Rooting Sweet Potato Vine Cuttings

This spring I bought some Ipomoea batatas 'blackie' plants for my container garden and have decided to store the tubers and take some cuttings to try to root the cuttings indoors for next spring. Ipomoea batatas is better known as sweet potato vine or ornamental sweet potato and are related to morning glories and the sweet potato vine flower (see photo at link) has a remarkable resemblance to the morning glories you may have in your garden.

Sweet potato vines are common annuals and are easily purchased for your garden every spring and summer at the garden center but storing the tuber and rooting your own can save you a few dollars a year. Not only is this frugal gardening but you get to practice some plant propagation with a plant that is easy to root.

Rooting sweet potato vine cuttings is very easy and can be done in soil or water without the need for rooting hormones. In this example I'll be rooting sweet potato vine cuttings in water in a glass vase I already own. I removed the lower leafs and simply cut the vine right below a leaf node at a 45 degree angle. A leaf node is the spot where a leaf will or has grown out of the vine or stem of a plant- on the sweet potato vine it is easy to find because it is a small bump or lump in the vine. At this spot is where I expect the roots to form first on the sweet potato vine.

Your sweet potato vine should root within a few days to a week in a warm spot. Make sure to change the water daily or frequently to reduce the chances of bacteria or algae forming in the water especially if it is in direct light. When taking cuttings you should make sure that you're using a clean pair of scissors or a knife.

Rooting Christmas Cactus cuttings

Christmas cactus plants are popular plants during the holidays, they come in a variety of colors and are pretty easy plants to take care of and get to bloom. On my other blog I posted a entry on how to make your Christmas Cactus flower. Once you've managed to make your Christmas cactus flower you may want to move on to taking cuttings from your Christmas Cactus and rooting your Christmas cactus cuttings.

Christmas cacti, or Holiday cacti as they're becoming known, are succulent plants and when you cut or break off a stem you may notice a little bit of liquid or a clear gel leaking from the wound. This is normal, just let your cutting sit out for a day or two so that the end of the cutting begins to dry out. Once your cutting is prepared you can begin the propagation process simply by inserting the cutting into houseplant soil. I use regular houseplant potting soil that I sometimes amend with one third Perlite. Make sure you've inserted at least one segment of your Christmas cactus below the soil level. Keep your cutting in a bright and warm area away from direct sunlight and keep the potting soil moist but not soggy. If you want you can mist your cutting daily to help keep it moist. The cuttings that you took from your succulent plant will wilt and probably even shrivel but you shouldn't be alarmed.

A good sign that your cutting has started to root is the appearance of new growth at the tips of the older leaves. The new growth is smaller and thinner than the older leaves and sometimes a little reddish in color. Once the new leaves have started to grow on your cuttings you'll know that the cutting has started to produce roots below the soil. Once the new leaves start to grow you can begin watering the rooted cutting like normal and exposing it to brighter light.

You may also notice sometimes that leaves from your succulent plants fall or are broken off by accident or even on purpose. When that happens to one of your plants take the opportunity to propagate them and create new plants. Sometimes propagating succulents by leaf cuttings doesn't even require soil. See that entry and the links in the entry and notice how those succulents had started to grow roots without even being in soil.

Snake Plant propagation by leaf cuttings

Sansevierias are easy houseplants that are commonly called "Snake Plant" because of the leaf color or "Mother-in-law's tongue" because of the sharpness of the leaves. This plant is native to Zaire and requires moderate watering in the summer and very little in the winter-too much water will cause your plant to start rotting. This low light houseplant can easily be propagated by splitting the offsets from the main plant or taking leaf cuttings.

Snake Plant propagation by leaf cuttings is very simple but is best done with the solid-green variety. Taking cuttings of the variety with the white-yellow edges (variegated forms) will revert and produce plants with all green leaves. The variegated Mother-in-law's tongue is best propagated by making divisions of the rhizome if you want to keep the variegated leaves.

