Individual Leaf Data
Here?s the starting data for all of the leaves I set down. Unfortunately, this Blog can?t do spreadsheet work, so I had to put a / between all of the data sets. I hope it doesn?t make it too hard to read or understand?

Test #/AV #/Size/Age/Rooting Medium/Rooting Additive
1/1/Standard/1/Water/Tap Water
2/1/Standard/1/Water/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
3/1/Standard/1/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
4/1/Standard/1/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
5/6/Miniature/1/Water/Tap Water
6/6/Miniature/1/Water/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
7/6/Miniature/1/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
8/6/Miniature/1/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
9/4/Standard/3/Water/Tap Water
10/4/Standard/3/Water/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
11/4/Standard/3/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
12/4/Standard/3/Water/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
13/2/Standard/2/Paper Towel/Tap Water
14/2/Standard/2/Paper Towel/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
15/2/Standard/2/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
16/2/Standard/2/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
17/7/Miniature/1/Paper Towel/Tap Water
18/7/Miniature/1/Paper Towel/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
19/7/Miniature/1/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
20/7/Miniature/1/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
21/3/Standard/1/Paper Towel/Tap Water
22/3/Standard/1/Paper Towel/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
23/3/Standard/1/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
24/3/Standard/1/Paper Towel/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
25/4/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water
26/4/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
27/4/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
28/4/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
29/5/Miniature/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water
30/5/Miniature/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
31/5/Miniature/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
32/5/Miniature/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
33/1/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water
34/1/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
35/1/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
36/1/Standard/1/50% Peat/50% Perlite/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
37/3/Standard/1/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water
38/3/Standard/1/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
39/3/Standard/1/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
40/3/Standard/1/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
41/5/Miniature/1/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water
42/5/Miniature/1/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
43/5/Miniature/1/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
44/5/Miniature/1/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
45/4/Standard/4/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water
46/4/Standard/4/AV Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
47/4/Standard/4/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
48/4/Standard/4/AV Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
49/2/Standard/4/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water
50/2/Standard/4/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
51/2/Standard/4/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
52/2/Standard/4/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
53/7/Miniature/2/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water
54/7/Miniature/2/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
55/7/Miniature/2/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
56/7/Miniature/2/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food
57/4/Standard/6/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water
58/4/Standard/6/Normal Potting Soil/Tap Water and AV Plus Food
59/4/Standard/6/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water
60/4/Standard/6/Normal Potting Soil/FastRoot on Stem and Tap Water and AV Plus Food

A few of the leaves have some minor flaws, such as a little bit (<10%) of leaf burn, or slight tip yellowing, or a crack in them from earlier falls. I will examine each leaf closely in the next couple of days to make sure I record which leaves have these flaws, just in case they skew the results.

IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!!!
Mood:  celebratory
After a 10 day delay, my experiment has begun! I recorded my first temperature data at 0000 on 10/11/04. (Initial temperature of 72F inside upon sealing, and at 0130 a temperature of 82F.)

For those of you who haven?t heard me talking obsessively about this experiment, I intended to cut 40 leaves off of my 7 African Violets (AV?s) and subject them to 5 different Methods of rooting, each with 4 variations. However, I was able to cut off 60 leaves, and my AV?s still don?t look like they lost any leaves.

I had to set up some ground rules for my experiment, so here they are:
1. Due to the small number of leaves available, no two miniature AV?s should be assigned to the same method.
2. No AV should have 8 leaves assigned to the same method.
3. Rooting medium and all tools/equipment shall be sterilized (where appropriate).
4. All leaves in a method shall be started together.
5. All leaves shall be started on the same day.
6. All leaves shall have appropriate markings on container to allow easy ID of AV# and method#.

Lots of talk about Methods. What do I mean by Methods and Variations? Here they are. Variations are in italics:
METHOD 1-Stalk suspended in water only
-Suspended in plain water
-Suspended in ?fertilized? water
-Suspended in water after dipping in rooting compound
-Suspended in ?fertilized? water after dipping in rooting compound
METHOD 2-Stalk placed in damp paper towel
-On a paper towel with plain water
-On a paper towel with ?fertilized? water
-On a paper towel with plain water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
-On a paper towel with ?fertilized? water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
METHOD 3-Stalk buried in a 50% peat moss/50% perlite mixture
-Watered with plain water
-Watered with ?fertilized? water
-Watered with plain water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
-Watered with ?fertilized? water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
METHOD 4-Stalk buried in African Violet potting soil
-Watered with plain water
-Watered with ?fertilized? water
-Watered with plain water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
-Watered with ?fertilized? water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
METHOD 5-Stalk buried in normal potting soil
-Watered with plain water
-Watered with ?fertilized? water
-Watered with plain water after dipping stalk in rooting compound
-Watered with ?fertilized? water after dipping stalk in rooting compound

