Is it me-- or this one suckering? This is the main mama plant-- I have leaf cuttings started but now I'm wondering if I needed them. Can I and How do I seperate form the mama plant (YES-- Jill!!!! You're first If I can seperate! LOL!!!!!!)
Heather
Yep, that's a sucker! Yea! I might let it get just a little bigger, since it doesn't seem to be crowding the mama plant any, and it'll be easier to work with than when it's really small. There are good directions on Rob's site about propagating from suckers, too. I think he recommends using a sharp knife to separate, but I seem to have good luck gently rooting around the sucker with my finger under the surface of the soil and breaking away the base of the sucker from the mother plant. It'll often come away with a root or two, but suckers will also usually root pretty much like leaves, with moist potting medium packed around their bases (a high humidity environment helps). The trick is to break away the entire sucker, not just a leaf or two, which is why I think my fingers work better than a knife so I can "feel" what I'm doing.
Heather, I'm patient. I'll bet you'll have plantlets by RU time, and if not, I'll take a leaf or two. I'm thinking the first plantlet (from sucker or otherwise) should really go to your charming daughter!
There is actually more than one on the plant-- that's just the only one I could get a half decent picture of.... YAY!!!!
I really need to get some tall domes for my trays.... I better check propagation forum.. lol! off to take a pic of my bamboo!
Heather
Just a note to add that some varieties sucker more than others, even under the best conditions, but suckering can also be an indication of stress.... your violet looks healthy, but that soil looks a little dry.... I let mine dry out between waterings, and that could be where yours is at in the photo, but when you do bottom water it make sure the soil soaks up as much as it can. Sometimes people stress violets on purpose, or clip off the crown, in order to induce suckering for propagation, especially for "chimera" varieties that don't propagate true from a leaf cutting.
