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Moving Up a Level: Advanced Guide to Repotting and Propagating Your Violets

Have you mastered the basic care of your African Violet? Excellent! To maintain continuous blooming and a vigorous plant, you must tackle repotting and, if you wish, propagation. This is also the time to adopt preventive measures to keep pests away. Get ready to become an expert!

Repotting: Renew Your Violet's Energy

Repotting is essential to replenish the soil's nutrients, which are depleted over time. If your violet's roots have completely taken over the pot, it's time to act!

The Soil Choice: Light and Draining

Good soil is key! It must be light, porous, and ensure excellent drainage while retaining the necessary moisture.

  • Easy Option (Recommended): Use a specialized African Violet potting mix, such as Fafard's African Violet Potting Soil. This specialized formula guarantees an ideal structure.
  • Advanced Option (Homemade Mix): If you prefer to make your own substrate, mix:
    • 7 parts Seed Starting Mix (light)
    • 2 parts vermiculite
    • 1 part perlite
    • 1 part black soil (garden humus)

The Pot: Small and Practical

Opt for a conventional plastic pot with good drainage holes. It's the best choice because it's light, economical, and prevents overly rapid water evaporation. Ensure the new pot is only about 2 cm (1 inch) larger than the old one. A pot that is too large retains too much moisture and stresses the plant.

Simple Method for Repotting

  1. Gently remove the violet from its current pot.
  2. Prepare the new pot: Place the old pot in the center of the new one. Fill the space between the two pots with moist soil mix. Tamp lightly and remove the old pot. This creates a perfect mold for the root ball!
  3. Place the plant in the space created and top up with new soil, without tamping excessively.
  4. Trim lower leaves: Once repotting is complete, remove a few leaves from the bottom row. This rejuvenates the plant and promotes better rooting.
  5. Watering: Water lightly, then wait until the soil is quite dry before watering a second time. Keep the plant out of direct sunlight for 15 days to minimize evaporation and help it recover.

Propagation: Easily Clone Your Violets

Want to share or replace your plants? Leaf propagation is a simple and rewarding process.

Two African violet leaves cut at an angle and ready for propagation

  1. Harvest the leaf: Choose a healthy, firm, and mature leaf from the mother plant. Use a clean knife to cut it.
  2. Cut the stem: Recut the stem (petiole) to about 3 to 4 cm (1.5 inches) from the leaf at a 45-degree angle.
  3. Insert into soil: Insert the stem into African Violet soil mix (the same as for repotting), ensuring the leaf does not touch the soil.
  4. Maintain humidity: Cover the container with a clear plastic bag supported by small wooden sticks. This creates a small greenhouse and maintains humidity, which is essential for rooting. Avoid the bag touching the leaves.
  5. Rooting: Keep the soil moist, but never soggy. After 5 to 8 weeks, small shoots (plantlets) will appear at the base of the leaf.
  6. Pot up: When the plantlets reach about 5 cm (2 inches), gently cut them from the mother leaf and pot each new plant individually.

Pest Prevention and Management

Vigilance and prevention are the best defenses against insects. Always quarantine any new plant for two months before integrating it into your collection.

Mealybugs: A Common Pest

Easily recognizable, mealybugs resemble a small ball of cotton wool. They are often found at the intersection of stems, under leaves, or near the roots. They cause a loss of vigour, softening of the foliage, and a halt to blooming.

  • Active Prevention: Maintain vigorous plants with proper care (light, watering) to make them less susceptible.
  • Manual Intervention: In case of minor infestation, manually remove visible mealybugs with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol (use extreme caution to avoid staining the foliage!).
  • Extreme Measures: Given the sensitivity of African Violet foliage to chemical treatments, if the plant is severely infested, the best solution is often to discard the plant and start over with healthy leaf cuttings.

By mastering these advanced techniques, you ensure the longevity of your African Violets and you will always have new blooms to admire!