Possibly too wet, but possibly not. Many people experience a harmless white fuzzy fungus growing on the top of their potting mix around grown plants. I haven't heard of mushrooms growing, but if the medium you planted the leaves in was contaminated with their spores I wouldn't be surprised to see them grow. Many fungi are even capable of growing in rather dry conditions.

thats all it will take to quit ..???

see link.. sterilize some new media...

and repot your leaves ...

mushrooms ... are simply an indication... that your media has vegetative material in it.. that is decomposing ...

so by starting with sterile media... you avoid a lot of this ...

i would differentiate between random fungus.. and mushrooms ...

then wash the pots in 10% bleach ... refill with new media.. restick the leaves ... and go for it ....

think of your little operation.. like a hospital operating room ... start clean.. and you avoid having to cure problems in the future ...

watering may or may not be an issue ... with these AV .. humidity would be more important than watering .... and that issue would involve tenting ...

hope this makes some sense ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: lilnk

Hi Toni,
I'd do as Ken suggested. Just be gentle when pulling them out (I tip the cup over into my hand so I can let the soil dump out and catch the leaf). My soil mix doesn't say it's sterile but thankfully it's been a good mix. Obviously spores got into yours from somewhere so just repot in a good clean mix-and you will want to either sterilize the cups (so no more spores are present) as Ken says or use new cups. Don't know what soil mix you're using but you might wish to chuck it (not the leaves though! :-) ). Don't saturate the soil with water when you replant but do ensure it's moist! If the leaves don't have roots yet, you may wish to re-cut before replanting (and of course do so if there's any rot-you want to cut that off!).

Just one more thing to consider-if you're using something to hold them in, like a flat, you need to sterilize that as well.

I've reused two leaves so far that have had babies, and they're quite happy producing new ones. Re-cutting is fine!

Best,
Judy

Thanks everyone. I thought this situation was hopeless, but maybe not. My friend came over and said they were spores, not mushrooms. I will attempt to follow advice and repot. She thinks I got the potting soil way too wet. Will try to do better. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will do my best. Again, many thanks for all your information and help.

Toni,

What soil are you using?

Linda

Linda, I used half starter mix and half av mix. My friend who grows from seed, but not AV's, suggested very little AV mix and mostly the starter mix. What do you use? What do you think? Ken, thank you for your encouragement to save these babies. They were all gifts from friends and I would like to be able to see them grow to beautiful plants. I should add here that none of these people have tried to grow from a leaf. Just went out and bought new plants when needed. I think part of the joy is going to be growing new plants if I can learn to be successful. Lets just ay I AM going to be successful with the help of fine AV friends like all of you. toni

The mushrooms themselves won't harm the plants, they can happily co-exist, but why would you want to let them? However, if the potting medium stays too wet, that will harm them. Personally I wick water all my leaves. That seems to work the best for me at keeping them just moist enough to keep them happy. I use regular yarn, but split it in only 2 strands.

I've had mama leaves go for 3-4 broods or more and happily keep producing strong,l healthy babies. I pull the babies off and stick the rooted leaf back in some fresh potting medium, cover and wait. It doesn't take long before more are coming up since the mama already has a decent root system.

Ken, thank you for your encouragement to save these babies.

==>>> super.. you are welcome...

if you are using solo cups or some such.. i presume the process to create them ... makes them sterile... but as noted.. no reason they cant be cleaned and reused ... i like them ... because i cant write with a sharpie on them ... and then throw them away .... its easiest to use a new blade.. and just slice the bottom edges for drainage ... [the usual is plant name and date]

its been about 30 years.. since i played with AV under lights.. during long MI winters ... glad i still have a live brain cell related to such.. lol ....

and to repeat ... though fungus can be a problem.. and though a mushroom is a fungus.... one can be a problem.. and one probably isnt... in terms of the plants themselves ...

and the reason i learned about sterilizing MEDIA... was freakin fungus gnats in mid winter.. in a closed up house.. what a nightmare ... and 99% of that was solved by insuring the media was sterilie... and i will yell... REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE BAG CLAIMS ... besides.. it so easy ....

