Baby African Violet

Among the many amazing things that my mother taught me, how to propagate African Violets is one of my most cherished.  Did you know that you could place a leaf with stem from one in water and it will root?  If you leave it long enough, it will even sprout!  Then you just have to transfer it to soil--light loam rich soil.  I use a mix with a lot of shredded wood for better aeration. General it is good from this point to water from below, too.

My mother would use wax paper to keep the leaf elevated above the water; I used Saran Wrap.

 The newly planted violet will eventually replace the water sprouts with dry air ones that will be darker and covered with fine hairs like the parent plant.  As this happens the bright little new-leaves will curl up and eventually fall off.  This process takes many weeks, but don't be alarmed if the little leaves begin to fold in upon themselves.

The best advice for caring for African Violets also comes from my mother.  Place in a window with good indirect light and mostly forget about them.  They don't need a lot of water and the less you pamper them, the more they will tend to thrive.