I used Schultz African Violet Plus Liquid Plant Food Concentrate for the plant food, or ?fertilizer?, and Miracle-Gro FastRoot Rooting Hormone for the rooting compound.
I would like to state for the record that I am not comparing these products against similar products, nor am I endorsing them, nor did I even shop around and choose them over other products. I only used them because I already had them at home available to me. That ought to satisfy any lawyer. :)

I have 7 AV?s, which I have appropriately numbered 1-7. As far as I know, they are all unnamed varieties. I have acquired them over the past 3 years from Wal-Mart and Home Depot. The 7 AV?s are:
1-Dark purple, single bloom, standard size
2-Magenta, single bloom, standard size
3-Purple, double bloom, standard size
4-Pink, semi-double bloom, standard size
5-Purple, single bloom, miniature size
6-Magenta, single bloom, miniature size
7-Pink, single bloom, miniature size

Here are a few pictures of the plant stand, or ?greenhouse? I have conducted with all 60 leaves. I apologize for the low quality, but I have a very cheap digital camera. If I happen to take film pictures, I will scan them in and post them.

These are the variables I have tried to control and how I have tried to control them:
Light-Will be controlled by utilizing 2 shelves with similar fluorescent lights and plant bulbs high in the red and blue spectrums installed at equal heights above each shelf. They will either be set on a timer or manually turned on and off for 10-12 hours per day. They will both be on together or off together, thus ensuring equal light is given to each leaf. (Due to space constraints, all METHOD 2 leaves will be taped to the side of the plant stand with the leaf raised above the paper towel to prevent rotting the leaf. Although they are a little closer to the light, this cannot really be helped.)
Temperature-Will be controlled by enclosing the shelves with Plexiglas and plastic to trap heat. Temperature will be closely monitored and recorded at least daily. Temperature will be raised as necessary to maintain above 70F by use of the lights and/or a space heater aimed at the shelves.
Humidity-Cannot be controlled as a group due to each leaf being enclosed in a baggie, therefore, all monitoring and recording requirements for humidity have been removed.
Leaf Age-Will be controlled by only using 4 leaves from the same approximate height on stem and size (correlating to age) in each Method and Variation, i.e. using 4 leaves from the same row of AV#1 for METHOD 1, etc.
African Violet Size-Due to having two sizes of African Violets (4 standards and 3 miniatures) and a small number of miniature leaves available, this will be controlled by using only one set of 4 miniature leaves in each method.
External Contamination-Will be controlled by sterilizing all soil in an oven heated to 300F for 1 hour and by boiling all water for 15 minutes prior to use. Leaves and cups will be decontaminated by washing and/or soaking in a bleach/water mixture. Equipment (razor blades, spoons, etc.) will be soaked in a bleach/water mixture for 5 minutes and rinsed with hot water. Paper towels, plastic wrap and baggies are assumed to be sterile unless dropped or placed on an unsterile surface. The surface used for setting leaves into dishes will be sterilized prior to use and occasionally during use.
Water Temperature-All water will be allowed to sit and achieve ambient temperature for at least 2 hours prior to use.
Fertilizer-Fertilizer will only be added to water at ambient temperature immediately prior to use, and excess will be disposed of immediately.

