How to Propagate Houseplants

Plants like ivy, coleus, scented geraniums are easy to divide just by taking simple cuttings and growing them into whole new plants. Learn how to propagate houseplants in this Better Homes and Gardens video:

The easiest way to propagate houseplants is in water using simple cuttings. When you see white roots appearing, the cutting is ready to plant. Don’t leave cuttings in water too long as the roots will become acclimatized to water and not be able to adjust to soil. A root length of 1/2 inch is about the most you need for proceeding with planting. When you’re ready to plant, just remove the cutting from the water and place it in a pot with potting soil. If you’re concerned about the plant drying out, put a plastic bag over it; you can add chopsticks or pencils to tent it out. Put the plant in indirect sunlight to keep it moist. You’ll know the plant is growing roots and becoming established if you tug on it lightly and it does not come out of the soil. It’s now ready to be given away, or you can let it grow larger and put it in another pot.

Instead of water propagation, you can also put a rooted cutting directly in soil. Fill a pot with potting soil. Using disinfected cutting shears, cut off a few inches of the plant, pull off the lower leaves, and apply rooting hormone to the cut stem. Make a hole in the soil with a pencil, and insert the cutting in the soil. Moisten it well and cover with a plastic bag. Check it every few days to see if you get resistance when you tug it lightly to confirm it’s growing roots.

Certain types of houseplants like aloe vera and spider plants will develop offshoots called pups, making for easy propagation. The pups can be carefully pulled off the main plant (make sure to include the leaves, stem and root) and potted separately from the main plant.