African Violet. Not my picture.My first project is to grow new violet plants from the leaves of adult violet plants. Last weekend my grandmother broke off some violet leaves from her vast collection of colorful violet plants that have taken over her kitchen windowsill. She broke me off 1 pink violet leaf and 1 purple violet, both of which I hope I will be able to grow into new plants over the next few weeks/months.
Basic instructions for those who want to try this on their own:
- Get your hands on a healthy violet plant.
- Snap off a violet leaf with a decent sized stem.
- Place near a sunny place, direct sunlight is not necessary
- Place in tepid water
- Make sure only the tip of the stem is in the water (check water levels periodically to be sure that there is enough water reaching the tip).
- Give the stems plenty of vertical room for a new root to grow out from underneath.
I wanted to follow the progress of my leaves so I am using clear drinking glasses. The piece of an old metal soap dish that I frankensteined helps keep the leaves elevated in the water. Its a little make-shift, but it does the job. I'll make up for the rough look with beautiful pots to plant the baby violets once they grow up (*fingers crossed*).
It should take about 4 weeks to see any new roots grow out. Once I reach that stage of the process I will include the next steps for growing your own violet plant.
The purple violet leaf (week 1).
Keeping the leaves elevated.
Soaking up the sun and the water.
Keeping the violet leaves elevated so that only the tips are immersed in the water.Check back for updates.
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