Propagation
THE RIGHT WAY TO PROPAGATE VIOLETS
First of all, there is no one right way to grow violets. No one right kind of lighting for them, no one right kind of soil for all of them and no one right way to propagate them. The best way is the way that works for you to get you the best results. You should try all the ways to do it.
But please don't tell anyone that your way is the best or only way to do it - or that "all the good growers just do it your way". That simply isn't true (and a little bit snobbish). All the good growers find the way that works best for them. I prefer to start them in water because in my experience, they grow faster, healthier and just as strong than the other ways do. With a little trial and error, you will find out how to do it your best way.
LEAF Propagation - You will be hooked on making more violets for free after you successfully grow babies from your first leaf. Some people stick the stem of a leaf into water to grow roots and some people let them develop babies in water to eventually transfer them into a damp soil-less mix. Others start the leaves in damp mix with a cover over them. Some people use stems, cut off leaf tops and all kinds of crazy ways to get them to root. Try it all ways and see which one works for you.
I have also seen slits cut into a leaf cut and babies growing from each cut. I've never tried that way. I just take my leaf from the middle row of the plant (not the outer edge and not the newly grown leaves) and cut the top third off of it with an exacto knife. Then I cut the stem in a 45 degree angle about an inch away from the base of the leaf, with the cut facing upward.
Sometimes I stick them into a nearly half and half perlite/soil-less rooting mix (peat moss). I ad a sprinkle of vermiculite to it and mix it up and then get it damp. Some people start them in just a mix of damp vermiculite and perlite.
I re-use plastic containers with lids to root my leaves in but I don't put the lid on tight. I give them some air and check on them every day. But more and more I am just rooting them in water because it's easier and I find they grow faster that way for me.
It takes about a month for roots to grow and another month for leaves to sprout if the conditions are right in soil - a few weeks in water. Throw in another 2-4 months for the first flowers to appear and that's 6 months away! Six months from leaf to flowering plant. Some bloom sooner, some later. Now, that's patience.
DIVISION Propagation - Is really pretty easy. Suckers are sometimes easy to cut off the stem and sometimes you have to do a little bit of surgery. It usually depends on how long you've let the suckers grow.
You may have to gently take the violet out of the pot and crumble away most of the dirt until the root ball is left. Sometimes the sucker plant is easy to tell from the mother plant and you can pull it away. Most of the time I take a sharp knife and cut straight down between the sucker and the mother leaves into the roots. I always repot the sucker with some roots as it helps them adjust better to a pot on their own.
Other ways to propagate are from seeds and from flower stems. Hybridizing and seeds are too fiddly and take too long for me. I don't have that kind of patience.
STEM Propagation - You can also make new babies from the flower stems. Chimeras are a perfect subject for stem propagation because the stems will produce true to the plant just like division. Occasionally the plant will have a throwback to the mother. Stem propagation is not difficult but a little tricky to get right. You will need to pick stems from open but not old flowers. Cut the flower off right above the little set of leaves and again about 1/4 to 1/2 inch below the leaf set. Prepare your rooting medium of half rooting medium and half perlite by getting it damp.
Make a little pilot hole for your stem and insert it up to but not touching the set of leaves. In about 2 months or less you should have new baby leaves starting to emerge. Don't keep the soil too wet or your stems will rot. If that happens, just give it another try.
