Debbie's African Violets

African Violet seeds are very tiny, almost like powder. It's best to keep them on a folded piece of paper so they can sit in the fold. Protect the seeds from any breeze, as they will blow away very easily.

Here's what you will need:

Solo cups or other containers with potting mix

Squirt bottle to moisten soil

Spray bottle to moisten seeds

Clear container with a lid

Seeds on a folded piece of paper

Moisten the potting mix with the squirt bottle, not too wet, just damp. Sprinkle the seeds from the piece of folded paper over the surface of the soil. Do not cover the seeds with soil. They must be exposed to light in order to sprout. Next, lightly mist the seeds with the spray bottle using a very fine mist.

I recommend using two or three cups for the seeds. That way, when the seeds sprout, the seedlings won't be too crowded. Also, in case something happens to one of the cups you won't lose all your seedlings.

Label the cups with the kind of seeds sowed and the date. Put the cups with the seeds in a clear box and cover with a lid. Put the box on your light stand, about 3" - 5" from the bulbs. If you need to add more water, the seeds should be watered from the bottom to avoid washing them down into the soil.

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These seeds were sowed on January 15, 2006.

The seeds should germinate within a couple of weeks. The sprouts will look like tiny specks of green. When the seedlings were about 1/2" high, I started giving them very diluted fertilizer - 1/16th teaspoon in a gallon of water.

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These are the seedlings 12 weeks later. They are about 1" tall and ready to be transplanted into their own pots.

4/8/06 - Seedlings transplanted into their own little pots.

They are in 1-ounce medicine cups. Keep them covered until new growth appears.

4/25/06 - The seedlings have really grown. After letting them slowly acclimate for a few days, they no longer need to be covered. At this point I increased the fertilizer solution to 1/8 tsp. per gallon of water.

6/2/06 - Still growing! It's been 4-1/2 months since seeds were planted.

The standards are beginning to get big, and the trailers are beginning to grow multiple crowns.

7/4/06 - The seedlings have grown pretty large and need to be repotted.

One of the trailer seedlings has bloomed. My first bloom!

"Seedling A"

7/4/06 - It's been about 5-1/2 months since the seeds were planted. This little trailer is the first seedling to bloom. Several more are getting buds.

Seedling "B"

This is the second seedling to bloom. It's first bloom opened on 7/28/06. Only 6-1/2 months from planting seeds to blooming plant. It is a standard with wavy foliage, white pansies with lavender ruffled edges.

"Seedling C"

Trailer, miniature or semi-miniature, with pink pansy blooms held well above the foliage. First bloom opened on 7/28/06. 6-1/2 months from planting seeds to blooming plant.

"Seedling D"

Trailer, dark purple pansy bloom, pointed dark green foliage. Bloomed 8/6/06.

"Seedling E"

Large white pansy with dark pink markings. Foliage isn't very nice. Standard. Bloomed 8/14/06.

"Seedling F"

Purple pansy with darker top petals and thin dark purple ruffled edge. Top petals have nearly black tips and dark veining. The medium green foliage is scalloped and growing nicely. Standard. Bloomed 8/18/06.

Update

I liked the bloom and foliage on this seedling so much that I have now grown it out for three generations. It took nearly two years, but the plant has proven to be very stable. It was added to AVSA's First Class 2 program and Master Variety List in November, 2007.

Introducing.........

Sugar's Poodle Skirt (D. Yeager) Single-semidouble lavender ruffled pansy/darker top petals, thin purple edge. Medium green, heart-shaped, quilted, scalloped. Standard

These are pictures of a seed pod that I discovered on my Emerald City.

The pod needs to stay on the plant until it is dried and shriveled, which will take a few months. I tied a red string around the flower stem to remind me not to remove it from the plant.