Water you propagating today?

Now that I’ve introduced the topic of propagation, I thought I should share some of my propagation projects with you!

My husband and I lived in limbo last year (thanks to the hold on construction due to the coronavirus), but I certainly didn’t let that stop me from propagating plants on the go.

For the first part of the year, we stayed with my in-laws where I took over part of their kitchen/dining room space to propagate plants because it had the best lighting in the house…

Then, we move to my mom’s house where we stayed in a little flat on my mom’s property. It was a very cold space and my sister’s bedroom was much warmer than ours, so I turned it into a little ziplock propagation jungle! Things are obviously slower in winter, but I’m a firm believer that propagation is possible throughout the year.

Here’s a look at some of the plants I propagated in her room:

Variegated syngonium (Syngonium podophyllum albo-variegatum)

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might remember the huge variegated syngonium that I found in Mpumalanga last year. I split the plant up to share with others and have since been trying to grow plantlings from some of the vining sticks left behind. They started off in water and have since been transferred over to soil.

Look at how well some of the sticks grew!

Some of the sticks produced more variegation than others, but I can’t wait to see how they all turn out. In the words of @leafygreenfingers, there’s some big stick energy happening here!

Prince of Orange Philodendron

This little guy didn’t have a good start to life but he did improve once I gave him more humidity. Ziplock bags are great because they create little humidity domes that help plant cuttings take root!

Pothos n’joy (Epipremnum aureum ‘N’Joy’)

I was very excited about this propagation. This little guy was on my wishlist for a VERY long time, but it didn’t travel well and I ended up losing most of the plant. After experimenting with perlite and water propagation, it’s living life on top of the soil in a ziplock and is finally growing!

Philodendron Imperial Green (I think…)

This was once a small cutting I received in a swap in 2019, and it’s grown so much over the past year. It loved the ziplock bag life!

Watermelon Begonia (Pellionia repens)

I received these bare-rooted cuttings from Johannesburg and despite it needing some time to recover from shipping, it’s definitely made a comeback! It isn’t in a ziplock bag but is doing pretty well regardless.

Horsehead Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)

I originally had this cutting in a propagation vase, but it didn’t adjust well to the water. I then recently transferred it to soil and it has perked up and thrived since!

Philodendron Painted Lady

I can’t actually remember where I got these cuttings from, but I’ve had them for a while. I’ve recently potted and ziplock bagged them and they’re doing pretty well so far!

Hoya Carnosa ‘Tricolor’ and Hoya Krimson Queen

In addition to ziplocks, I’ve started experimenting with sphagnum moss. These tricolor and Krimson cuttings have been growing together in a sphagnum/leca mix (aka I ran out of ziplock bags), and are looking quite happy and cosy so far!

Calathea Medallion

Once upon a time, this was a big bushy medallion, but sadly it succumbed to spidermites. I cut all the leaves back, put the pot in a ziplock and left it alone, and now this calathea is coming back to life!

Fishtail hoya

I’ve had this plant for a couple of months but the growth has been reallllly slow. Hoya’s don’t like big pots so I’ve moved it into a small pot filled with sphagnum. I’ll continue to monitor it closely and am hoping it throws out some new growth in spring!

So all in all, I’m all for water propagation, but it’s been really fun to experiment with ziplock bags.

What are you propagating at the moment? Share in the comment section below!