Houseplant cuttings: here’s how to succeed! We gathered 24 tips to help you easily add more lush greenery to your home
A cutting is a part of a plant from which you can root an entirely new plant. But how do you successfully take a cutting from a houseplant? We’ve compiled tips to help you succeed!
1. Benefits of pruning your plants
Many plants benefit from pruning, which encourages bushiness. Root the pruned shoots to get more plants.
2. Preserve your cherished plant treasures
Propagation by cuttings is an effective way to preserve old plants that aren’t found in stores. For example, Chinese hibiscus, wax plant, and orchid cacti have been preserved thanks to cuttings. You can obtain cuttings from growers or at plant exchange events.
Plants like golden pothos, jade plant, inchplants, aroids, and peperomias root easily. They’re a good starting point for your propagation hobby.
3. Revitalize shabby and overgrown plants
If your old plant has an awkward shape, is leafless at the bottom, or has grown too large, grow a new one from a cutting. Fast-growing and scruffy species that may need renewing include inchplants, spurflowers, coleus, aroids, and dragon trees.
4. Start with plants that root easily
If you’re new to taking cuttings, start with species that root easily, such as pothos, jade plant, inchplants, syngoniums, aroids, begonias, peperomias and figs. Some plants are propagated by division.
5. Take cuttings during the peak growing season
It’s best to take and root cuttings during the peak growing seasons of spring, summer, or early autumn when there’s plenty of light. Rooting stalls between November and February if the plant doesn’t receive additional light.
6. Snip off a tip cutting
Cuttings are most commonly taken from the tips of houseplants. Tip cuttings can also refer to cuttings taken from the tip of a side shoot. Choose slightly woody tips, as soft tissues wilt easily. The parent plant won’t suffer even if you take several cuttings from it.
7. ... or from a shoot
A long shoot can be chopped into stem cuttings and rooted in sections. This way, you get several starts from a single shoot. If you want a plant that becomes bushy quickly, like a vine, place several cuttings in the same pot.
8. Sometimes even a single leaf is enough
Begonias, snake plants, many succulents, streptocarpus, saintpaulias and sinningias [in Finnish] can be propagated from a single leaf. Leave a long petiole on the leaf and bury it completely in soil. Leaf propagation also works with leaf pieces that have a strong leaf vein.
9. Bend it into an arc and cover with soil
Climbing plants can be propagated by bending a stem into a pot placed near the parent plant. The bent stem is cut once the new plant has developed good roots. Layering propagation is suitable even for demanding species, such as bougainvilleas.
10. Basal cuttings work well with succulents
A basal cutting refers to a new shoot at the base of the plant that includes a small piece of root. Many succulents, such as aloes and haworthias, can be propagated from basal cuttings. Often, the shoots already have roots or root beginnings.
11. Choose a healthy and vigorous plant
Take cuttings from a healthy, young, and actively growing plant. This way, you’ll get vigorous and easily rooting cuttings.
12. Cut into suitably sized pieces
Cut sections of stem from the plant that have a few leaves. The number of leaves and the length of the cutting depend on the plant. On small-leaved plants, there can be up to ten nodes (leaf attachment points); on larger ones, two or three. Remove the lowest leaves and shorten the cutting about one centimeter below a node.
13. Use only a sharp knife
No matter what kind of cutting you take, make a straight, clean cut with a sharp knife. This speeds up the closure of the wound and promotes rooting.
14. Sometimes the only way is to divide the rootstock
Some houseplants can only be propagated by dividing the parent plant’s rootstock into several parts. Such plants include clivia [in Finnish], foxtail fern, and common asparagus fern.
15. Root first in water
Almost all plants are suitable for rooting in a glass of water. In water, the cutting maintains its turgor and doesn’t need misting. Streptocarpus, saintpaulias, and other soft-stemmed plants are best placed directly in soil.
16. Roots encourage more roots to grow
Place new cuttings in the water glass along with already rooted ones. Roots release auxin into the water, which promotes the formation of new roots. You can also sprinkle rooting hormone containing auxin into the water.
”The harder the plant’s stem, the slower it grows new roots.”
17. Succulent cuttings
Let succulent cuttings dry for 1–2 days before planting them in soil, so that the sap seeping from the cut won’t rot the cutting. Among leaf cactus cuttings, the leaf-like segments with a narrow base and small cut surface root fastest.
18. The harder it is, the slower it roots
The harder the plant’s stem, the slower it grows new roots. For example, bougainvillea, oleander, glorybower, myrtle, and yesterday-today-and-tomorrow plant require patience when rooting.
Read also: Grown from store-bought fruit! Carambola, kiwi, and 8 other delicacies became quirky houseplants
19. All is well under the lid
You can root cuttings in a glass jar with moist perlite at the bottom. Place the cuttings in the medium, close the lid tightly, and put the container in a bright place. In the jar, the new plant thrives without care and avoids pests that spread from other plants.
20. Seeing roots? Time to plant in soil
When the cutting has grown short roots, plant it in soil. Roots that have grown too long break easily, which slows down the start of growth.
21. Aerate the growing medium
An airy sphagnum moss is suitable for rooting either alone or mixed into soil. Likewise, seedling, cactus, or long-lasting soils are suitable for cuttings. If the soil compacts and hardens, aerate it by poking with a wooden stick.
22. Maintain moisture
Keep the soil moist until the cutting has rooted. The soil’s water retention improves if you add vermiculite, sphagnum moss, or coconut coir. A plastic cover, glass dome, or mini greenhouse reduces the need for misting.
23. Monitor the leaves
If you see signs of rot on the cuttings, remove the bad leaves and the moisture-retaining cover for at least a day. Succulents don’t wilt easily, so they manage without a cover.
24. Warmth, please!
Keep the cuttings in a bright place, but avoid direct sunlight. Most houseplants root best when the soil is 24–28 degrees Celsius. A heat mat placed under the container helps maintain a suitable temperature.