Here is the official procedure I set down for myself.
-Cut bottom 1/3 off of 9 oz plastic cup (dish).
-Boil 1 gallon water for at least 15 minutes, allow to cool to ambient.
-Wrap soil in aluminum foil, cook in oven at 300F for 1 hour until at least 180F internal temperature. Remove from oven, cut slit in top of foil and allow to cool to ambient.
-Use a permanent marker to write numbers (or data) on individual baggies.
-Soak dishes in 25% bleach/75% hot water solution for at least 45 minutes. Remove and soak in fresh hot water for 10 minutes. Towel dry with clean paper towel. Set on individual baggies to allow easy tracking of dishes and Methods.
-Mix Schultz African Violet Plus (AV+) food into a clean container with ? gallon of the sterilized water at maximum recommended concentration of 14 drops/quart.
-Fill half of the Method 1 dishes with ? cup sterilized water, and the other half with sterilized water with AV+ food. Wrap with at least 2 layers of plastic wrap and use a sterile razor blade to cut a ?-? inch slit through both layers to allow leaf insertion.
-Wet half of the Method 2 paper towels with sterilized water, squeeze until just damp. Wet the other half of the paper towels with sterilized water with AV+ food. Insert into baggies.
-Fill all of the Method 3 dishes with 50% Peat Moss/50% Perlite mixture. Add approx. 1/9 cup of sterilized water to half of the dishes, and add the same amount of sterilized water with AV+ food to the other half.
-Fill all of the Method 4 dishes with African Violet Potting Soil. Add approx. 1/9 cup of sterilized water to half of the dishes, and add the same amount of sterilized water with AV+ food to the other half.
-Fill all of the Method 5 dishes with normal Potting Soil. Add approx. 1/9 cup of sterilized water to half of the dishes, and add the same amount of sterilized water with AV+ food to the other half.
-Choose which plants to use with each Method. Cut 4 leaves from the same approximate height on main stalk (corresponding to age). Soak leaves in a light bleach solution (follow directions on bottle) for 5-10 minutes. Remove and pat leaves dry.
-Cut leaf stems at 45 degree angle, and try to keep all leaf stems in a set of 4 equal in length.
-Planting Leaves using Method 1: For leaves that will not be using Miracle-Gro FastRoot Rooting Hormone (FastRoot), insert stems directly into water through plastic. Ensure the stems will remain in the water if leaf moves. For leaves that will be using FastRoot, wet stems in sterilized water and lightly shake loose drops off. Insert stems into FastRoot and knock off excess powder. Insert stems directly into water through plastic. Ensure the stems will remain in the water if leaf moves. Carefully place dishes and leaves into individual baggies. Blow as much air as possible into baggies and seal.
-Planting Leaves using Method 2: For leaves that will not be using FastRoot, fold paper towels once over stems. For leaves that will be using FastRoot, wet stems in sterilized water and lightly shake loose drops off. Insert stems into FastRoot and knock off excess powder. Fold paper towels once over stems. Carefully insert paper towels and leaves into individual baggies. Blow as much air as possible into baggies and seal. Ensure the paper towel remains lower than the leaf to prevent water buildup around leaf, which will cause the leaf to rot.
-Planting Leaves using Methods 3, 4 and 5: For leaves that will not be using FastRoot, insert stems directly into soil and pack soil around stem, adding additional sterilized soil as necessary to keep soil level just under rim of dish (which helps to maintain soil packed hard enough to support the weight of the leaf). For leaves that will be using FastRoot, wet stems in sterilized water and lightly shake loose drops off. Insert stems into FastRoot and knock off excess powder. Insert stems directly into soil and pack soil around stem, adding additional sterilized soil as necessary to keep soil level just under rim of dish. Carefully place dishes and leaves into individual baggies. Blow as much air as possible into baggies and seal.
-Place all baggies onto plant stand and adjust light to 12-14? above. Use lights as necessary to maintain temperature >70F if no heater is available, and for 10-12 hours continuously per day to simulate sunlight.

FINAL NOTES
-I will be monitoring temperature at least daily and maintaining it above 70F at all times using whatever means is necessary.
-I will perform visual comparisons on the leaves dipped in water and wrapped in paper towels fairly often (weekly?) to monitor root growth and length. All new data will be recorded and posted.
-I will also perform visual comparisons on all leaves to determine when new plants start to appear (mouse ears). All new data will be recorded and posted.
-At the conclusion of the experiment, I will repost a full description of the experiment (including data) for verification and repetition by others.
-Also, at the end I will have a large number of AV?s to get rid of, estimated to be anywhere from 30-300. At that point, I will start seeking out homes for them. Not before. Please, please don?t ask me for any AV?s yet, I will not be keeping a list. Anybody interested will have a chance to get an AV. All I will ask for is the money required for the shipping materials and postage.
-I would like to encourage others to perform this experiment to verify my results. If anybody is interested in doing this, please contact me and I will send you all current data and files.
-Finally, if anybody has any questions on how this experiment is being conducted, please feel free to e-mail me. Please use the subject line ?AV Experiment? or something similar to ensure I don?t automatically mark it as SPAM (bad habit). My e-mail address is robrieke@yahoo.com