Top 5 Easiest Ways To Make More Plants! Our Favorite Plant Propagation Methods
Let’s talk about propagating plants. Because we all want to make more plants for free from the plants we love.
There are an unfathomable number of propagation methods out there so today we are going to go through our top 5 best ones!
1. Cuttings
The easiest and most common method of propagation is to take a cutting of your plant and simply place it in a container with the media of your choice.
Some plants will need the building blocks contained in a node (the bump on the stem where leaves grow off the stem) in order to produce roots and new growth.
There are other plants such as Peperomia or Begonia that only need a leaf or a stem in order to produce a whole new plant.
2. Division
Another method of creating more plants is to simply divide the plants. Many plants will grow whole new baby plants commonly called pups that can be cut from the mother plant and allowed to root in soil or water and grow their own root system if it was not already established before the cut. Dracaena and Haworthia are examples of plants that grow this way.
3. Corms or Rhizomes
Corms and Rhizomes are fleshy tubers created in the root systems of plants that have the ability to store nutrients and create whole new plants. They can be removed from the parent plant before or after they have sprouted and even chopped into pieces in some cases to have multiple plants sprout from the one Rhizome.
Plants such as Calathea have Rhizomes; like many other more invasive species. Alocasia has smaller round corms that can be found among their roots when repotting or digging them up.
4. Air Layering
This is a method of propagation that encourages a plant to create a whole separate self-sustaining root system while still attached to the original plant. This root system can then be cut from the original plant with a portion of the plant and you can either have a fully rooted cutting (no foliage) or a whole new fully rooted plant(complete with foliage).
This method does require some patience but poses less risk than other methods.
In order to properly air layer, you will need a moisture retentive media such as sphagnum moss or peat-based potting mix. You will also need some sort of moisture containment. There are ball-shaped encasements available online for this purpose or one could simply use a cut-up plastic party cup or even plastic wrap.
After you have these materials find a node on your plant. Press the material to the node and cover it with your moisture containment device. Secure. And then wait for the humidity to encourage your plant to grow roots. When you feel there are enough roots to sustain a new plant is when you cut under the now rooted node and have your whole new plant.
5. Seeds
Growing plants from seeds can be incredibly rewarding. Seeds can be collected from fruits, vegetables, trees, and even flowering houseplants. Your Plant needs to be pollinated. Some plants pollinate themselves while others need hand pollination if they are indoors or insect assistance from the natural outdoors.
After your plant has been pollinated a seed pod of some sort shall form(this can be in the form of a fruit or actual pod. After it has dried the seeds can be either removed, cleaned, and stored or they can be left in the pod and stored in a cool dry place. The needs of the seed processing will be determined by the type of plant and how it grows as will its method of germination.
Regardless of your method of propagation, researching your plant is always recommended. Experimenting with different propagation methods to determine what works best for you in your individual environment with your specific plant is a great way to increase your number of plants while learning more about your plant’s preferred care.
Published at Sat, 23 Apr 2022 08:47:40 -0700