies to show up.
Eileen

Hey Eileen! Thank you! I'll def try that; I did end up picking up a couple lasagna pans; and the ones with the green lid I'll just use for making some vegan Lasagna's. Could I ask, do you sterlize your soil for leaves? I used to always nuke it/bake it...

Another question! Does any one use a heating mat for AV leaves? I have one for seed starting and was debating on using it.

Matt,

Packaged soil does not need sterilized. When I was starting out, many people sterilized soil because they were using soil from their yards. Now with packages mixes, it is not necessary although some people still do it.

I use a heat mat and find it to be a great aid in rooting leaves. I do not use it in the summer; my leaves are domed and the combo of heat and humidity causes rot for me. I use it in the winter when nights get below about 60 degrees in my basement where I grow.

Cvvioletry is a good seller and you should expect all of your leaves to root. Think positive!

Linda

Hey Matt,
Welcome back to the wonderful world of violets!
I also live in Calif, there are a few of us here on this forum. I found a nifty tray at Ace Hardware the other day. It has 24 1.5" square containers with a dome and a bottom tray. The containers have holes in them.
I am about to put down 20 or so leaves in it to try it out.

By the way, I have about 30 leaves that are all sprouting
and will have small plants in the spring.

If you want, put a notice on the Exchange Forum come spring, I will be happy to send you some then.

This forum has a FAQ section that is very helpful.
It also has an Exchanges Section and a Gallery Section.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see them.

You can also Search for topics. At the very top of the page is a search feature you can use to find topics, such as '"leaves" or "fertilizer." That will bring up many threads, you can then scroll through the archives to read about these topics.

When you have some free time, you might enjoy that.

There is also a weekly podcast on the website AllAboutAfricanViolets.com that is about 40 minutes to an hour long. A new one is posted on Sunday evenings. There are now 74 of these podcasts. They are quite interesting as she (Annie) has demos of all the various methods suggested.

There are also lots of You Tube videos on this topic as well.

Someone will surely mention to you getting the book
Growing to Show by Pauline Bartholomew, if you don't already have it. Or a newer edition exists now than when you first joined the club.
Best,
Joanne

Matt, I agree with Linda. No need to sterilize potting mix. Also about the heating mats, I don't use them. Here in Florida, there is no need. The lights keep them warm, sometimes too warm.
Just have fun growing them.

Thanks guys for all the great suggestions!

I picked up some 3 oz food container cups at smart and final (restaurant supply) short and wide. I got my potting soil and some lazanga pans for domes. I'm all ready for my babies to come in to mail on Friday. I'll be spending a part of my thanksgiving putting holes in 25 solo cups. My lighting set up is... laughable; I used shelfing on the wall and used extra shelf brackets to hold up the lights. Not ideal, I know,and they got moved further apart since I've grown them... So I got some bamboo stakes, tied them together making a support. It works, and its stable. I'm going to invest a few hundred this jan-feb in to a better lighting/stand setup

Regarding the potting mix, the folks at my club always did; so I did too... this time around I won't; it sure was a pain in the butt!

I'm thinking I won't use a heating pad; here in CA we have pretty mild weather; plus I insulated around my bedroom window; turns out when they installed the double pane windows years ago; they never insulated around the window. It raised the temp of my room a solid 10 degrees.

@Linda, thank you; I'll get out of the stinking thinking.

@Joanne thank you for all the info! I'm def going to check out the podcasts soon!. I haven't read Growing to Show by Pauline Bartholomew yet; but Its on my to buy list!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm certainly thankful for all your help.

Matt

Don't let your leaves or plants sit in water. It's a sure route to rot.

Matt,

There's no way to prove this but I am certain plants, like animals, respond to positive thinking. So, think only good thoughts when you are with your plants! As well as all the rest of the time, too. :)

Linda

Thanks linda, I def agree, I'm attuned to reiki; and have watched how plants get impacted. My niece and my nephew both had a squash plant... My niece went out and talked to it every day... even named the thing. My nephew didn't. They started growing the same; but by a few weeks; my niece's was over triple the size, and produced a lot quicker than the other. They both got the same exact care; since I was the one watering 'em. I'm knocking off the stinking thinking.

