Stage 1

Remember to put you gloves on. Soak wick in warm water. Label the Pot with the number and name of the leaf that you have selected. Insert the damp wick in the centre of the 70ml pot and by holding the wick with the left hand and loosely fill pot with the potting mix . Do not press down at this stage. Ensure that mix is just damp.

The Northern valley violet wick watering method will provide your African violets with a automatically controlled feeing and watering program. You Plant will only take up as much or as little water and nutrient as they require.

The Northern Valley violets system is a form of hydroponics where the potting mix is purely a medium to support the root system of the plant and hold the correct amount food and water for the best results.

The Northern Valley Violets Potting Mix is a soilfree, sterile mix, especially prepared for the wick system. It is a very light porous mix, with a balanced Ph for African violet production and designed to hold just the correct amount of water and nutrient. Most commercial African Violet mixes are too heavy for the wick system, and will absorb and hold too much water and root rot will set in very quickly.

Stage 2

Lay the leaf down with the front facing up. Cut the stalk on a 45 degree angle, leaving about 3cm of stalk on leaf and making sure that you cut from front of stalk toward the back of stack (so the back of the stalk is longer that the front).

Stage 3

Then split the stalk in half to about 1cm from the bottom ( Slightly less for smaller leaves). Dust very small amount of Hormone Powder on cut surface to seal the cut and encourage root growth.

Stage 4

Insert the leaf stalk and support the leaf with the cotton bud and gently pour tepid water with diluted Fertilizer into the top of the pot until it runs off the end of the wick so to start the capillary action. If needed, press down gently with both thumbs to secure the leaf (too much pressure will slow the growth of the baby leaves. Allow to drain for a few minutes.

The Northern Valley violets nutrient solution is a complete food, designed for constant feeing, to provide optimum growth and flower development of your African Violets. Therefore every time you water your plant you are also feeding it.

Stage 5

There should only be about 1.50cm of leaf stalk under the potting mixture as the baby leave come from within the bottom of the leaf stalk and the deeper you plant the leaf the longer it will take for the baby leaves to find their way to the surface. Place the pot on the reservoir or the Maxi Well, making sure the wick is in the fertilizer solution. Keep reservoir or Maxi Well topped up from time to time.

Stage 6

In about 8-12 weeks you will begin to notice the baby leaves appear, they will push through the surface of the potting mix and around the base of the mother leaf you will be able to watch the babies grow rapidly until they are approximately 5 cm high? At this stage they are eady to be divided.

Stage 7

Remove the wick from the nutrient for at least 24 hours before dividing, to allow the potting mix to dry out little. This makes the potting mix a lot easier to crumble away from the roots of the plantlets.

Stage 8

Squeeze the pot to loosen the potting mix and remove root ball. Gently crumble potting mix from root mass and pull apart individual plantlets. Ready for repotting. You should average between 4 to 14 plantlets per pot (or per mother leaf). Trim roots with sharp scissors or knife to about 2cm to 4cm, depending on the size of the plantlets.

Stage 9

Insert wick in a 70cm pot, half fill loosely with potting mix and place the plantlets on top of the mix, carefully spreading roots evenly over
the mix. Add more potting mix to cover roots, being careful not to bring potting mix over leaf stems. Gently firm down and water through
with warm water and diluted fertilizer until it runs off the end of the wick to start the capillary action. Place the pot on the reservoir or Maxi Well with the wick in the liquid.

Stage 10

Your plantlets are ready to be repotted into their size stage, a 100ml pot when they measure about 150mm across the top of the plant. Insert a wick in a 100ml pot and add enough potting mix to just cover bottom of the pot. Remove the plantlet and gently place inside mould in the larger pot. Gently firm down and add more potting mix if necessary, being careful not to bring potting mix to the lever of the leaf steams. Replace back into the Maxi Well.

Stage 11

You should being to see the first buds on your Mature African Violets . Remember to water with diluted fertilizer regularly.