Violets are very beautiful flowers and many seek to expand their collection with other varieties or start growing new ones from existing ones. At home, propagation of such a plant is carried out with leaves, which are cut from the specimen you like.
This method of growing violets is considered the simplest and most common and even beginners can master it. The most favorable time for this is spring and summer, when there is plenty of light and warmth. However, an experienced florist is able to grow it even during a period when the daylight hours are short. So how to grow a violet at home? Let's try to figure it out.
How to choose the right violet leaf
Reproduction of this flower will be successful if the planting material is selected correctly. If the leaf is weak or sick, then its offspring will grow rather frail, which is why it should be approached with all responsibility.
Experienced growers do not recommend choosing leaves for reproduction that are located on the lowest tier, closest to the ground, since they are mostly old and weakened there. In addition, they are often occupied by bacteria and fungal spores.
For planting material, it is best to use a cutting from the second or third tier, where there are sufficiently formed leaves of the required size with a pronounced turgor.
Sometimes the material for growing is drooping, having lost its elasticity and appearance. This happens if the leaf is purchased in a store, sent by mail from the nursery or received from friends.
A long journey, and in some cases irregular watering, adversely affects the condition of the leaf plate and the cutting. Therefore, before landing, they should be for several hours. put in warm boiled water with the addition of several crystals of potassium permanganate.
Thanks to this action, the sheet is disinfected and returned to its original state. After that, the stalk is carefully trimmed with a sharp knife at a distance of 3-4 cm from the base of the leaf plate, most often at a right angle.
How to grow a violet in containers of water
The earlier the leaf is in the water, the faster it will begin to form roots. For those who have never cultivated these flowers before, it is easier to use for rooting. boiled or settled water.
This allows you to: accurately track the state of the planting material; timely prevent rotting of the cuttings and see the formation of roots.
The vessel for breeding violets must be carefully wash and sterilize... It is best to use bubbles or small glasses made of dark glass for these purposes, which will prevent the formation of green algae on the walls and water pollution.
The rooting procedure is carried out as follows:
- deepen the sheet into a container of water by 1.5-2 cm;
- so that the cut of the cutting does not touch the vessel, the sheet is fixed with a lid;
- to prevent the development of microscopic algae and pathogenic bacteria, an activated carbon tablet should be immersed in the water;
- if the liquid begins to evaporate, it must be poured using settled clean water for this.
Depending on the variety of the selected violet, you can wait for the roots to appear in 2-4 weeks. If suddenly not roots appear on the cut, but traces of rot, the leaf should be removed from the water, dried and carefully trimmed, removing the damaged tissue.
The appearance of rot will help prevent Activated carbon in the form of a powder, with which a new cut is processed, after which the sheet plate is again immersed in water. When strong roots appear in large quantities, it is transplanted into the ground.
Transplanting the cuttings into the soil
You can grow a violet from a leaf in small plastic cups or pots with holes for draining water. The container is filled by a third with shallow drainage, after which it is covered with soil to the top.
Plant the cutting along with the leaf to a shallow depth, otherwise, the resulting sockets will have difficulty reaching the surface, weaken, or may not hatch at all.
The soil around the cutting should be compacted, moistened, after which the pot with the violet is covered with a bag to create a favorable atmosphere for it and retain moisture.
The plant will remain in this form until small children appear at the cutting. This means that the cultivation of violets from the leaf was successful. Young shoots are planted in different pots.
How to grow a violet from a leaf in the ground
Almost all experienced flower growers are unanimous in the opinion that if you immediately plant a violet in the soil, then it will grow much more efficient, since the cuttings are less likely to rot, take root faster and form more children.
In order to plant a violet, you can purchase a special soil, in which you must add the following leavening agents: Styrofoam, vermiculite, sphagnum moss or perlite. But it is best to prepare the mixture yourself by mixing perlite and vermiculite in equal proportions without adding nutrient soil.
Perlite is mandatory component for growing violets, as it provides air access to the roots. And vermiculite makes the soil mixture loose and absorbs moisture well.
The process of rooting a leaf in the soil is as follows:
- The stalk is taken away from the violet and broken off, after which the leg is cut obliquely, dipped for a few seconds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and left to dry for half an hour.
- Fill a plastic cup with drainage holes with a slightly moistened warm substrate.
- The violet stalk is planted in the mixture and slightly compacted for stability.
- Watering the flower immediately is not recommended.
- Then the cup with the handle is placed in any plastic box or covered with a plastic bag.
To prevent the appearance of mold on the soil, the seedling should be ventilated. At first, it may fade a little, which is considered normal. After a while, with the appearance of roots, the leaf will again become elastic.
Watering the cutting is necessary once a week not too intensively, and it is undesirable to fertilize it. This will allow it to take root faster in search of food.
Separation of children when breeding violets from a leaf
As soon as daughter rosettes appear at the base of the cutting, the plant is planted. Children should be separated so that each small plant has at least one pair of leaves and a small number of roots.
The separation will not be too traumatic, if the soil in the pot is well moistened, the plant is removed together with an earthen ball, and the roots should be carefully cleaned of soil.
Thus, we figured out how to plant violets from a leaf at home. This process is not too time-consuming and even a beginner can cope with it. The main thing is adhere to certain rules and then everything can work out the first time.
Experienced growers are able to grow these flowers at any time of the year, which gives them a lot of pleasure.
