Rock your Roots with Easy Plant Propagation

If you have started a houseplant collection, one thing is sure: you want more plants. But plants can be expensive right? And then you have to worry about bringing in pests, and acclimating the new plant to your environment. 

What if instead of worrying about all those things, you could just create more of the plants you already have?

This is where propagation comes in. When one of the plants you have is getting a bit big, you can put your propagation plan to action! 

Propagation is a great way to get more plant babies, and you get to have the fun of watching it grow roots, which is my personal favourite part. 

What you’ll need: 

• A jar, or similar container
• A growing plant
• Water
• Sterile plant shears or scissors
• Cinnamon (optional)

Step one: Getting your shears ready

You will want to make sure the shears (or scissors)  are clean, wiping them with rubbing alcohol will sanitize them for you. This step is important as if there is bacteria on the blades it can infect your plant, and then the plant will die before the roots grow. 

Step two: Taking the cutting

With your clean shears, you can now get ready to take a cutting. Finding a node is important since that is where the roots will grow from. A ‘node’ is the point on the plant which new leaves grow from, it often will make a little swelled bubble in the plant, and will be near where a new offshoot has formed for leaves. Once you have found a node, you will want to cut it just below it so the node is part of your new plant.

Step three: Putting it in water

Now that you have a new, separate plant there are a couple of ways you can encourage roots to grow. 

The first is to dip the cut end in cinnamon to help ward off disease, and then leave the plant overnight to form a scab over the end so it is hard and safer from infection. The next day you can then take your jar or other propagation containers, and put water in it. 

If you do not want to leave the cutting overnight (many recommend it but I usually skip that part), you can go straight ahead and fill your container with water. The water should be roughly room temperature so it does not shock your plant by being too hot or cold. When you place your cutting into the propagation container, the node and the cut should be just below the water, so the roots can grow from there. 

Step four: The waiting game 

Now that the cutting is in water, you can put it and the container in a sunny place and wait. It may take days or weeks to grow roots so don’t worry if it is taking a while! Make sure to replace the water every 2-3 days to keep it clean and the plant healthy, and once the roots are at least 2 inches long you can put it in soil and keep watching it grow! 

Now that you know how to take a cutting and propagate it, what will you grow? By doing this I have successfully grown more Jade plants, Fittonia (nerve plants), Pothos and more! If you have any questions please comment below and I will be happy to give tips or more detailed advice!