Propagating indoor plants is a great little trick in the gardening world.
You can often take a well-loved plant and turn it into two, three, or a dozen identical plants! Talk about a win/win situation!
You might be thinking, what is this dark magic? Well, it’s a fascinating process, and once you learn the basics, you’ll be propagating indoor plants all the time.
What Is Plant Propagation and How Does It Work?
In the simplest terms, indoor plant propagation is a process that creates new plants from existing plants.
Surprisingly, propagating indoor plants is a fairly simple process. With plant propagation, you take a part of a plant, and plant hormones trigger that piece to regenerate itself. The new plant looks identical to the original, just in miniature size.
Before we get into the actual process, let’s take a minute and get a little more scientific…
Every time a plant creates new cells, they are initially undifferentiated. In other words, they aren’t made with a purpose in mind. Shortly after that, plant hormones turn these new cells turn into whatever they need—roots, shoots, or leaves.
Hence, you can grow new houseplants using pieces from your existing plant collection.
The Best Way to Propagate Indoor Plants
There are different ways to propagate indoor plants using different plant parts. For simplicity’s sake, we will talk about stem and leaf cuttings. They are the most widely used methods for propagating indoor plants and, in my opinion, the easiest.
Using Stem Cuttings For Plant Propagation
With stem cuttings, you first remove the end of a stem from a plant. After removal, new roots will grow from the nodes where the leaves attach, and the stem will continue to grow.
Stem cuttings work well for herbs and vining plants like ivy, pothos, and philodendron.
Using Leaf Cuttings For Plant Propagation
With leaf cuttings, you remove a leaf from the plant and use it whole or cut into sections. New roots and shoots develop along the cut edge. After a new plant forms, the cutting will disintegrate.
Leaf cuttings are commonly used for succulents, African violets, and snake plants.
Step By Step Instructions To Propagate Indoor Plants
Some people may be nervous about plant propagation. However, it’s a relatively straightforward process.
Taking Stem Cuttings From Your Plant
- Using sharp scissors or hand pruners, remove at least 3-5″ from the end of a stem. Ideally, you want the stem cutting to have a handful of leaves, at least 2-3 leaf nodes, and the terminal bud.
- Then pull or cut the leaves from the bottom 2″ of the stem.
- Finally, remove any flowers or flower buds.
- (Optional) Dip the newly cut end in rooting hormone. This step isn’t necessary but helps encourage new root growth and acts as an anti-fungal.
Prepping Leaf Cuttings
- Using sharp scissors or pruners, remove the leaf you want to propagate. Leave a 1-2″ stem piece on leaves with a petiole.
- Cut snake plant leaves into 2-4″ sections keeping track of how the piece came off the plant. It will only start roots from the section closest to the soil. You can cut a v-shape in the bottom edge. Doing so helps improve your success rates.
- Cut begonia leaves and other veiny leaves into wedges. New plants develop from the veins along the cut edges.
- (Optional) Dip the newly cut end in rooting hormone. This step isn’t necessary but helps encourage new root growth and acts as an anti-fungal.
- Lastly, allow fleshy leaves to dry out for 24-28 hours, forming a callous over the cut end. The callus is a mass of undifferentiated cells and helps prevent rot when rooting.
Methods for Rooting Cuttings
Once you have cuttings ready, it’s time to root them! Some plants root in water or growing media and others do best when planted directly into potting soil. Figuring out whether to put them in water or plant them is the trickiest part of propagating indoor plants.
Here are some helpful guidelines (based on my experience):
- Pothos, philodendron, ivy, coleus, tradescantia, and herbs readily root in water or potting mix.
- Snake plants and ZZ plants do best in water.
- Jade plants, African violets, begonias, and kalanchoe root best in potting soil.
Personally, I like to root cuttings in water whenever possible so I can see the new roots develop.
Starting Cuttings In Water
- First, fill a glass container like a jar or drinking glass with tap water or distilled water.
- Sink the cut end (and nodes) into the water.
- Put the cutting where it gets bright, indirect light out of harsh, direct sunlight.
- Change the water when it gets cloudy with bacterial growth.
- Keep the leaf nodes submerged.
- Finally, plant the cutting into a container with potting soil once new roots grow.
Starting Cuttings In Growing Media
- Fill a container or tray with premoistened growing media.
- Then stick the end of the cutting into the potting soil at a 45-degree angle. Bury some of the nodes on stem cuttings.
- Set the container somewhere out of direct sunlight where it gets bright yet indirect light.
- Keep the substrate slightly moist but not soggy or waterlogged.
Tips and Tricks For Propagating Indoor Plants
Here are some valuable indoor plant propagation tips and tricks to finish off.
- A great time to try plant propagation is when you trim your houseplants or remove leggy stems. The material you prune off is perfect to use.
- Use trays of perlite or sand when propagating multiple cuttings, and then plant them into containers with potting soil.
- Before taking any plant cuttings, clean and sterilize the scissors or pruners, preventing contamination.
- Never propagate unhealthy plants or plants with pest problems. After all, you don’t want to increase existing issues.
- Choose variegated leaves or stems to copy the coloration.
- Keep newly planted plants out of direct sunlight and avoid fertilizing them for a few weeks. They need time to establish, or they’ll go into shock.
- Be patient, new roots can take two to four weeks to sprout, or even months, depending on the plant you propagate.
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Amanda Shiffler
Most comfortable with soil under my fingernails, my enthusiasm is sparked by gardening, agriculture, and all things plant-related. With a master's degree in agriculture and more than a decade of experience gardening and tending to my yard, I combine my plant knowledge and a knack for writing to share what I know and love.
See All Articles by Amanda Shiffler
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