It is honestly as easy as it sounds, but there are a few things you can do that will help your cuttings have greater success (and less chance of rotting).
Vessel - Glass jars, vases or essentially anything that will hold water and support your cuttings will do. Opaque vessels are the better option if you want to lower your chances of developing algae in the water. While algae is not harmful to your cuttings, it is a little unsightly and a bit of a pain to clean (especially in funky shaped vases or jars but I have a trick to clean them so keep on reading) Changing your water more frequently will also lower the chances of algae growing and sticking around.
Something to keep in mind when choosing a propagation vessel is to make sure the opening isn't too small, because once your cuttings start developing their juicy new roots, you want to be able to remove them from the vessel easily and avoid any damage to them prior to potting them up. Trust me on that one, I've had to break a prop jar before to remove my well rooted cuttings! Or I simply just leave them.... forever....like this Sansevieria propagation on the right.
Water - Just tap water is totally fine, but if you want to or have the ability to, rain water works great! Changing the water of your propagations is recommended (as previously mentioned) at least every two weeks. It helps to reduce any algae build up and also replenishes oxygen to your plants, which is important for good root development.
Feeding - Feeding your cuttings will get them off to a fantastic start, especially once you see roots starting to develop. I like to use Clonex Clone Solution or CCS for short, by Growth Technology. It is a specialised fertiliser for cuttings and seedlings and is perfect for hydro growing. A few drops is all you need and i usually do this once I see the roots starting to form. Growth Technology also does a Clonex gel, which you can use when you have taken your fresh cuttings to seal the cut which helps prevent any diseases and also provides some nutrients to kickstart your cuttings into developing.
Light - Cuttings require light to produce energy to start growing and developing into new plants (just remember, you have literally chopped them from their life source so starting again requires some serious energy!). Try to avoid direct sunlight for long periods as this can burn the leaves, but as bright of light as you can give them will work best. I have a dedicated shelf in my plant room to water propagations and they are supported with a small bar grow-light and some natural filtered light. It also helps to keep them somewhere warm if you can. Once again, keep in mind algae also loves light to thrive, so changing that water frequently really is key.
Plants - Now, not all our indoor plants can be water propagated but most of them can be! Below is a list of the most common plants we have in NZ that can be propagated in water (there may be more, but these are the most common)
Philodendron
Pothos & Epipremnum
Scindapsus
Monstera
Anthurium (with a stem cutting, although seeds & pup division are the most common form of propagation for Anthurium)
Cane Begonia (not rhizome Begonia)
Hoya
String of pearls, chain of hearts etc
Peperomia (although personally I think they do better in pumice or perlite)
Rhaphidophora
Ficus
Sansevieria aka Snake plants
Syngonium
Tradescantia
Now we know what kinds of plants can be propagated in water, let's talk about the parts of the plants we need to use to produce new plants successfully. Some will only root from the node, some will root from the stem and/or node and some will root from the petiole.
First, a brief explanation of some plant anatomy..
A node is where the leaf and petiole emerge from the stem. Nodes on plants like Philodendron and pothos also sometimes have aerial roots, which make for great propagation candidates.
A petiole is the part of the plant between the stem and the leaf.
Below are some example images of common indoor plants and their various parts so you can get familiar with what part of the plant is what.
When water propagating plants, you want the part where the roots will grow from, in the water so for example plants like pothos, Philodendron, Syngonium, Rhaphidophora and Monstera all need a node to be submerged in water in order for roots to form, like the Syngonium image above. This also goes for plants such as chain of hearts & string of pearls.
Plants such as Hoya, Peperomia (see top right image) and cane Begonia can be rooted from the stem, so as long as you have some stem submerged in the water you are good to go!
WHAT DO I DO ONCE I HAVE MY CUTTINGS?
Once you have your cuttings of the plants you want to propagate you can let them callus over for an hour or two (this just means the cut end dries out and somewhat seals the fresh cut which can lessen the chance of rot) but is not a necessity if you don't have time to wait. I like to remove any lower foliage off the stem that may be submerged under the water once it is in your vessel, as this can rot as well.
Fill your chosen vessel with water and fertiliser if you choose to do so, add your cuttings and thats it! Now we wait for those yummy roots to develop.
If you do get some algae growth in your prop jar, give your vessel a clean and remove as much algae as you can. A bottle brush works well for this, or if you have a funky shaped vessel, you can add a small amount of water and something abrasive, like fine stones or sand, then swish around in the vessel until it has scrubbed off the algae. Rinse and refill with fresh water and pop your props but in to keep growing.
Once your cuttings have rooted, with at least 4-5cm of root growth, they can be potted up into your substrate of choice. Keep potting medium moist for the first week or two as the cutting adjusts to its new growing environment.
Water propagating is one of the easiest & quickest ways to multiply plants, so have fun and I hope you found information in this blog useful :)
HAPPY GROWING!
-Kate
If you are outside of New Zealand and want to find some of the products i have mentioned, I have linked them below.
*I may earn a very small commission if any links are used, which i really appreciate if you choose to do so.
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So many good tips! Thank you Kate 💚