How to Plant Baby African Violets Grown From a Leaf Stem

Remove the leaf from the rooting medium when new baby plants, or plantlets, sprout from the leaf stem's base. Roots typically form three to four weeks after you place the leaf in the rooting medium; leaves of new plants appear three to four weeks after that.

Move the rooted baby plants in their rooting medium to a location where they have brighter, but indirect, sunlight. Apply a liquid fertilizer following the manufacturer's directions.

Separate a clump of young plants by using a clean, very sharp knife and dividing the crown -- the area of the plant where its stem joins its roots -- into separate plants with their own roots. Separate young plants when they have two or three small leaves. It can take baby plants two months or more to reach this stage.

Plant the young African violets in a soil mixture composed of approximately 2 parts fertile loam, 1 part leaf mold or peat and 1 part sand or perlite. Use 4-inch pots to provide room for each plant to grow, and ensure that the pots have drainage holes. Set plants in the pots so that their crowns are just above the soil surface and press soil firmly around the crowns.

Keep soil slightly moist, but not soggy, and provide several hours of light daily, but not direct sunlight. Plants should begin to flower in six to nine months. African violets do best in temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night and approximately 80 to 85 F during the day.