Plant Propagation

Good news is plant propagation is for everyone, not just for the pros! There are many ways to propagate different types of plants. Generally for most house plants like aroids including pothos, philodendrons, monsteras and zz plants can be propagated in water. Others are best done in soil-less mixes like a 50-50 blend of peat moss and perlite as normal potting soil is too rich for the tender shoots. These plants originate from an ancestor that lived in swamps, so key to survival is being able to adapt to flooding conditions. However, in the longer term, they will do best if planted in potting media as they are land plants. 

Rooting powder or gel

Choose a healthy mother plant and take cuttings using a rooting powder or rooting gel. You may do without but using one really does give a much greater success rate. The powder or rooting gel helps to seal the cut edge of the cutting and speed up new plant growth

When to transplant from water to potting media

If you like to transplant your plant cutting from the propagation vessel into a planter with potting media, we recommend waiting until the root is at least 1 inch long. Generally, this should take about 4-6 weeks. Poke a hole in the planting medium with a pencil before you add the cutting so that you don’t bruise the tip. Then, saturate that mix with room temperature water and place in bright indirect light. Let potting mix dry out between waterings. 

Loving the water 

If you want to keep your plant growing in water indefinitely, that is totally a viable option. However,  the health of your plant might decline over time due to no nutrient uptake. You can help to combat this by changing the water regularly and adding a tiny drop of fertilizer every month during the spring and summer growing season.