How to propagate African Violets

African Violets are probably one of the more popular flowering plants. I became acquainted with these back in college when I was a working student in the Library. The Librarians would have small pots of African Violets by their windowsill with flowers ranging from blues to pinks to... um... violets.

My curiosity got the better of me when I noticed that some pots had a sole leaf in it. I learned that this was the way African Violets are propagated. How easy! They gave me some to take home and that's how I became familiar with the species.

I bought this potted plant about a year ago as a Mother's Day present to my wife. And in the final days of spring I took three healthy leaves to propagate. I did not have any rooting medium, unfortunately. But we did not need any either back then. So I tried it to propagate it the best way I know how: get some soil and place the leaf in it, watering every now and then when the soil dries up.

And last weekend, a new plant has finally started to appear! It never ceases to amaze me. I planted three leaves. Two made it. Not bad at all. It took quite a while, though. It passed summer and most of autumn!

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