Choose a healthy and green leaf from your Snake Plant to propagate. Cut the leaf into 3-4 inch segments making sure to keep track of which side was the top and which side was the bottom of the cutting. Insert the cuttings into fresh potting soil making sure you have your pieces right-side up. If you accidentally insert the cuttings upside down the cuttings will not strike and grow into new plants. Keep the pot in a bright and warm area away from direct sunlight making sure the soil is moist without getting soggy. In about 3-4 weeks the roots of your snake plant cuttings will start to form but it may take a few months for the leaves of the new plants to start growing. With more time and proper care your Snake Plant can even begin to flower, the flowers are a whitish green color.

Similar post:
How to propagate Eucomis bulbs by leaf cuttings.

Instant Soup Cups-Hack

I've found myself throwing away a lot of these instant soup cups lately because we have guests and they eat these like crazy. It's not unusual to throw away 10 or more of these cups in one day around here. The other day as I was taking out the garbage and they kept falling out of the bag and it dawned on me that these sturdy cups have a use for gardening.

Take a sharp pencil and poke holes in the bottom and you can use these to start your gardening seeds until they grow big enough to transplant into larger gardening pots or into your garden. If you're propagating plants fill it with your favorite brand of potting soil and stick your cuttings in these and cover them with a clear plastic bag to trap humidity. They're sturdy enough to use for starting seeds under grow lights if you have an indoor garden light set up.

If you're an indoor gardener and have small potted plants in a window that may be too cold in the winter place the potted plant inside (make sure you poke holes in the bottom) this cup. The Styrofoam will act as an insulator and keep the roots warmer as the temperature near your window drops at night

Ceropegia Woodii-Air Layering Hack

I guess this method of propagating a Ceropegia Woodii can be described as air layering. Even though you aren't really wounding the plant by making an incision to make it produce roots in a certain spot. Here we're taking advantage of what this plant does naturally if you don't have a lot of confidence in your ability to grow from cuttings.

All I really do is set the tuber that this vine produces in a smaller pot that is filled with soil and I bury it in a little bit. It's important that the tuber you are trying to root isn't move or gets dislocated so anchor it in. Maybe with a piece of twine or a U shaped hook you make out of a paper clip or stakes made from toothpicks. Once I have the pots in a position where I know they won't be disturbed I just start watering the smaller pot as I would the larger plant until I figure that it has started to produce it's own roots in a few weeks or months. You can tug gently on the tuber and if you feel resistance then you know that it has started to produce roots. If it lifts up and you see no roots set it back in the soil and continue to wait a little longer.

Once you have observed the formation of roots in your Ceropegia Wodii you can then snip it off from the parent plant and continue to grow it as an independent plant and transplant to a pot that is one size larger. If you find that your plant looks straggly you can fill it out by wrapping the tendrils along the surface of the pot and allow it to form tubers and root itself. This has to be the easiest way to propagate Ceropegia Woodii because you don't really have to do much once you've gotten to this point other than wait.

If you'd like to read more about this plant based on my experience growing it see this link from my Rate And Review blog.

Echeveria-Hack

Echeverias are succulent plants in the Crassulacea family. These wonderful little plants are native from Mexico all the way down to northwestern South America.

The compact growth and lower water needs along with the interesting growth forms make Echeverias popular plants with gardeners in dry areas and with indoor gardeners.

Echeverias can be propagated from the offsets they produce but you can also hack and Echeveria so that it gives you plants from a single leaf. Hacking it this way will expand your succulent collection. You can use your extras to trade with other gardeners or to make a back up in the event something happens to your original plant. If you have a nicer variety you can do things like propagate these plants and sell on places like ebay or sell them as fund raisers for your favorite charity.

Since Echeverias often lose their lower leaves as they grow it's a good idea to remove these leaves when they're still healthy and propagate your succulent. Simply grab the leaf near the base where it is attached to the plant and twist and pull it off in one swift motion. Now set your leaf somewhere that's bright (no direct sun) and dry. Allow it to sit for a couple of days so that the cut callouses over-after a few days simply insert your leaf (like in the image above) at an angle and mist then with a water bottle.

Keep your newly potted up plants away from direct sun light so that they don't dry up. Mist regularly until you see the first signs of growth like in the image above. That's basically all there is to it. Some plants over time will lose the compact shape and growth that makes them so appealing so this a good way of reinvigorating your collection of succulents.