finally .... i began to understand the stuff in the pot to a much higher degree... when i forced myself to start calling it MEDIA ... rather than soil ... on the premise the mother earth is soil ... media's best function... and it is ENGINEERED for such.. is water management.... that is the whole point of the differing particles and sizes of such ... its all about how much water is retained.. according to the plants needs ... and how much is draining straight out the bottom ... and that is why.. SOIL .. mother earth... can fail.. in a pot ... but i digress on topic

and BTW ... to go one step further on cleanliness ... by touching everything.. and then tenting... think about making sure your hands are rather clean ... every variable.. should be clean.. not that you have to bleach your hands or anything.. my point simply.. is just get in the frame of mind.. to think about things ... in the many.. many .. many times i have cleaned things.. on hindsight.. lol.. i always forget something ...

i would just place my hand over the soil.. plants between fingers .... if you can .... tip the pot and shake the media and plants into my hand.. they lay it down on something CLEAN... lol ... and just press the media.. until the plant roots release... so much more careful.. than trying to dig them or pull them out ...

take care ...

ken

Toni,

I use a mix of peat, vermiculite and perlite, equal parts. It's a standard recipe that most experienced AV growers use because violets do well in it. Most growers also avoid any bagged "African Violet" soil, (also known as 'Slow Death').

Some growers use straight perlite or a p/v mix to start leaves but I use the same mix for everything. It seems to maintain the correct amount of moisture for starting leaves in my growing conditions.

You're right-starting your own plants from leaves is highly rewarding and, I think, an important part of learning to grow. Just hang in there. Like anything else, it takes time and you will lose some, (or a lot!). You just get back on the horse and try again!

Linda

Pictured below: What I did tonight!

except for the shoes.... the pic above.. is EXACTLY what i was thinking about .. in my head ... great pic..

ken

I use store bought AV mix, but i cut in 2/3 perlite (yes, i have to water almost daily, or wick them).
so far (knock on wood) i haven't had issues with fungi, except for mildew, which seems to be this apartment, not the potting mix, or the plants. (good reason to move again though.)
now, i will be spending yet another day of my vacation repotting plants. go figure.

Karin

You don't like my shoes???

Linda

lol ... no.. i said.. it was all in my minds eye... except your shoes... lol ...

have a great day ...

just a little bizarre humor on my part ... forgive me if i gave offense ...

ken

ps: in my minds eye.. it would have been my muck boots ....

Nice planting, Linda!
What I need to do sometime this weekend!
Joanne

This post was edited by fortyseven on Sun, Oct 19, 14 at 1:01

Ken,

Is this better??? ;)

Linda

Cinderella , what all did you plant? Are they surplus leaves from your collection or from a new order? Joanne

Toni, spores are nearly invisible to the naked eye. I suspect that you are correct in calling what you see mushrooms. Mushrooms produce spores.

Submit images if you'd like an ID.

Joanne,

Vivey and I did a RR. She helps feed my addiction. As do you! ;)

I got: Cajun's Popcorn
Caribbean Blue
Dean's Lucienne
Harmony's News Flash
Little Bo Peep
Ma's Second Thoughts
Ness' Orange Pekoe
Painted Silk
Rebel's Quiet Riot
Rob's Zinfandel (cool leaves!)
Sequins 'n' Ribbons
Snuggles Little Dreamer
Storybook Princess
Tatiana
Toy Castle
Woodland Sprite
and others!

Linda

And I got a pile of wonderful ones in return, but what I picked is kinda a blur because I also got a RR box that same day. BUT I do know there were some very healthy, wonderful ones in the mix!

To riz0 regarding spores. Thanks for your input. I repotted the leaves and so I do not have a picture to send to the forum. I wish I had, but another beginner thing. They looked like very tiny dandelions, only pale grey. About an inch and a half tall. Very frail looking. They came out of the soil not the leaf. Does this give you any clue to what they actually were?

What delightful treasures! Very motivating!