prop·a·ga·tion
1. multiplication or increase.
2. the process of spreading to a larger area or greater number.
Or as I like to call it, getting more plants from the ones you already have.
I love house plants. I have over sixty of them. Yep, six zero. Today I’ve got an easy tutorial on how to propagate plants. It doesn’t matter if you have a green thumb or not, this couldn’t be easier.
This is a philodendron. A very common houseplant that’s easy to grow and easy to propagate.
You want to take a cutting that is about 6-8 inches. All you need to do is just snip off one of the long, leafy stems.
So here’s the philodendron cutting…
Using scissors, snip off the bottom leaves.
And that’s it. It’s ready to go into water and root.
It’s seriously that easy.
I put my plant cuttings into old spice jars, but you can use anything. Just make sure to keep the jar filled with water so the cutting can root.
This is a spider plant. Another common houseplant.
Spider plants get shoots that grow out of the main part of the plant.
See? Just like this.
Just snip the shoot off from the plant.
Then you’ll want to trim it down a little. From this…
To this.
And now this one is ready for the water too.
Once the plant cuttings have a root that is at least two inches they’re ready to be potted into soil. The roots will be white tuberous looking things. (very technical terminology) You can get a good idea of what the roots look like in this pictures. These cuttings have been in this jar for over a year. Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I really need to get these potted.
A sunny windowsill is a great place to let them root.
Plant propagation is an easy and inexpensive way to acquire more houseplants.
And p.s. they also make great gifts.
Until next time….
-Meg
