How to propagate African Violets
Are you curious about how African Violets propagate and the experience of caring for green plants, such as the timing and methods of cutting? Let's take a look together.
African Violets, also known as African Purple Violets, are popular indoor potted ornamental plants in recent years due to their beautiful flowers and charming colors. The cultivation of African Violets is relatively simple, and they can be propagated through seeding, cutting, and tissue culture. Generally, family potted plants are propagated using seeding and cutting. In daily care, attention should be paid to potting soil, fertilization and watering, light and temperature, as well as diseases and pests.
African Violets are typical indoor potted flowering plants, and their cultivation is relatively simple. Usually, just be careful not to overwater or over-fertilize them.
Propagation methods of African Violets
Seeding propagation: Spring and autumn are both suitable times. For greenhouse cultivation,播种 in September to October is better, with high germination rate and strong seedling growth, and the plants will have large and numerous flowers in the following spring. Seeding in February will result in flowering in August, but with slightly weaker growth and fewer flowers. African Violet seeds are small, so the potting soil should be fine. After sowing, do not cover the soil, just press it flat. The suitable germination temperature is 18-24°C, and seeds will germinate in 15-20 days.
Cutting propagation: Mainly use leaf cuttings. After flowering, select strong and full leaves, cut the petioles to 2 cm long, let them dry slightly, insert them into the sand bed, maintain high air humidity, keep the room temperature at 18-24°C, and the cuttings will root in 3 weeks, with seedlings appearing in 2-3 months, which can be transplanted into 6 cm pots. During the cutting process, using vitamin B treatment is beneficial for the growth of the African Violet seedlings after rooting, and using 25 mg/L of cytokinin to treat the petioles for 24 hours is conducive to the formation of adventitious buds. It takes 4-6 months from cutting to flowering.
Tissue culture propagation: African Violets are commonly propagated using tissue culture methods. Leaf blades, petioles, and epidermal tissues are used as explants. MS medium is added with 1 mg/L of 6-benzylaminopurine and 1 mg/L of naphthylacetic acid. Adventitious buds appear after 4 weeks of inoculation, and small rooted plants can be planted after 3 months. Transplant the small plants into a mixture of half-rotten leaf soil and half peat moss soil, with a survival rate of 100%.
Cultivation methods of African Violets
Pot: African Violets have a small stature and roots that are not widely distributed. A pot that is too large is unattractive, and one that is too small hinders growth, so it's important to choose a pot that matches the size of the plant.
Soil: They prefer fertile, loose, well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral soil rich in humus. Generally, a mixture of 5 parts of decomposed leaf soil, 3 parts of garden soil, and 2 parts of decomposed manure soil, or 6 parts of decomposed leaf soil mixed with 4 parts of sandy loam soil can be used. Alternatively, a mixture of decomposed leaf soil, peat soil, and sandy soil can also be prepared.
Water: The relative humidity of the air should be between 50% and 80%. Do not water too much, as overly wet soil can cause root rot. Watering should follow the principle of watering when the soil is dry. In summer, water should be sufficient, and in other seasons, water when the potting soil is slightly dry. When watering, lift the leaves and water gently from the edge of the pot, or use the immersion method to supplement water. Do not pour water directly from above, as it can cause leaf rot.
Sunlight: African Violets require a light intensity of about 200-800 foot-candles and about 8-12 hours of exposure. To promote flowering, gradually extend the exposure time to 16 hours. Outdoor direct sunlight intensity is often greater than 8000 foot-candles, which can cause leaf burn and is not suitable for African Violet growth. However, indoor light sources are often insufficient, resulting in slow plant growth, no flowering, or excessive growth.
Temperature: They prefer warm temperatures, with a growth temperature of 16-24°C. From April to October, the temperature should be 18-24°C, and from October to the following April, it should be 12-16°C. Daytime temperatures should not exceed 30°C, as high temperatures are not conducive to African Violet growth. The nighttime temperature in winter should not be lower than 10°C, or the plants may suffer from frost damage.
Fertilization: During the growing period, apply a thin solution of nitrogen and phosphorus combined fertilizer or compound flower fertilizer every 10 days, but be careful not to apply too much nitrogen, as this can result in lush leaves but few flowers. The ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers should be 1:1:1. After the appearance of flower buds, apply 0.5% calcium superphosphate 1-2 times for larger and more colorful flowers. When fertilizing, also lift the leaves gently to prevent fertilizer from getting on the leaves, which could cause spots and rot.
Pest control: In high temperature and humidity conditions, diseases such as wilt, powdery mildew, and leaf rot can occur, which can be treated with a 10% acetic acid solution of 401 antibiotic at a concentration of 1000 times for spraying or pouring into the potting soil. Scale insects and red spiders often harm African Violets during the growing season, and can be controlled with a 40% omethoate emulsion at a concentration of 1000 times for spraying.
African Violets have beautiful and noble flower shapes. Potted plants in the living room can effectively enhance the feng shui and quality of the living space, so interested friends can cultivate some to beautify their homes.
The above sharing on how to propagate African Violets and the comprehensive explanation of their cutting time and methods hope to serve as a starting point to solve your green plant problems.