How To Take Cuttings from Trailing Houseplants

Whether you desire to add to your houseplant collection, or merely desire to learn how, trailing houseplants have to be the easiest plants to propagate.

Here, I established a Purple Passion Plant quite easily. 2 months old and it needs to be up-potted and centred properly in a new container.

Here's how:

Once trailing plants have enough stem growth and length, you can begin cutting off  12 inch segments, or even more - better to be longer than shorter. Cut the stem off below a leaf joint.

This Hoya has lovely rootlets already forming. Cut segments with these if you can. Several trailers have this form of root establishing on stems.

This Hedera helix Ivy has them as well.

The Purple Passion plant I established above had no rootlets. I just selected sturdy, healthy stems with leaves with buds at their base.

Gently pull and tease the leaves off the stem. At this axil joint, roots will develop.

Again, take a foot long sturdy length...

Remove all leaves from the bottom end and leave one or two leaves at the tip.

All I did was wind the vine portion with no leaves inside the base of a glass and situated it near a window in the bathroom. Indirect light and humidity from the bathroom is ideal to help initiate root development.

Every week, I would rinse and refill the glass with fresh water and now you can see, ample roots have established. It's time to pot up.

Please, don't wait too long to pot up. Once the roots are about an inch or so in length, it's perfect for soil. Too long, and the roots will struggle in a dryer medium, having been used to water all the time. Also, only so many nutrients are suspended in tap water and the plant will suffer too long without soil.

Take potting soil and dampen it a bit. Remove the vine stem from the glass gently and place into empty pot. Gently fill the pot with the dampened potting soil and tap the pot on a surface to help compact the soil. Be gentle, as tiny hairs are on the rootlets and you don't want the soil to damage them. I thoroughly water the pot at first, just after transplanting from the glass. I do not water the plant again, until the potting soil is dry. Overly watering these cuttings can result in root rot. You have to play it by ear.  Watch the plant for several days after you transplant it into soil. You will see foliage droop or curl if they either are too dry or too wet.

These two variegated hoyas were made by cuttings from one original parent plant. It's so easy!

Other plants that can easily be propagated this way:

German Ivy (Senecio mikanoides)
Pothos or Philodendron Vines
Peperomia
Plectranthus

Endless possibilities. 

Plant Profile: Hoya or Waxplant

Hoya carnosa or commonly known as Waxplant, is a common trailing houseplant for bright areas indoors.

The most attractive and wonderful feature to me: its flowers.

I can honestly say, these are some of the most glorious flowers to look at up close. Even in their clusters, they dumfound you - when you least expect this common houseplant to produce anything, all of a sudden clusters of wonderful flowers begin to unfurl.

From clustered buds...

...to starbursts...

... to unfolding little stars - they are delightful to me.

Depending on its exposure and watering, flowering can last up to a month or two.

Take a closer look at these waxy flower buds:

Beautiful as they are, they hold inside another design marvel...

Through 5 segmented star shaped, pubescent flaps, they urfurl to reveal another waxy star shape within. No bigger than a nickel coin, they are so beautiful and delicate.

This Hoya enjoys a south-west window exposure. Not overly root bound, yet quite firmly established. Since this February, fertilizer has been added every watering. Flowering duration: February - April and sporadic flowers throughout the year.

Thick, waxy leaves are quite resistant in my experience to pests. They can become chlorotic (yellow) without enough food. But easily remedied. The plant is easily propagated by stem cuttings and easily roots.

Try growing one for yourself in the house!

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) Brown Tips

There are about 40 species in the genus of  the Peace Lily Plant (botanically, Spathiphyllum). It's a fantastic house plant for low light or indirect light situations.

However they can be temperamental and finicky when the seasons change.

Here, not only are the tips of the leaves turning brown...

Entire edges of some leaves are turning brown and papery thin.

These browning tips can be caused by several factors:

1). overwatering
2). root bound - too small of pot
3). chlorine in water
4). lack of humidity 

Lack of humidity and chlorine I suspect are the culprits here. Since I moved, this plant has suffered every winter. I let it dry out between watering and water making sure that I don't overly soak the pot. 

Because I have forced air for heat, I try and relocate it during the colder months to avoid this from happening. I've even tried grouping it with other plants to create a more humid spot, but with forced air in the room fed by two heat vents, it's hard to maintain adequate humidity in the room.

