First propagation I’ve done under a growlight — I put it through hell 😅. The earliest photo was during December as it struggled to grow by a chilly windowsill. And its bright red phase was when I was unwittingly scorching the leaves by hanging the growlight too close. 6 months in, I think I’ve finally found a sweet spot.
Is this a radiator plant? If so, how to propogate? I don’t see nodes and the stems are so short
0 likes Yes it’s a radiator plant! It does have nodes but since these grow so compact, node propagation isn’t v practical unless you have a variegated plant & want to preserve that in the props
0 likes They can be propagated by leaf. Even 1/2 a leaf! Like so:
0 likes I don’t see a pic. Here’s mine:
(This is a watermelon radiator plant but it works the same way w others in the family)
(Haha sorry I was still scrolling for my photo. Just posted)
0 likes The other half you can plant stem-side down
0 likes (You can prop either in water or soil — I like soil bc the roots are so delicate, they r prone to transplant shock. Keep them in a moist area like inside a ziplock bag w some holes poked for ventilation. Roots should come out starting ~2 weeks or longer, depending on how warm it is. New growth starting ~1 month
Okay I’ll try planting a few with the stems attached. How much stem should I leave attached? How many cm or mm?
0 likes In soil, just a little nubbin. Like 3-ish mm. It will still root with a longer stem, but I find that the extra bits tend to rot if stuck too deep in soil
0 likes Is that new propagation growth next to the that half leaf you planted?!
0 likes Yep!
0 likes I cut the stems off, left maybe 0.5mm and dipped in root powder then poked these leaves about 1/4 into the soil. I know they are quite close but I figured only one or two will actually grow. Will this work? How wet do I keep it or do I let it dry out between waterings?
Ya that looks good! Soil needs to be moist at all times. Not dry, but not sopping wet either. A good level is where the soil is dark, but it still feels fluffy. An easy way to get there is to put some plastic wrap over that white cover pot w some holes poked for ventilation. That way, you won’t have to water again, and also will be maintaining some humidity in the air around the leaves too, which will help them stay hydrated despite being cut
0 likes It’s sopping wet, do I need to restart? I keep doing that 😬
0 likes