Plant Propagation

different kind of plants

Propagating plants is the activity I love most when it comes to plants. Don't be afraid to cut your plants because it actually will make them grow even faster. You will also have more plants. In the spring or summer you can propagate your plants as much as you find time to. It's the best time to do it. During this time plants grow faster than in other seasons. In the last two weeks, I did it a lot. Now, some of the cuttings already have roots and can be planted.

This time, I will show you how to propagate Pilea Peperomioides, Golden Photos, Philodendron Scandens, Monstera Adansonii, Sansevieria Moonshine, S. Laurentii, Ceropegia Woodii (String of Hearts), Tradescantia Zabrina, and Peperomia Rana Verde. 

If we are propagating plants through their stem, leaves, roots, or separate them from their plant parent, it is called vegetative reproduction. 

Anyway, you can also use rooting hormones to make your plants root faster but I usually just put them in water with a little bit of fertilizer. However, last time I also tried to use some rooting hormone for some plant cuttings for the first time. The roots emerged a lot faster. I was surprised. 

In this article, mainly, I will talk about stem and leaves propagation for some plants I mentioned above. Next, you can see which plants I used which method for. In general, propagating plants is very easy. But there are some things that you must note. I will show you step by step. In each step, I will give you an example through pictures.

1. Find the (root) Nodes 

different nodes of plants

Let us talk about the nodes of plants. It's nothing new. I guarantee, you have seen this before. Nodes are easy to find. They are at stems of plants and are between leaves, or even under the leaf stalks, it depends on the kind of plant. Have a look at the pictures to figure it out! The root nodes are from where the roots can emerge.

2. Cut the Plants right 

After you found the nodes, you can easily cut your plants. This is easy, isn't it? But how long and how many pieces should you cut? Sometimes I don't want to see my plant when it suddenly has less stem or leaves. But no problem! As I mentioned before. It will regrow again. So, now I have more plants and the plant parents are sprouting. 

Please use sharp scissors or knife if you cut your plant. I cut my plant leaves and stem differently, it depends on the type of plant. Next, I will explain to you how to cut them.

2.1. The Stem Cutting Method

Pilea's stem cutting rooted

I cut  about 1cm off of the top of the Pilea stem. Cut under the stem which is not

do you see the shoot (baby)?

surrounded by leaves, then put it in the water. I cut it a little bit because my Pilea is not big enough but I just want my Pilea to grow faster. HAHA, Rita! And it's true, now, a new shoot comes, still a baby. See picture!

Anyway, if you have a big Pilea, you can cut off pieces longer than 1cm, for sure. My Pilea stem rooted within a week with the rooting hormone.
Next plants please!

P. Scandens, G. Photos in water and sphagnum moss

G. Photos, P. Scandens, and M. Adansonii have similarities in 

M. Adansonii

propagation.You can do the same, whether using water or substrate to propagate. Cut off pieces of about 6cm. I recommend you to not make them too long, and then make several pieces out of them because they will grow bushy, or fuller. Cut them below their nodes. Those nodes will produce roots.

This time, I tried it with water and sphagnum moss. If you use moss, please seal the pot with cling film or plastic to keep the moisture in. Experiment to see, which method is faster! In general, they will root within 1 or 2 weeks. 

left: the cutting of  C. Woodii

the new shoot after cut

Ceropegia Woodii is a lovely plant. It can grow up to 3m. It has unique leaves. I have a silver one. One of my Ceropegia Woodii seemed not to grow well, that's why I cut off a longer piece. Right now, it seems healthy again, I can put it in the pot. Usually, if you want to cut Ceropegia Woodii, cut off a piece of about 3cm and make several pieces out of that. The nodes are between the leaves. Before you put it in substrate or water, please cut off the leaves first. This plant roots within three days without the rooting hormone.
Last but not least, Tradescantia Zabrina are very easy to care for. If you propagate them within a day they already root. You can make the cuttings long or short. This time, I made them about 15cm.

T. Zabrina in water and right: its nodes

2.2. The Leaf Cutting Method

cutting leaves of Pilea

For the leaf cutting method, I give you my Pilea, S. Moonshine, S. Laurentii, and P. Rana Verde as examples. For Pilea, you should cut below the stalk of the leaves as you can see in picture. I prefer to put them in water first until they root. With the rooting hormone they rooted within a week, without the rooting hormone it took about three weeks.

For Sensavieria Moonshine and S. Laurentii, I cut off pieces of about 10cm but I

S. Moonshien&Laurentii

used different methods. I put the Laurentii directly into the substrate a few weeks ago but I still haven't checked if the roots emerged. I just cut the Moonshine a week ago and put the cuttings in the water. They haven't rooted yet. I will report it to you, when they do. 

P. Rana Verde's cutting leaves

We come to the last leaves cutting, I cut off some leaves of my Peperomia Rana Verde in the same way as the Pilea leaves. You should also include their stalks. See picture! This time, I also put them directly in the substrate, they already rooted as well. 

Note:

Remember, when you want to put any kind of plant cuttings in water or substrate, make sure that their leaves are not submerged. You can remove some leaves first to make rooting easier and faster. Also, don't forget to change the water about once a week.

For all plants, you can choose whether  to put them in water first or directly into the substrate. 

As soon as the roots emerge, you can plant them. Last year I always put them in the pot as soon as the roots emerged. But right now because of my laziness, sometimes I plant them until the plants have long roots. 

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links to products on amazon Germany. If you use the links to navigate to amazon and buy something (even if it is not the item the link leads to) I will receive a percentage of the purchasing cost. It doesn't cost you any extra but really helps me. So, feel free to use these links for any purchases you might want to make. Thank you guys!

Here is a list of the items that I have linked to in this article:

plant scissor
COMPO AGROSIL rooting hormones

I hope you enjoyed my article. Stay healthy! 

Xoxo, Rita