Is suckers the word you're thinking of? Whenever I get one I pull it off when they have more than four leaves. It's kind of a balance between leaving them on to get bigger but negatively impacting the mother plant OR taking them off too early and risking breaking the sucker. So really, to answer your question of how big they should be: as soon as you feel comfortable taking them off. Just bear in mind that leaving them on is bad for the mother plant.

To root them, you can put them in a lighter mix with with a plastic bag keeping the humidity in - exactly like you would root a leaf in soil. Good news is... you don't have to wait for plantlets lol. Once you see a bunch of new leaves, that usually means they have enough roots to be gradually taken out of the humidity.

Not sure about fantasy violets though? It's my understanding that theoretically, the sucker should be a clone of the mother. BUT violets seem to always surprise you and fantasy blooms in general can be quite unstable. Maybe someone with more experience can add their take?

Yes suckers! I couldnt remember that word! Well most of my violets have some TINY suckers, but I cleaned up some, that i potted up a week ago.

Right now I have a second 'Playful Spectrum', a small one, in a 2in pot, that I bought with the 3 plants in the pot. I bought it this way, about a month ago, it hasn't even had its first bloom.

I cant figure out the way to split them. I THINK they all have some roots. Is there a way to take it apart, and get 3 plants? Or do I go for the one 'normal' plant, like I WAS going to go for, today,....BUT I like my fantasy violets. And i like 'Playful Spectrum' a lot. Whats the trick to saving them? Or do I go for the 1 plant?

If I am careful, I assume I CAN get 3 fairly big 'Playful Spectrums'. Or if I pull it apart, and I get 1 rooted plant, and two with no roots, do I treat them like 'suckers' ? Obviously the extra plants were left on the plant, by the grower thats why I wanted it. Hey i got 3 plants for $5 like this, thats a deal! got any hints or advise on TRYING to save all 3?

It sounds like you could get three plants. If you can, I'd pull off the two other suckers from the main one (if there is even a 'main one') and if they have a good amount of roots, pot 'em up! If they don't have well developed root systems (or no roots at all), then treat them like suckers. Then you might have to do some serious grooming on the main plant, depending on how it looks after the "operation" lol!

It might be tricky to remove the two crowns (aka large suckers), especially because they sound pretty tiny - only in a 2in pot. I'd make sure to be in very bright light so you see what you're doing and which leaf comes from which crown. Also a magnifying glass, tweezers, and sharp razor blade/scapel/exacto knife wouldn't hurt if you don't trust your fingers or if it's hard to get in there. If you wait until the plant is slightly wilted, the leaves won't be as brittle, and you'll minimize leaf/crown breakage. But don't worry too much - if you snap off some leaves, those are just new leaves to root.

Let us know how they do.

And PS, I always buy the violets that have suckers too... Free plants :)