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Plant Propagation Made Simple

For those of you with a “Green Thumb” or those who want to work on healing your “brown thumb”, these simple tips will help you do just that.  Following these guidelines you will be elbow deep in foliage before you know it! 
    

To obtain new house plants you could: 1) plant seed and wait for the plants to grow, 2) purchase expensive plants at garden shops, OR 3) use the plants you already own to create many more plants.    If option 3 sounds the best, then read on and use these outlined instructions to make several new plants from your existing plants.  Increase your collection or share with others.  Plants make wonderful and unique gifts.  The best part of giving plants as gifts is that the gift keeps on giving for many years to come, continuing to delight the gift recipient.

To create more plants through following these instructions you will be using a technique called Propagation.  There are several forms of plant propagation, but the propagation form discussed here is called Rooting.   This is the simplest way,  I believe, to reproduce plants form the “mother plant”.  Through the course of these instruction the plant from which you choose to propagate will be referred to as the “mother plant”.

To begin propagation you will first need to find a mother plant you want to work with.  I
recommend using the following plants, since these species tend to react the best to attempts at propagation and generally yield the most results:

• Philodendron 

• Pothos Ivy

• Syngonium

• Coleus

• Zebrina

If you do not have these plants in your collection, they  should be available at your local plant nursery or home and garden store.  The selection of plants may vary by season, but most are available year round.
  

What you will need:

Mother plant
Gardening shears or small scissors
Potting soil
Several container which will hold water (small cups will work)
Access to a sink or hose
Potting containers
  

Begin work in an area with a good amount of space and close to a water source.  When working with the Philodendron, Pothos Ivy, Coleus, or Syngonium, you will be using water to first develop roots.  The Zebrina will root when placed directly into soil (This will be discussed next).  

1) Choose a vine or clump of leaves on the mother plant that appears to be fairly healthy.  

2) Using your garden shears or scissors, snip off the vine or clump at the base or in an area where there is a absence of leaves.  

3) Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the number of “starters” you have.  

4) Fill a container with water and submerge the vine into the water.

5) Place in a sunny area such as a kitchen window.  You can place several “starts” into one container.

You may see roots begin to develop in 2 to 3 days, but it could take up to 2 weeks, or more, before roots begin to develop.  Don’t lose faith, the roots will come.  Once you notice the roots begin to form, check your starter daily.  When you notice that roots have developed to approximately 1 1/2 inches, they are ready to be placed into soil.

Pot these plants as you would any other house plant and you have a lovely addition to your foliage collection or wonderful gifts to give to friends and family.

Should you choose to work with the Zebrina plant, you have two options.  The Zebrina will root in water using the above method, but these beautiful plants will also take root in soil.  Fill a potting container with soil and place a piece of the plant into the soil and press firm.  Zebrina plants will flourish in only a matter of days.  I started this plant at the beginning of Spring and look at it now!  Be sure to place the container in a sunny area and water it as needed.  Once you have noticed the plant to have grown at least 1 1/2 inch taller, you can remove it from the soil and place into a larger pot if you wish.
  

Suggestions for Display while Propagating Plants:

While rooting your plants in water choose charming and unique containers to display the plant starter in:

Use a decorated coffee cup and display in a kitchen window.

Use colored glass vases or bottles of different sizes, displaying a variety of starters in each

Using glass containers, place decorative glass beads or rock, or purchase some “river rock” from a gardening store and fill the container with the rock then water.  Place your plant start into this container and display on a side table or dinning room table.  Hunt for a distinctive containers at local thrift stores, home and garden suppliers or yard sales.  I found this adorable pear shaped glass container at my local discount retailer. 

Note:  
All of the plants discussed in this article tolerate the same weather and watering conditions, so they may be placed in the same planter or potting container for a lovely arrangement of colorful foliage!
  

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