Many houseplants can be propagated from stem cuttings. The cuts need to be made with a sharp knife or razor blade as you do not want to bruise the stem which may split the stem and casue rot to set in.
If you plant this operation ahead of time you can be sure to water the plant about two hours before you cut.
This ensures that the stems and leaves are fully charged with moisture.
If you are using a flowering stem, pinch the flowers off first.
If you want to hurry up the rooting process you can coat the cut end of the stem with a root hormone.
Rooting in water:
- make a clean cut just above a leaf axil or node, this allows the parent plant to make new shoots from the top axils.
- make a second cut immediately below the lowest node of leaf axil of the cutting and then gently remove the lower leaves.
- place in water ; it may take up to 4 weeks, but do check, for 2-4 cm of new root to appear.
Now you can place the cutting into a potting mixture. I have found this to be a very effective method for creating new plants when I want to expand my collection or to prepare a gift for someone, also if the plant is getting too large for its location, taking cutting and rooting them is an effective way to keep the size under control, maintain the plant’s shape and create a new plant.
It can take up to 4 weeks for the new roots to develop sufficiently enough to be placed into potting soil but I do strongly suggest that you keep a close eye on their growth as I have seen, basil at least, develop, much faster than this.
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