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Reproduction of indoor flowers
Not every loose leaf will take root in the water. There are more reliable methods for propagating indoor plants.
Last time we were engaged in transplanting flowers, now it came to the old overgrown plants that need to be updated. Of course, all the methods discussed below are also suitable if you want to expand your home flower garden without financial costs or give someone a flower copy that you like in your home as a gift.
Experts advise to propagate indoor plants in spring and early summer. However, cuttings of fuchsia and geranium take root better in August-September.
So, the methods of propagation and the plants to which they are applicable.
1. Stem cuttings and leaves
Reproduction of indoor flowers
The most common method that can be used all year round. It is suitable for most indoor plants.
- choose a strong, healthy, non-flowering shoot (the stalk should be at least 7 cm long) or a sturdy leaf.
- cut it off with a blade or a sharp knife: the stem is below the node of leaves, the leaf is strictly across.
- place in soil.
Cuttings of a cactus, as well as large leaves of succulents (fat, stonecrop) must be pre-dried for several days before planting so that they do not rot in the pot.
Plants: , gloxinia, cacti and other succulents; , tradescantia, , balsam will easily root even in a glass of water.
Secrets of success
- Always plant multiple cuttings at the same time and don’t be discouraged if some don’t take root.
- Almost all cuttings (with the exception of cacti, succulents and geraniums) need moist air, so it is better to cover the pot with the cuttings with plastic.
- The pot must be kept in the shade, avoid direct sunlight.
- The temperature should not be lower than + 18 ° С.
A way for those who have a lot of time left. Pick a strong shoot and press it to the ground in another pot using a bent wire or hairpin. Layers take root rather slowly. An incision made in the lower part of the stem, which will be pressed to the ground, will help speed up the process. Separate a new plant when it is fully rooted and grows.
Plants: all kinds of loaches and ampelous with long, flexible stems.
3. Offspring
Offshoots are usually called lateral shoots that have developed from the main plant. They are cut as close to the parent stem as possible, so that the offspring remains with the roots, and planted in a new pot. The bromeliad offspring can be planted when they are about a quarter of the size of the parent plant.
Plants: cacti and other succulents, bromeliads (gusmania, ehmeya, and etc.).
Bulbous (for example,
), a kind of offspring is also formed – these are small onion babies. Planted in a separate pot, they usually bloom after 1–2 years.
4. Mustache
Everything here is like strawberries. If a young plant that has formed on the antennae already has roots, the mustache can be cut immediately, if there are no roots yet, the young plant should be dug in and only after rooting it should be separated from the main flower.
Plants: chlorophytum, tolmia, braided saxifrage, Kalanchoe Degremona.
5. Dividing the bush
To separate the daughter bushes and rosettes, they completely remove the plant from the ground, shake off the roots and carefully break the stem at the junction or cut it with a knife. In no case should you tear the plant apart!
Plants: violet, , , chlorophytum, arrowroot, ferns.
6. Air layouts
This method is used for overgrown plants with a long, bare stem that have lost their decorative effect. Estimate how much you would like to shorten the stem and make an incision in this place, removing the bark in an area of 1,5 cm. (Keep in mind, if the length of the cut is more than 60 cm, it is unlikely to take root.) This area of the stem should be overlaid with sphagnum and wrap with polyethylene, securing it to the stem with a wire in two places – above and below the notch. You will get a kind of hanging pot. After a couple of months, the roots will become visible through the polyethylene. When this happens, you can safely cut off the layers under the lower wire and root the new plant in the ground. Do not rush to discard the pot with the remaining “hemp”: with regular watering, you will get lateral shoots, which you can then also root.
Plants: , ficus, monstera, diffenbachia.
Entertaining botany
For the more enthusiastic, there are more sophisticated methods that yield equally impressive results. So, you can root:
- part of the sheet: it is enough to stick into the ground a small triangle cut from a royal begonia leaf, or a rectangle from a sansevieria leaf, to form a new plant.
- piece of stem: the old stem that has thrown off the leaves is cut into “sausages” and “planted” in the ground either horizontally or vertically. In this case, it is important that there is at least one knot on each piece of the stem. This method is good for dieffenbachia and dracaena.
- seeds: at a temperature of 16–20 ° C, you may well germinate “nettle” -coleus.
- disputes: all fern fans can observe at home how tiny green plate sprouts appear under the glass in a pot of spores.
In preparing the article, materials from the book by D.R. Hession “All about houseplants.”