Propogating House Plants

How to propagate some common house plants

Most common houseplants are easy to propagate by simple methods resulting in easy to achieve results the do not require sunny but at any home on a windowsill. The basic principles are the same for any propagating.

Propagation normally involves the removal of part of the plant i.e. the stem, leaf or root and encouraging the cutting to form the missing parts of the plant. For example a stem cutting will be encouraged to form new roots creating a new plant. The key to propagation is to keep the cuttings alive and well whilst they re grows the missing parts. In the case of a stem cuttings they needs water to survive whilst the roots form, to achieve this you need to make sure that the compost is kept moist and has a good contact around the base of the cuttings. Insure the cutting are placed in a humid environment such as kitchen shelf. The humidity will stop the cutting drying out and reduce the cuttings need for water. In addition to water the cutting will need a constant temperature around18-19c to encourage cell division to create new plant parts, However if you do not have a glasshouse or propagating unit to produce the ideal temperatures a good place to start is in your house. It is important to remember that on a windowsill the temperature can soar during sunny periods of the day stopping new growth so pick your positions carefully. The conditions you create will dictate how long the new plant starts to form.

Ivy from internodal cuttings.

Propagating ivy is very simple because it has the ability to root from the areas on the stem between the leaf joints, normally most plants produce roots at or near the nodes (the area were the leaf joints the stem). But in the cause of ivy it is happy to produce new roots between these areas (internodal). Ivy also has a waxy leaf surface which helps prevent water loss during rooting. If you have never propagated plants before ivy is the ideal plant to start with as you are more than likely to succeed

Click hear to view the GardenAdvice.co.uk video clip

Geranium from stem cuttings

In 10 to 12 days you can produce new geranium plants from stem cuttings that are easy to take and will produce great results. At the end summer this is a great method for over wintering you geraniums and producing more plants for the following summer.

Mother in laws tongue

This plant has been a favourite since the Victorians first started to show an interest in houseplants. The leaf and the stem have combined to form a sword like plant structure that is the main characterises of plants. Mother in laws tongue became popular because it is very easy to propagate and stood up well to the fumes present in most Victorian houses from the gas lighting.

Propagation is simple you simply cut the plant stems into sections and place them in a pot and water. With mother in laws tongue the roots grow from the sections of the stem that form the cutting with new stems grow from the base.

Click hear to view the GardenAdvice.co.uk article on propagating Mother in laws Toungue

Christmas cactus

This is another houseplant in which the stem and leaves have formed together to create a very distinctive effect. The ideal time to take cuttings from Christmas cactus is after they have flowered in the late winter The plant is stimulated by short day length’s to form flower buds as it is important to keep the cuttings in full sunlight so they concentrate on rooting.

Click hear to see the gardenAdvice.co.uk video clip

Many other types of houseplant can be propagated by simple methods and the GardenAdvice team will be showing you how to carry out much of this propagation over the next few months. To receive a notification email when new houseplant articles are published drop us an email at houseplants@gardenadvice.co.uk using the words new houseplant articles in the subject line.