On closer inspection, I've noticed water marks on the leaves from watering. 

My hard tap water is leaving marks as the water droplets dry. 

Hard minerals and chlorine in tap water is quite harsh on plants. Most house plants grow in soil-less mixtures and with the added loss of humidity, tap water can be tough on plant roots. From now on, I will use tap water that has sit for several days. Allowing the chlorine to dissipate. As for the hard minerals, I may use the water from my dehumidifier to see if it's any better for my plants.

For now, I have cut back any leaves that are browning. Any stems that have begun to have spots.

I filled boiled water in an atomizer and have sprayed this plant to help encourage new growth and to help it bounce back.

Spring is only a month away. Hopefully, my Peace Lily will flourish again and provide great flowering all year long!


  

Common Houseplant Pests Part 3 - Scale

Here's an Agave plant. Notice anything?

Take a closer look!

Brown fleck in red circle.

Here it is on a Yucca plant. And it's not damage or part of the plant.

What I've taking photos of are tiny insects called scale. Here they are feeding both on an Agave and Yucca leaves. There are several species of scale. Scale are sap sucking, flat discs - moving ever so slow, and multiplying under the radar. These insects go undetected until their numbers are high, unless you know what to look for.

I hate using chemicals. I avoid using them as much as possible. Unfortunately, with this practice, patience and perseverance are key and constant monitoring over a period of time is necessary to get rid of them.

This agave plant is young.  It's newly emerging leaves are also targeted by scale more so than then older leaves. The tender tissue of new leaves are more delectable for the scale to feed on. Easier for their mouth parts to tap into.

You may wonder where they come from. Sometimes they go unnoticed when you make the plant purchase or receive one as gifts. Scale eggs are laid in the "crotches" and crevasses of the base of the leaves. Adult lay them in protected areas. Once they hatch, juvenile in-star scale insects emerge. They migrate above their nested area and begin feeding. More often than not, you find greater numbers of scale insects towards the protected areas within the core of the plant. I consider them to be "lice" of the plant world. Real bother and difficult to get rid of.

Ever notice shiny, sticky leaves on your house plants and wonder, where did that come from? With scale and other sap sucking insects, you can detect their numbers by their excrement. They "poop" out honey-dew, the sappy remnants of their diet and it rains down on the foliage below. This poop is quite sticky and it makes the foliage shiny.

Be vigilant, by either gently scraping off the scale with your finger nails, or using a cloth or cotton swab (dampened by rubbing alcohol). If you find scale numbers too high to combat them individually, you can take a water bottle sprayer, and mix 1 part dish detergent, 1 part rubbing alcohol to 10 parts water. Agitate the spray mixture thoroughly. Spray the plant liberally, until all leaves, crevasses and crotches are soaked. After an hour or so, once the spray mixture has dried, take a dampened cloth with rubbing alcohol and wipe off the dead scale. This is important, as adult scale can have young eggs or newly hatched in-star scale marauding under their shells.  Repeat as necessary.  If you have a large house plant, and find it most difficult to spray, reduce it's size by pruning the plant. Less foliage means less chance for the insect to feed from. Reducing the bulk of the plant will eradicate many more insects than just spraying alone. If it cannot be pruned, wait to treat the plant until you can bring it outdoors. Treat then outside, where space and temperatures are more favourable.

In one experience, I had to repeat this process 4 times before I got rid of the insect for good.

Diligence pays off. It also becomes a learning process and a great tool in learning how the scale life-cycles persist. When it comes to plants, I'll give it my all to rid them of this pest.

Keep a close eye on your plants and it'll pay off.

This particular scale I've found on Yuccas, Dracaenas, Agave, Bromeliads and Sanseverias.

Worms in house plant soil...

"I have worms in the soil of my house plant".  On further investigation, this is not a worm, but a millipede.  When just touching them, they curl into a tight spring like circle.

Here's a closer view. Not to worry, millipede's eat decaying plant matter.  As you can see, the darker areas within the millipede are in fact soil. They help to decompose vegetation. So they are a good thing. However, when numerous are found, they may eat fine roots of the potted plant. So removal is necessary if you want to optimize plant health.

Easy to detect, as they curl immediately when touched.

