- Growing indoor plants from cuttings: This is how it works
- Indoor plants from cuttings: list of the top 10
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Many indoor plants can be propagated in just a few simple steps. Here you can find out which plants are easy to grow from cuttings.
Plants have a fascinating ability: They can completely regenerate themselves from just a few cells or parts. For some plants, such as the African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha), even a piece of the leaf is enough. This ability to regenerate can be used when propagating plants. We've put together a list of 10 houseplants where, instead of breaking the bank, you need a sharp knife to keep your specimen company.
Growing indoor plants from cuttings: This is how it works
Propagating plants vegetatively, i.e. not from seeds but from cuttings, for example, is basically quite simple. Nevertheless, there are a few things to consider. Cuttings should always be cut with a sharp and clean knife to produce a clean cut edge. Cuttings root particularly well if they are cut in spring or early summer, as the new growth period begins at this time anyway and the days are getting longer again, which strengthens the plants and promotes their growth. A length of ten to fifteen centimeters is usually sufficient. Then it is important to carefully remove the lower and excess leaves of the cut cuttings so that the lower centimeters are free of leaves and generally no longer have too many leaves, otherwise the cuttings will initially consume too many resources to take care of its leaves. A few nice, young leaves should be left, however. For this reason, do not use a shoot with flowers or flower buds.
Once the cutting has been prepared, it should be potted carefully in soil as quickly as possible. The lower, leafless part should be well covered with soil and lightly pressed down. Be sure to keep the soil moist at all times. A transparent bag slipped over the pot can help toincrease humidity. Once the cutting has been prepared, it must be placed in a place that is not too shady and you now have to wait until the plant begins to develop.
Tip: Our Plantura organic herb & seed soil is perfect for young cuttings. This is optimally tailored to the needs of young plants such as cuttings.
Alternatively, cuttings can also be grown in a glass with water. Again, the leafless part should be completely submerged. The water must be topped up regularly and also changed from time to time when it is cloudy. If the cutting is sufficiently rooted after a few days to a few weeks, it should be carefully potted.
Summary: Growing indoor plants from cuttings
- Always use a clean knife
- Cut to a length of about 10 - 15 cm
- Preferably cut in spring or early summer
- Use young, as little woody shoots as possible without flowers or flower buds
- Removing part of the leaves when planting the cuttings
- Grow in moist soil or a jar of water
In general: Your patience is required. Not every plant roots within a few days. Woody plants in particular often need a little longer. So don't give up after two weeks. However, if the cutting starts to rot, it's time to try again.
Indoor plants from cuttings: list of the top 10
We have compiled 10 houseplants below that you can easily propagate from cuttings at home.
1. Ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
Efeutute is ideal for propagation. Its long shoots occasionally form roots anyway and due to its rapid growth it is not particularly noticeable if you remove a piece. Both top and partial cuttings can be used for propagation.
2. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
In their home in the tropics, weeping figs grow into huge trees that develop countless aerial roots and look extremely impressive. Nevertheless, it is possible to easily propagate the houseplant, which is popular in Europe, by cuttings. Precisely because the young plants are not exactly cheap to buy, it can be worthwhile. Just one for thatCut off young shoots that are not very woody and root as described above.
3. Monstera (Monstera deliciosa)
You can never have enough of the Monstera, also known as window leaf, which is currently very popular due to its elegant leaves. And if it does, it is always a good gift for plant-loving hobby gardeners. If it doesn't form small offshoots anyway, it can easily be propagated with top cuttings. Success is particularly certain if a cutting is cut with an aerial root.
4. Zebra Weed (Zebrina)
This herbaceous houseplant is particularly suitable for hanging baskets. Zebra cabbage cuttings root quickly and easily in water.
5. Bubikopfchen (Soleirolia soleirolii)
Who doesn't know this small, herbaceous plant from their childhood. For children's birthdays, it's a great idea to paint and decorate pots and then plant the little bobbed heads in them, for example as a flowing head of hair for a face on the pot. Of course, this requires numerous small plants that can be grown from a mother plant as small cuttings and root very easily. Due to the small size of the cuttings, it may be advisable not to grow the cuttings in water, but to root them on kitchen roll or toilet paper that is kept moist at all times.
Dracaena)
Dragon trees should be topped regularly to encourage branching. You can simply put these automatically occurring cuttings in water and multiply them.
7. Cypergrass (Cyperus)
The decorative swamp grass from the tropics and subtropics does not need to be divided to propagate. It can easily be reproduced by cuttings. To do this, cut off one of the "umbrellas" with a five to ten centimeter long stem and shorten the leaves by a third.
8. Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
This Central American shrub is wrongly thrown away after Christmas, only to be replaced by a new specimen at Christmas next year. The poinsettia, whose large-scale industrial cultivation is very resource-intensive, is very perennial. So it would be a nice idea not just to use your own plantto bring the summer, but to use the top cuttings that result from pruning back in the summer to give colleagues and friends a little treat for Christmas.
9. Camellia (Camellia)
This beautiful flowering plant, which is also suitable as a houseplant, can be propagated from budless cuttings. However, these should not be cut in spring, but in August. Olive-colored shoots are best. Patience is required for rooting, as camellia cuttings take about eight weeks to develop roots.
10. True Aloe (Aloe vera)
The desert lily has long been known for its healing properties, such as sunburn and insect bites. Propagating the Aloe vera is not that easy, but it is always worth a try and a small challenge for the hobby gardener. For propagation you should choose he althy outer leaves of the mother plant. These are cut off with a clean knife in a length of about eight centimeters. Since the leaves tend to rot at the cutting edge due to their high sap content, the cuttings should dry for a few days until a thin film is laid over the cut edge. Then pot them in a soil-sand mixture (equal parts) so that about a third of the leaf is covered with soil. Keep constantly moist for the first four weeks while the foliage begins to wither somewhat until roots have formed. After successful rooting, let the soil dry out before watering again.
Note: About three months after propagating the cuttings, the young plants should be fertilized for the first time. An organic liquid fertilizer such as our Plantura organic indoor and green plant fertilizer is ideal for this, as it strengthens your plants over the long term and promotes root growth.
If you also want to grow new life from vegetable scraps, we recommend our article on regrowing, i.e. allowing plants to grow back.