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Feeding your houseplant obsession can often be taxing on the wallet, but it doesn't have to be! You can cheaply and easily grow your plant family by learning the art of houseplant propagation. This guide will walk you through the most common propagation methods, how to take a stem cutting, and how to propagate vining houseplants, succulents, and more.
One of the most common ways to propagate houseplants is to take a stem cutting and root it in a glass of water. With a little patience, the cutting will develop roots, and you'll soon after be able to repot your brand-new plant. You can also enlist the help of rooting hormones, which come in powder or liquid forms. After you've taken a stem cutting, dip the end in your rooting hormone and stick it into your potting medium of choice. Well-draining potting mediums like peat moss, vermiculite, and sand are best for rooting propagations because it's easier for new root growth to push through.
Both methods work well, although rooting in water makes it easier to see root development. Plus, watching your tiny plant clones take root is truly a beautiful sight! That being said, there is a case for rooting in soil as your cutting is already comfortably adapted to the medium it's growing in, and there's no need to repot it after roots develop.
You can take cuttings of soft-stemmed houseplants, like begonias or African violets, from anywhere along the stem; all you need is a pair of sharp, sterile scissors. You'll also want to find a glass of water that will fit your cutting before you take it. Place the cutting in your chosen glass of water and find a bright windowsill to house it, ensuring that all its leaves stay out of the water to prevent rot. Top up your glass with fresh water whenever levels get low, and wait patiently for roots to form!
If you plan on keeping your cuttings in water for a longer term, add some hydroponic fertilizer, so your new plant can access nutrients. Some houseplants, such as pothos, monsteras, philodendron, and aglaonemas, can live in water for several months or even years, and so can stay put long after their stem cuttings develop roots.
Now that we've gone over some basics, let's look at how to propagate some easy houseplant varieties. If you're new to plant propagation, these houseplants are great for practicing your skills and techniques, as they're incredibly forgiving!
Succulents, like the string of pearls, burro's tail, and the jade plant, are by far the easiest houseplants to propagate as their shallow root systems allow them to take root easily. They can be propagated by either placing a stem cutting in water or by simply taking a leaf off the mother plant and placing it on or in a potting medium.
Vining houseplants, like pothos, tradescantia, and heartleaf philodendron, are also incredibly easy to propagate because of how quickly they grow. Just take a pair of sterile and sharp scissors and make your cut just underneath a node. Nodes are the bumpy ridges growing along a vining plant's stem, from where your propagated houseplant's new roots will develop. After you take your stem cutting, make sure to remove any leaves that will be submerged in water to prevent rot.
Some of your houseplants, such as snake plants and Chinese money plants, do all the propagating heavy lifting for you by producing their own babies. Known as pups or plantlets, these tiny, identical versions of the mother plant are found growing at their base and are easily propagated in soil or water.
To remove pups or plantlets from the mother plant, take the plant out of its pot so you can see where to best separate them from their mother. You can either twist and gently tug on the pups until they separate, make a clean cut using a pair of sharp and sterile scissors, or divvy up the plant according to its root system, ensuring your plantlet has enough roots to survive.
Houseplant propagation can be a little tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll have a source of free houseplants for life! If you're looking for a mother plant of your own, or if you still have any questions about the process, visit us at Westwood Gardens today and let us be your Arkansas houseplant propagation guides!
