More is more with propagation methods
ARBORETUM | Four ways to turn one plant into several, which keeps them healthy, too
From making your own house plants healthier and more attractive, to creating gifts for friends and family, it pays to know how to propagate plants. Propagation turns one plant into more plants, and is also a good way to keep plants looking good and growing well.
Most house plants can be propagated in one of four ways: by rooting stems, rooting leaves, layering stems, or division.
Multi-stemmed plants are most frequently multiplied by taking stem cuttings and planting them in a rooting medium available at the local garden center. Cuttings can be taken from young or old plants, but make sure the stem tissue isn't too new and soft, or too old and hard, to root well.
Philodendron, coleus, hibiscus and chrysanthemums, for example, are well propagated with stem cuttings. When choosing a stem to cut, choose one with several leaves on it, and make a clean, sharp cut just below the leaf bud or node. Don't crush the end of the stem. It's advisable to remove the leaves from the lower half of the shoot, and insert an inch of the lower half into a rooting medium.
Other plants, such as African violets and succulents, can be grown from single leaves or leaf cuttings. When removing single leaves, make sure to detach them with their stems intact. Insert the stem into a rooting medium. Succulent leaves can be inserted right into a medium, at an angle to catch the light. Sanseveria leaves -- mother-in-law's tongue -- can be chopped into pieces and inserted in rows in a propagating tray, each piece producing one or more plantlets. Begonias are really amazing. You can take a leaf, lay it in a growing medium, and nick its veins. Plants will arise from the nicks. You can also chop the leaf into sections and watch plantlets put down roots.
Some plants make propagating easy by doing it themselves. Spider plants and hen-and-chicks develop small plants on the flowering stems. Don't separate these plantlets. Get a pot or tray, and peg the little plants right into the growing medium. Watch them root, and when rooted, detach and pot.
Whether cutting a stem or leaf, or severing a plantlet, the plant part that is removed undergoes a shock because its supply of water and nutrients has been removed. Water the plant a day or two before taking cuttings so the cuttings will be filled with water. As for a rooting medium, there is too much resistance in soil for new roots. For the right mix of moisture and air, plant growers recommend 100 percent vermiculite or a mix of 50 percent peat moss and 50 percent vermiculite.
Most cuttings need to be nursed with care, meaning extra humidity, warmth, and some light. For humidity, use a misting system, terrarium or mini-greenhouse. Never put cuttings in direct sun; that will create too much heat.
Depending on the plant, rooting can take weeks or months. New growth and new leaves are indication that the cutting has rooted, but the roots need to be strong enough to provide resistance when you try to pull the plant up. This is the final test to see if the plant is ready to be replanted.
Gail Goldberger is a writer for the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