Matt

Thank you all for the help. The leaves arrived today; in great condition; with the exception of a couple. I got so many that were on my 'want' list; a couple I owned in the past.

The seller ended up sending me 2-4 of each variety; which I wasn't expecting. They are all set up in 2 oz solo cups. I ended up having to choose. Now to wait and see.

I'll be gone 3 weeks from dec 26 onward. Luckily I will have help since I'm living with my parents for a few months. I told my mom when I do leave maybe to water once a week; anything else I should be prepped for? I'm assuming I should be OK leaving them domed until I get back?

Matt,

If they are domed they may not need to be watered weekly. Tell your mother to keep them moist. I sometimes go two weeks without watering my leaves.

Growers routinely send extra leaves; a little something to keep their customers happy! If your leaves are less than fresh when you receive them, soak them in lukewarm water for an hour or so. (Longer doesn't hurt, though.) Add a touch of Superthrive if you have it and a pinch of sugar. Then pot up, water and dome.

The theory of talking to your plants aiding growth was researched years ago. The thought was that the carbon dioxide exhaled was beneficial to plants who 'breathe' it. Scientifically, this may be correct but I still think there is a positive aura generated. I have a friend in my orchid club who plays classical music for his orchids 24/7. They are magnificent.

Linda

A week in! I noticed a few leaves, have had some rot starting, or rather becoming mushy. Others in the same cup seem to happy/healthy/firm. Anything I should worry about?

Right now I'm assuming/hoping it was just ones that got beat-up on the journey, along with the stems not being long enough, Soil is lightly moist, domed in aluminum plans. Under lighting about 7 hours or so. Very little to no condensation in the domes. I had to water maybe 3 pots today that were dry.

Matt,

You need to increase your lights to about 12 hours. Mushy isn't a good thing; try to cut off the mushy parts. You can also cut off any rot. Dust the cut edges with cinnamon. Water lightly.

Linda

Matt,

You need to increase your lights to about 12 hours. This may be why your leaves are getting mushy. Too much moisture and not enough light. Mushy isn't a good thing; try to cut off the mushy parts. You can also cut off any rot. Dust the cut edges with cinnamon. Water lightly.

Linda

Thanks linda, I uped the house, it was set to 9, not 7, upped it to 10 and I'll up it again to 11 tomorrow :)

Hours are updated; I had one more start to rot on the top; I took it out, recut the top, and dusted it in cinnamon It already has roots, which was super exciting.

I think it might have been handled too rough by me. I'm not seeing any signs of rot on the others, and it seems to only be on the top of the leaves... All of the rest look healthy with the exception of one set of leaves that came pretty yellow. I don't think it will take, but I'm giving them a chance. If it doesn't take, it doesn't take. My local club will have a sell/show in march -grins-

Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions. I've fallen in love with the Podcast All About African Violets. I'm sad that Annie is ending the weekly episodes .

Matt

Matt,
Me, too, about Annie's weekly Episodes. At least they will all be available on her website. Sounds like she will be back soon with specials, perhaps in the spring.
Joanne

I just started watching her first episode, until my PC crashed halfway through the bail money story. Gah, and the web is so slow today.
Even if I watched one episode a day it would be two months and change before I saw them all - wow! That's some serious dedication that went into this!

The shows are a real gem! I look forward to specials, I still have so many episodes to watch; I end up watching a couple a night!

The leaf I re-cut the top and dusted in Cin; rotted more, so I pulled it and the pot out. The rest look healthy, should I be concerned about whatever it is spreading?

Its coming from the top of the leaf; the stem was fine. This last leaf actually had a nice root on it. Its the 3rd or forth leaf that I've had the issue with; mostly of the same varieties. They have been down for about 11 days now.

I think I'm just being a bit of a worry wort.

Matt

Silly question, but are you disinfecting your tools?

Yes I'm, well in this last cut I only used soap/ warm water; but when I org planted the leaves I cleaned the table I used really well, and cut on a clean piece of printing paper, and cleaned the knife in between cuts

Matt