Propagation of Chimera African violets by flower peduncles

Sometimes fate gives lovers of African violets a "royal" gift- a chimeric color of violet flowers. If the African violet has undergone genetic mutations and all its flowers have a chimeric color, then you have achieved great success.
This chimera will be checked in time regarding the color stability, by cutting the tip of the plant and obtaining new shoots from among the leaves of the plant. The obtained chickens will also be selected, keeping only the chicks of African violet with clear and well-defined signs of the mother plant.
If the genetic mutation affected a single floral stalk and we obtained a single flower with chimera color, then this genetic mutation can be tested in time. And if you have a little luck, the result will be an African violet with chimera flowers.

This is achieved by multiplying through the floral stalk that has undergone genetic mutations. If on the floral peduncle are found and small leaves, then the multiplication of purple chimera does not present a difficulty (for example, Neptune's Jewels variety, Lyon's Crown Jewel etc.)

All it takes is a little skill and knowledge about this method of multiplication. Things get complicated when the leaves on the floral peduncles are small and rudimentary and especially if we are dealing with a variegated variety. Such a "cutting" has a low content of chlorophyll necessary for photosynthesis. The tissues of the floral stalk are much tenderer than those of a cutting leaf. Such a peduncle is very easy to lose.

Hence, it is much better to try to raise chickens directly on the floral stalk, after which they will cut and plant in the ground. In this case we will resort to hormonal paste with cytokines.

Therefore:
Step 1: Choose a floral peduncle with chimera flowers and leaves on it. On the tip of a needle take a small amount of paste with cytokinin. The amount of hormone paste should be very small, excess paste leads to the growth of misshapen chicks.

2. At the point from which the leaves begin to grow, a fine scratch is made with the tip of the needle. The scratch will be processed with the amount of hormone paste on the tip of the needle. In the next picture is shown a floral peduncle with flower that has undergone genetic mutations. The picture was taken after 2 weeks of treatment with hormonal paste, and between the armpits you can already see a little chicken of violet.

3. After two to three weeks in the armpits will appear buds, which have from the beginning the shape of a tiny pea, after which they can be distinguished and their leaves. Chickens are allowed to grow. On one floral stalk can grow on average 2-5 chickens.

4. When the dimensions of the chicks reach 2-4 cm, they are removed from the floral stalk and rooted (with jiffy pill -7, sphagnum or in an earth mixture specially designed for African violets).

5. Chickens of African violet chimera grow and care exactly like all other chickens, and the flowering is checked if they inherited the chimeric color of the mother plant.
The method in question is quite difficult and requires a long period of time (from paste treatment to flowering passes more than 1 year). This is due to the large amount of cytokinin in the paste with hormones that inhibit the growth of the roots of chickens. The concentration of plant hormones in plant tissues is much lower than that in the paste content.

But this method is good and is justified if the African violet suffers an interesting genetic mutation that is intended to be preserved and tested in time. It is recommended to apply this method if we have a single copy or a more valuable one and we do not want to cut the "tip" of violet or African violet with genetic mutations is too young.