Propagating a Few Houseplants

January is my time to pay more attention to my houseplants. Crowded pots need dividing and give me the opportunity to share plants with friends. Some folks even sell their newly propagated plants on social media sites hopefully for enough money to cover the potting soil and pots. If you are using old pot, wash them with a 10% bleach and water solution to eliminate any old plant diseases. Use fresh potting soil. I buy a larger bag from my local independent garden center. Woodland Gardens near me sells their own bagged mix I love. It is well draining and I have great success with it. Well draining is key to keep the roots from being too wet and giving opportunity for root rot diseases to invade.

Pots need drainage holes.

Pots need to have drainage holes in the bottom to allow excess water to drain into a saucer or dish. Always poor off any water from the saucer after watering. Never let the pot sit in water or the dreaded root rot can happen.

Fill pots to within 1/4 inch of the top edge.

Use a bowl to hydrate the dry potting mix from the bag. Give it a few minutes to soak the water, then spoon or trowel it into the pot being used as the home for the new plant. Fill the pot to within a 1/4 inch of the top lip of the pot. This ensures good air movement over the surface of the soil and leaves just enough space so that the water will run out of the planter over its edge.

Christmas cactus cuttings in water.

Christmas cactus leaf cuttings after several root of sitting in water to develop roots.

From the Christmas cactus above, I twisted off a few leaf segments. I prefer to set them in water for a few weeks to initiate roots to grow, then plant them in potting mix. Another option is the stick the cuttings directly into moistened potting mix allowing the leaf pieces to set roots directly in the soil and container. The soil must be kept damp until the roots have grown enough to anchor in the soil. Both ways work.

Make a hole.

Make a hole to insert the cutting or cuttings.

Three cuttings are placed in this one pot.

It may look a little sparse in the above plant, but it will fill in soon.

Haworthia

Haworthia is a wonderful succulent that sets baby plants at its base. These baby plants can be twisted off the mother plant and stuck directly in moistened soil. Again keep soil moist to develop a new root system. Examine the mother plant to see if it needs repotting if it is root bound. Sometimes just removing the newly produced babies will give the old plant enough room without repotting.

Removed Haworthia baby plant.

Above photo shows the Haworthia baby right after being twisted off of the mother plant. See the attachment point where new roots will emerge once replanted.

Newly planted Haworthia babies.

Keep damp to get roots to grow. Rooting hormone can be used on the bottom tip, but not necessary as they root so easily.

Spider plant.

Spider plants send out long shoots with new plants at the end. Shoot growth will continue to grow adding more baby plants as they extend their reach. In the wild, the new plants will land on a fertile spot and anchor in via new roots produced from the baby plant. As a houseplant these babies can be cut from the shoot and planted directly in moist potting soil or rooted in water. Spider plants are very easy to grow and propagate in vegetatively.

Close up of shoot and new spider plant baby.

Rooting babies in water for a few weeks.

Potted up new spider plants.

by Carol Quish.

 

Holiday Plant Care

Did you receive a plant during this holiday season? Poinsettia, holiday cactus and rosemary trees are filling the shelves in greenhouses, grocery stores and even big box stores appealing to the giver to gift a plant lover on their list. While they are beautiful plants, they will need the correct care to keep them that way and in good health.

The familiar red foliage of the poinsettia plant are modified leaves called bracts. They surround the actual small, yellow flower at the center of the red bracts. Once the pollen from the flowers are shed, the bracts are dropped from the plant. Chose plants with little to no pollen for the bracts to be retained for a longer length of time. Plant breeders are developing different colored bracts, including variegated, offering many options than just red.

photo by Dawn Pettinelli

photo by Dawn Pettinelli

Poinsettias should be treated as houseplants as they are native to Mexico and will not tolerate cold temperatures. Keep the plants out of the way of drafts and not near cold windows. They prefer six hours of indirect light daily, and inside temps of 60 to 70 degrees F during the day, with night temps a little cooler. Water when the soil is dry, then drain excess from saucer or foil wrapping. Remove the foil wrapping to increase airflow to roots. Continuously wet soil will invite root rot, a common killer of poinsettia. Fertilizer once per month whenever the plant is not in bloom. Plants can be moved outside for a ‘summer vacation’ as long as they are located in dappled shade. Bring them back inside before frost in the fall. To coax the plant to flower and produce red bracts again the following year, put the plant into a dark room or closet for 12 hours at time for at five to six days in a row. Provide bright light during the other 12 hours of the day. This light/dark cycle triggers the photoperiodism mechanism within the plant to flower.

Christmas cactus is another favorite holiday plant that can live for many years if properly care is given. They commonly come in shades of pink, white and even yellow. Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi) bloom around the end of December, and Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) bloom about a month earlier.  In their native environment, they live in the crotches of trees up in the forests in Central America. Known as epiphytes, they root in decomposing organic matter (leaves) which catch in tree branches. Both require the same care and dislike being overwatered. Provide well-draining potting mix such as cactus mix, and allow soil to feel dry on the surface before watering. Clay pots are a good choice for holiday cactus, and both flower better when slightly root bound.

Holiday cactus needs full sun in spring and fall, and can be placed outside in dappled shade during the summer. Fertilize with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer once every two weeks during the summer growing season. Bring in plants before first frost and never let them be in temperatures below 50 degrees F. They will need a rest of reduced watering after flowering, usually during the winter months. Shortened days and longer nights of fall trigger the plants to set flower buds. Cooler temperatures below 68 degrees F also help buds to form. Household lights turned on can interrupt the 12 hours of darkness needed, resulting in reduced bud formation. A cool, spare room not used at night is the perfect location to initiate flower buds.

Rosemary tree. photo from University of GA

Rosemary plants pruned into the shape of an evergreen tree are popular and useful gift. The leaves are a culinary herb used in cooking. It is a tender perennial, grown outside in the summer and can be brought in for the winter treating as a houseplant. Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean area, giving a clue to its needs for good drainage, warm temperatures and good airflow. It does better in a terra cotta or clay pot rather than a plastic one. Clay allows the soil to dry out more. Set the potted plant in a south or west window to receive six to eight hours of sun each day during its inside time during the winter. I summer, sink the pot and all in hole in the garden making it easy to bring inside next fall before first frost. Repot once a year in either spring or fall as they easily become root bound. Prune whenever you need to harvest the leaves for cooking.

The biggest problem with growing rosemary indoors is powdery mildew, a whitish/grey fungal disease. Fungicides are not recommended since the plant is edible. Neem oil is the exception and can be used on light infections, then washed well before eating. Locate the plant in a spot where the plant will have lots of airflow, not be crowded, and let the soil dry out completely before watering. If the air in your home is too dry, the needled leaves will dry out. With too much humidity, powdery mildew can develop.  Fertilize in the late spring when moving the plant back outside.  Herbs don’t need much fertilizing and will produce better on a lean soil. Over-fertilized plants are more prone to powdery mildew infections.

-Carol Quish