I’m in need of water propagation tips! Recently have had NO luck with it and keep getting no roots and stem rot. I prefer propagating in other mediums but I feel left out hahah bc it should apparently “be easy” 😭 I let my cuttings callous for a day before placing them in tap water that gets changed every week. My most recent props were placed about a foot away from a south facing window, and a couple feet away from a radiator. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hey! I do water propping a lot too and rarely have issues so maybe if I explain how I do it, it’ll help? For most of my props, I use scissors that are sharp and clean. After snipping, I immediately dip it into cinnamon. This will help it dry out faster and prevent any bacteria or fungal issues. Next, I leave the plant to callous under a bright window- I usually wait around 6 hours because I’ve found over night, some plants get upset and start wilting. Once calloused, I take my nail and gently try to scratch the cut. If it’s hard, I put it in water. If it’s not and still oozing, I leave it a bit longer. I then place it in a sunny spot on my window sill (south window). The Sun should be directly hitting that spot at some point during the day, preferably morning and afternoon. You’ll start to notice little bubbles near the cut where you put the cinnamon. This is ok - don’t disturb the bubbles. I do not change the water during rooting. Our tap water has a lot of minerals and salts and in my opinion, changing the water too frequently can make the plant rot faster because the new water is too harsh. I use a really tall, deep cup. This allows me to fill it up ONE time and it’ll last a long time before I need to cap it off. This will help prevent you from forgetting it exists and it dries out. LASTLY, I also add just a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the water. Like a squirt is enough. Hydrogen peroxide is basically water with an extra oxygen molecule. Putting some in your water will make your water bubble up under light and those bubbles will form directly on your plant. This is GOOD. Think of it as air pockets around the plant so it’s not 100% “submerged.” I just forget it exists at this point and they usually root with no problem when I do it this way! Hope this helps. If you wanna try alternate methods, perlite double potting also works great!
8 likes
These are such good tips! Any tips for perlite double potting? I have perlite but only use it for mixing with regular soil, I saw on the bag that you can also use it by itself for propagating but I haven’t tried yet 😮
1 like The way I do it is by filling a tall cup (get the gas station ones or coffee shop that’s see through) with a slushee cap, cut 4 holes around the bottom, fill it up with perlite, and then put it in a saucer of water. You can put plants directly on the perlite and close the cap. It’ll maintain perfect humidity for rooting most aroids, Hoyas, I’ve even done money trees this way. Just make sure the base of the plant isn’t touching the water level. It should be suspended above water level in layers of perlite. Put it in a sunny window and forget it exists. The slushee cap with the hole helps with aerating the container so it gets fresh air. Just keep filling up the reservoir every week after that! ☺️
2 likes Wonderful advice! Thank you so much. Your detailed answers are always appreciated!
1 like Anytime!! I can talk plants all day hehe. It’s nice to find people willing to read and listen 🥰💚
3 likes
You can also use rooting hormone. I haven’t tried it but I’ve seen it recommended often.
1 like