Summer is here and your plants are growing like crazy - now is the time to turn your plants into more plants! How cool?
Propagation can work in many different ways - plants will find incredible ways to grow new roots!
1. Stem cuttings
The most common method of propagation is stem cuttings. Simply make a cutting along a healthy, mature plant (with clean scissors or shears) and place in a glass of water, or in damp moss, to root. You should see roots in a few weeks.
If you are cutting a climbing or trailing plant, such as a Pothos or a Monstera, make sure your cutting has a root node or an aerial root. These are the floating roots or small little brown bumps on your vines: and this is where the roots will grow.
Make sure to keep your cuttings out of direct light, but ensure they have a nice stream of indirect light to help them grow their roots. Try to keep them in a warm spot to promote faster root growth.
2. Leaf cuttings
Leaf cuttings are great to use for cacti, succulents, Snake Plants, and even Peperomia! Simply make your cutting at the base of the leaf, or through the middle, once again making sure our scissors or shears are sterile and place in water or damp moss.
When it comes to Snake Plants, you can turn one leaf into multiple cuttings with this method: simply make multiple cuttings every few inches up the leaves and place them in water. The key is to make sure that they stay the direction you cut them: that is, that the part of the cutting in the water was the closest to the ground in the plant.
3. Plantlets + Offsets
Some plants make babies - so cute! This makes propagation easy as they do most of the work for you. Pilea and Spider Plants, for example, are easy to cut off the new baby plants and pop in water, moss, or soil (making sure to keep it moist while it establishes roots) - too easy!
4. Root division
This one can be scary to think about but is easier than you think! Root division is perfect for bushier plants that don't grow aerial roots: think your peace lily, calathea or snake plant! Once your plant is bursting out of its pot, remove it from the soil and take a loot at the roots. You should see clear clumps or clusters. Try to detangle the roots of the cluster you want to separate as much as possible, only cutting where absolutely necessary. Try to ensure each part of your plant has plenty of roots and leaves.
Transfer your divided plant into new pots (make sure the pot size is appropriate for the new size of the plant - a small plant will always prefer a small pot). Keep the recovering division moist and well-lit for a few weeks: then BOOM! You have a new plant! Congratulations!
Happy propagating everyone! Whether you're propagating to share the plant love with your loved ones, or just wanting to multiply your plant collection, we wish you all the luck in the world on making some babies!