I have enough plants in my garden- Said no one ever! We keep buying seeds, buying plants but there is one more fun, creative and cheaper way to do that and still keep adding more to your garden. PLANT CUTTINGS!! It’s almost like magic how a cutting from a plant can turn into a whole another plant in itself! It is not just free but it takes away the time that a seed would take to grow into a plant.
You can grow from herbs, succulents, flowers and even houseplants with this process. We are sharing a few here for you.
- Mint: The easiest and one of the most refreshing herbs. It is one of the easiest herbs to grow, from the cutting or otherwise. Simply cut a stem and place it in water for it to start developing roots. Just remember to change the water every few days to keep it clean and fresh. Once the roots start showing, transfer the plant to a small pot and wait for it to get strong and settle in its new home. After a month, once it is strong and has developed its roots, you can transfer it to the main pot. You can also directly plant it in the main pot, just be careful to take extra care.
- Pothos: Aka Money plant. Such a beautiful plant for indoors and outdoors. It adds to the green appeal in your home and lifts the space with its beauty. This lovely plant is just as easy to regrow from the plant. Snip a stem above the nodes and place in water till it starts to grow roots. Once it has developed roots, you can continue to keep it in water, in a vase or transfer it to a soil base.
- Geranium: You can grow this beautiful flowering plant by cutting the stem above the node with some leaves attached and transferring it directly to a pot with potting mix.
- Succulents: Easy to manage and tough to kill, these lovely plants can be propagated easily by cutting the stem and transferring it to a pot.
These are just a few to name and for you to start. The list is long with beautiful fragrant herbs like Rosemary, Basil to colorful additions like mums, azaleas. You can keep adding to your garden from friends and family or just nature.
Few things to remember before getting to clipping plants.
There are 4 categories of plant cuttings- Softwood, Hardwood, Semi-hardwood and Greenwood.
- Semi- hardwood cuttings are generally tougher and more mature. Cuttings from these plants are taken generally from mid-summer to fall. Examples of this kind are Camelia, Azalea, Honeysuckle which grow really well from cuttings.
- Hardwood cuttings are from plants that are perennials which can include deciduous shrubs, vines, fruit trees
- Greenwood cuttings are from plants which have non woody stems like herbs and some flowers like gardenia, dahlia.
- Softwood cuttings from plants with fresh new growth are taken in Spring and early summer.
The plant that you take the cuttings from is called the mother plant. Make sure the plant is healthy. Remember to take cuttings from a plant that is big enough so that when you take the cuttings, it does not harm or kill the mother plant.
The non woody cuttings are easiest to propagate, so if you are hesitant, try starting with this category and gradually move to others eventually.
Remember to get a sharp garden cutter so that when you are clipping the cuttings, it is not damaged. Making a clean cut increases your chances of growing a plant from the clipping. Cutting the plant roughly or pulling at it damages the plants root system at the cut and it will not be able to develop roots.
After you have successfully taken the clippings, remember to clean it up and place it in a clean jar of water or a good potting mix ( whatever the plant needs) and keep it in indirect sunlight till it gets strong and develops roots.
Lastly, don’t fret if a few or all of them die or are not developing roots. Gardening is always a learning curve and every mistake will teach you how not to do it next time!
