You can propagate many of your favorite interior plants with little difficulty. There are several ways you can start new plants. You can start some from seeds, but seeds usually take longer than cuttings. A plant developed from a cutting will be exactly like the parents in all ways; its height, flower size, color, fruit and foliage. Cuttings are the only way to propagate many plants either because they will not set seed, or because the seed they do have will not produce the same plant.
There are several methods of getting new plants started. Some of these are tip cuttings, air-layering, divisions, leaf-stem cuttings, and root cuttings. Some plants can be started by more than one method.
- Tip Cuttings This is used for plants with long stems and leaves along their length. Cut the stems about four inches from the tip. Some plants that are propagated this way are begonia, coleus, geranium, hoya, ivy, philodendron, pothos, and most soft-stem foliage plants.
- Air Layering Foliage plants with thick, fleshy stems (dieffenbachia, schefflera, rubber plant, dracena) are readily made to root without cutting off the top. If the plant becomes leggy, select a spot about six inches below the bottom half and make a slanting cut halfway into the stem. Insert a stick to hold the cut open. Firm a handful of wet spaghnum moss about the size of a baseball around the cut and cover completely with aluminum foil or clear plastic. Secure at the top and bottom with plant ties. After several weeks, when you can see white roots in the sphagnum, cut off below the roots and pot up; then water. You can cut the remaining long stub of dieffenbachia or dracaena into 2-inch lengths and bury them in a moist medium to get more new plants.
- Leaf-Stem Cutting Certain interior plants (African violet, gloxinia, peperomia) can be started from leaf-stem cuttings. Just select a medium-mature leaf and cut it with a 2-inch stem or petiole. Stick cut leaf-stem in a good rooting medium. When several new leaves develop, transfer each plant to a pot. If a leaf produces several plants, separate and pot individually.
- Division Some interior plants produce more than one plant from the crown (African violet, fern, aspidistra, nonvining philodendron). When they become crowded, it's an easy matter to separate the cluster and pot the individual pieces to make better specimens. You can cut the plants apart, or simply pull them apart if the roots are not too intertwined. Divide so each section has a good root system. Pot, water, and keep shaded for a few days.
Other methods would include burying part of the runners from vines. After they have rooted, cut off the new plants and pot them. Thick veins of Rex begonia leaves can be cut in intervals and pegged on a moist rooting medium to take root.
Rooting Foliage Plants
Do you have some foliage plants that you would like to propagate so that you can have several smaller plants to use yourself or give away? If so, taking cut tings of these plants is an easy route you can take.
- Type Cutting To Take The growing tip, whether it is the central leader or a side branch, is usually the easiest and quickest part of the plant to root. Some plants will root from leaves (example, African violet and begonia), but most root from a stem. Retain as many leaves on the cutting as possible.
- How To Take Cuttings When taking cuttings, cut the stem about 4 or 6 inches long. This is the ideal length for cuttings. This provides a couple of inches to be stuck down into the rooting medium and leaves a couple of inches above to carry on the growth processes. You may choose to break off the cuttings rather than to cut them with a knife. If you use a knife or pruning shears, steril ize between each use to reduce the chance of disease.
- When To Take Cuttings Most foliage plants root much faster during the spring and early summer due to increased sunlight and temperature. Everything seems to grow much better in the spring. However, if you have a plant with a broken limb and you want to save the plant, take cuttings at that time since by spring your plant could be dead. Remember that it takes a little longer during the fall and winter months, and you will usually have to provide a little extra care.
- Rooting Media After the cutting is made, place it in a good sterilized rooting medium, one that will hold enough air and water for root growth. Many rooting media hold enough water, but do not provide enough air space. Oxygen is essen tial in getting plants to root properly. There are many media that are used. Many people use sand, but sand is often full of organisms that can harm the cuttings. Even when sand is sterilized, it does not provide the proper air-water balance. If you are going to use sand for rooting plants, make sure that you use a coarse sand and not the extra-fine sand that is commonly available. Coarse sand is hard to find, but it is best for rooting and mixing into the soil mixture. PEAT MOSS is often used as a rooting medium. It works well on plants that require a wet medium, but on many of the more succulent plants it does not work very well. A mixture of peat and another constituent has a better air-water balance and is usually better for rooting most plants. If you use peat moss, make sure it is peat moss and not peat humus. PERLITE is sometimes used, but is better in a com bination with another component. It is sometimes used under a mist system be cause it drains very rapidly and does not hold an excess of water. It is good to use with peat moss. VERMICULITE has been found to be one of the best media for rooting cuttings. It holds the proper amount of water and air but can be easily overwatered. Vermiculite is sterilized, and if kept moist (not wet), it should provide an excellent rooting environment free of disease organisms.
- Rooting Hormones Some people use rooting hormones to speed up root forma tion. Many of the interior plants that you have are easy to root and do not require a rooting hormone. However, if you have tried rooting a certain plant before and had problems, you should probably try one of the rooting hormones. If you do use a rooting hormone, make sure that you read the directions and follow them very carefully. Some common rooting hormones are "Rootone," "Hormodin," and "IBA."
- Containers and Depth of Media Almost any type of clean container can be used for the rooting of cuttings. The container should be a minimum of 3 inches deep and may be up to 6 inches deep. The container should be cleaned and steril ized. The best method of doing this is to use one part household bleach and nine parts of water, i. e. one pint of bleach and nine pints (1-1/8 gallons) of water . It is best to wash the container well and then soak it in the bleach mixture for 30 minutes to one hour. After soaking, let the container dry thoroughly before using. The most widely used container for rooting cuttings is the flat. Both wood and plastic flats have been used successfully. Other containers that can be used are clay and plastic pots, hanging baskets and almost any container that is clean, sterilized, and of the proper depth.
- How Long Until It Roots This will vary according to the plants. Many soft-stemmed cuttings will root in a few days if given high humidity and warm tem peratures. Roots will form faster if the rooting media is kept between 75 to 80 F. Some cuttings take three to four weeks, so don't give up on them.
Check them after the first week and periodically thereafter. Determining whether a cutting has formed roots takes a deft touch. Gently tug on the stem of the cutting. If there is no resistance, the likelihood is that the roots have not formed. When roots form, transplant to a good, loose mixture. You should have good success if you use vermiculite to root in and then transplant to the potting mixture.