House plant soil is primarily peat based and a great place for millipedes to hide and nest. There were over 15 found in the above pot - one house plant pot. This potted house plant was brought outdoors during the summer months and I believe the millipede laid an egg stash and once brought into the house, they hatched. Sometimes you find them in your house plant pots because they look to find food or a nesting area when they've made it into your home.  They have a great purpose: to accelerate the breakdown of organic plant matter, acting as "macro-decomposers."  If you find them in your house plants, remove them to your garden or compost bin. They sure are helpful creatures!

Amaryllis Update

July 12th

Given the unseasonably HOT start to the summer, my Amaryllis plant is starting to turn already. Usually this starts to happen around August/Sept - so, we'll see how much energy has been returned to the bulb.

Here is my previous post regarding the care of your Amaryllis.

July 17th

July 19th

The time when the plant expires, is when each blade of the Amaryllis foliage will begin to wither and wilt as you can see.  Allow them to completely wilt, so that the leaf can come easily free from the bulb.

July 23rd

Continue to water the Amaryllis still at this stage, but only to keep the bulb from drying out.

It takes a week or two for all the leaves to wither back.

Once all the leaves have withered, remove the bulb from the pot and gently tease the soil away from the roots. Keep as many of the roots as you can.





As you can see, there is a small leaf emerging from the bulb top. It looks familiar, doesn't it? Many amaryllis bulbs look this way in the fall when they are available to purchase. Not to worry, that just means the bulb wants to start off fresh again.







Right now, I am placing the bulb back into the empty pot (composted the used soil) and I will place it in my cool, dark laundry room for 2 weeks or so. I will keep an eye on it throughout the next weeks. Once the roots go limp and brittle, I will remove as many as I can without damaging the bulb. Once I've tidied up the bulb (don't leave too much debris, or mold may develop), I will place it in a bowl of vermiculite to keep it dry. Keeping it in a cool dark place until early November, when I plan to start the process all over again!

Hope yours stores well. What other medium do you store your bulbs in?

Here is my post on how to start the process all over again. Enjoy!

Cilantro (Coriander) from grocer....planted on.

Having had a craving for Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls today,  I stopped at my local supermarket on the way home to pick up some fresh cilantro. A fresh batch was just set out and I was delighted to see healthy, crisp roots still attached. Then my green fingers thought - these are perfect planting specimens!

Not only did I get the cilantro I needed for my dinner, but I now have an edge on getting a batch started for the summer.

I never start plants by seed, since I only have one full sunny window. Sniff, sniff, as I wish I could.

I just end up buying plant-lets at the garden centre which can be costly. Since this spring season has been so unusual temperature wise, I've been hastily waiting. I'm glad I didn't buy any cilantro. Instead, now I have plants and herb bliss in the making today!

First I took a good look at the bundle and separated the good bunches from the not so good ones. Then I rinsed them with cold water.

I then took each plant and took off the outer bulky stalks that are perfect for my recipe but too much bulk for my starter idea.  I left 2 to 3 stems of the new growth in the middle (having to remove the outer stalks sometimes by scissors, if the centre was thin).

I found one of my herb pots and filled it with 1 part compost and 1 part potting soil (leaving 2 inches from the rim). I poked holes with my finger and then gently wedged the cilantro roots down. 





Any leafy bits that looked wilted or that looked weak, I cut back.  This reduces stress on the planted roots. You've got to remember, this cilantro had a lengthy travel from the where it was grown to my kitchen. Many leaves and stems would of been bruised or damaged.



I didn't firmly pack down the soil, I watered it well until I found the soil settled nicely, making each stalk stand rigid.

I managed to get about 12 stalks in this 8 inch pot. Not bad for having paid $1.49 for the entire bundle. Hopefully in a few weeks, I can pick more fresh Cilantro!

Aged Terra-cotta

One of the blessings to having a new home, are the house warming gifts.

I received this wonderful Hoya  (Hoya carnosa ' variegata ' ) plant, potted up in the most unusual container. 





It came with directions. Mind you, not for the plant itself, but for the pot.

Campo de' Fiori Terra-cotta is the brand name of this pot and unlike any other I've seen, it's a "living" pot.

Simply by watering the Hoya contained inside, with good moisture conditions and in time...a coating of green moss will develop. As this pot is porous, those who gave it to me were kind enough to include a pot saucer, to avoid any moisture staining furniture. But if I want, I can easily use this outdoors during the summer as well.

I've only had it 2 weeks and it's already starting to show some green hints of moss.

I'll update the way it changes. Fun! Thanks Andrea and Lori!

Some other samples here