Growing plants by water propagation is such an enjoyable experience for oneself, as well as for one’s family and friends! The fact is that there are many house plants you never thought could be rooted this way can easily be rooted with just water.
Here you will learn how to water propagate a variety of house plants, and get useful tips to help you succeed!
Houseplants That Can Be Rooted in Water
Houseplants can be rooted in water in so many different ways. Water propagation is my preferred method, but you can propagate directly in soil as well, for a few reasons:
Quite simply, the biggest reason I prefer water propagation is that you can easily see the roots and know that it worked!
Listed below are indoor house plants that are propagated by water. No, it’s not a comprehensive list, but maybe it’ll give you some ideas! What do you think?
Propagating pothos is a favourite pastime for many. It’s easy to care for both the “standard” pothos (Epipremnum aureum) and the newcomer and wildly popular “Cebu Blue”. Here’s my guide to pothos.
In case you have had trouble propagating Pothos, you might want to read my blog post on the top 10 reasons why your Pothos cuttings are not rooting.
The philodendron comes in many varieties.
It is easy to propagate spider plants by propagating their pups or plantlets, which usually already have roots for you.
Pilea peperomioides, also known as the Chinese Money Plant, is coveted and extremely popular.
After the pups have been separated, you can place them in water and let them root for a while before potting them up.
African violets can be propagated by cutting a leaf, along with the petiole (the stem that attaches to the leaf), and it will root at the base of the petiole and produce roots and pups. The following care guide will help you take care of your African violet.
Peperomias, including watermelon peperomias, are easy to propagate in water, following my description of African Violets above. Place a piece of the petiole from the leaf in water then cut a leaf from it.
Water is ideal for propagating SUCCULENTS! In succulent propagation you must let the cuttings dry in air for at least a few days before transplanting them.
The rationale behind this is that the cut must callus over so as not to rot when placed in water.
Taking a leaf cutting from Sansevieria (Snake plant or Mother-in-law tongue) and propagating it in water is very easy. However, you need a lot of patience since it is very slow!
The Christmas cactus and the Thanksgiving cactus can also be propagated by water.
It is extremely easy to propagate string of hearts in water. It is possible to propagate string of [insert anything here] in water (including string of pearls, string of bananas, etc.).
Tips for Water Propagation
The process isn’t very complicated, but here are some tips for ensuring success with water propagation:
Remember to change your water frequently! You will want to pay attention to the water quality. My water is changed at LEAST once or twice a week. It may be necessary to change the water more often if it appears dirty or cloudy.
You should keep your cuttings completely out of the water to prevent water evaporation. Your cutting may die quickly that way depending on the type of plant you are propagating. Keep your cuttings in a place where you are likely to keep an eye on them!
The next tip is crucial! Some people have told me that they aren’t able to propagate pothos. And pothos is most likely the easiest plant to propagate!
Many plants such as Pothos and Philodendron require careful cutting in order to ensure the inclusion of a node. Node is the area in which the stem and leaf meet in a plant.
The cuttings will grow roots in those areas. In many cases, aerial roots have already started to grow. For example, see the following photo of a pothos vine.
The vine should be cut right where the black line is. You can already see aerial roots growing at the node (where the leaf meets the vine).
In addition, cut off the bottom leaf so that you can insert the vine into whatever vessel you choose to propagate in.
Anything that has become very woody would NOT be a good candidate for cutting off and putting in water. You should use air layering in these cases. This method works wonderfully for plants like Ficus, which grow very woody stems.
If there is any foliage below the surface of the water, you will want to remove it. Keeping your water clean will prevent rotting and help prolong its life.
You should remove any seeds or flowers from your cutting in order for it to fully concentrate on making roots. Your plants will bear more flowers later after they have rooted and been potted.
You should be careful when making your cuttings to root in water. Make sure they’re not obscenely big. The shorter the cutting is, the easier it is to root it. If you can, stick with cuttings that are about four inches or so if possible.
Keep your cuttings out of direct sunlight. You can put some direct sunlight on the cuttings in particular the morning sun, but do not expose them to long hours of harsh sunlight while rooting.
Don’t give up if some cuttings don’t take. Not every cutting will be viable, so don’t take it personally.
Once you have roots that are about 2-3 inches long or more, you should consider potting your cutting! Plant cuttings into the soil as soon as possible. The roots will transition more easily to the soil this way.
Extra Tip to Enhance Rooting
You don’t need to do this step, but it will certainly help speed up the rooting process. Try it out for yourself!
Seaweed extracts are amazing products since they naturally contain hormones that increase rooting success rates. Just add some of this to your propagation solution to make your cuttings explode into growth!
In addition to being used for water propagation, you can also utilize it as an amazing natural supplement for plant growth, be it houseplants or otherwise.
Water Propagation Stations
Is it your goal to have a beautiful and amazing water propagation station? Wanderlush Interior has the following propagation stations! I have the first one myself and love it!
You can order from them anywhere!
That’s all I’ve got! Do you want to share your successes (or failures!)? Leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you!
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