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Philodendrons are popular flowers that are easy to care for and do well indoors. This makes them a great choice for people who are just starting to take care of plants in their homes. Its heart-shaped leaves are shiny and add color and light to the room. Its thin, trailing roots add texture and fill the room.
These plants are very easy to care for and quickly become a favorite among plant lovers. You can also make more plants by cutting or dividing a stem, so you can enjoy even more new plants while you train your old Philodendrons.
Because there are several ways to make new Philodendron plants, this guide will go over them all in more depth.
Taking a cutting from a Philodendron is a quick and easy way to grow new plants. If you have never done it before, it might look hard, but it’s actually a very simple way to grow indoor plants. Cuttings are an easy way to make new plants, and they can be used with tall Philodendrons like the Philodendron Hederaceum or the Philodendron Lemon Lime.
To make a stem cutting, you cut off a piece of your Philodendron at the stem and grow it in water so you can plant it again and get a new plant. When you do this, you make an offset, which is a copy of the original plant. They will look just like the original plant, so you can add to your collection and enjoy the plant without having to buy a new one.
It’s best to start spreading Philodendrons in early spring, around March. This will give your new plant the best light so it can grow into a strong, healthy plant. Later in the year, you can divide your plant, but there is a much greater chance that the new plant will not survive.
To grow your Philodendron from a cutting, you only need to follow a few easy steps. In order to make a cut, you will need a small knife or scissors, potting soil, and water in a jug.
Picking the right part of the plant to cut is an important first step. A lot will depend on how healthy the cutting was for how healthy the new plant will be. Pick an older stem that is tougher and has more wood. The leaves on the stem you choose should be shiny and free of any flaws. The stem should be a single color. When you cut a Philodendron with different colored leaves, make sure the different colors are all the same color and don’t turn yellow.
A Philodendron cutting’s roots will grow from the base of a stem piece. A Philodendron that is healthy will have many smaller shoots coming off of the main branches at places known as nodes. Along the node, you should make a clean cut that is about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long. If you can, you should make more than one cutting, but don’t cut too much or you’ll hurt the original plant.
Once you have your cutting, you need to clean it up so it can grow right. Carefully take off the short stems and leaves from the cutting until you only have one stem and two or three leaves left. If you don’t protect the part of the cutting you want to plant from damage and growth, it will rot.
Getting new plants in dirt – Cuttings from stems need to be grown in the right soil. For Philodendron cuttings, the best way to grow new plants is to use moist potting soil that has been mixed with perlite or vermiculite. By adding these to the mix, you’ll make a light growth medium that the young roots can grow in. You can also help your young plant grow by adding rooting hormone to the dirt. You can get this at any good garden center; just be sure to carefully follow the directions on the package so you don’t kill your plant. Don’t press down too hard when you put your growth medium into a small pot.
To keep the cutting in place, water the dirt well and push it deep into the ground. Young plants can’t control how much water they take in, so put your pot on a warm windowsill that gets partial sunlight all day and cover it with plastic that lets air flow through. Once every four weeks, gently pull on your cuts to see if the roots are coming up. If the plant pushes back, it means it has roots.
Put your cutting in a clean glass or bottle of water and put it on a shelf that gets some sun all day. Every three to five days, change the water. Only use water that is room temperature so as not to shock the plant. The root system will grow over the course of about two months.
Once the roots are strong, it’s time to plant the cutting. Gather a pot with soil that drains well and leave a space of about an inch or two from where you want the soil level to be. To take the cutting out of the growth tray or glass, be careful not to damage or tear the roots.
As you slowly pile the rest of the dirt around the cutting and rootball, it will cover it. Do not press too hard, and water well.
A great way to get more plants is to divide a Philodendron that is too big or old. Each piece has its own set of roots, so new growth will show up in a few days, and your new plant has a good chance of living.
If you want to split your Philodendron, water it well in the morning to make the soil loose and moist. In addition to making it easier to split the plant, this will also give it plenty of water to help it handle the stress of being moved.
Take the plant out of its pot and carefully cut the roots into two or more parts, making sure that each section has at least two roots. Put your main plant back in its original pot and set the other parts away until you are ready to plant them again.
Taking cuttings and letting them root is the most usual way to spread Philodendrons, but air layering is another way. Usually, this method is used for woody trees and other species that are hard to root. However, it’s also a great and very low-risk way to spread Philodendrons.
Air stacking is a way to get your plant to grow roots on a stem before you cut it, instead of after. When used on Philodendrons with thick stems, it works best. Vining plants aren’t good choices, but that’s okay because they grow well in water.
Before you try, pick a spot on the stem where you want to cut it. Cover a close node with rooting hormone. Next, cover it with wet sphagnum moss and cling film to keep everything in place. Because of this, the node will think it has hit soil and start growing roots.
Check the moss often to see if it is still a little damp. After a lot of roots have grown, you can cut the stem right below it off. You now have a Philodendron cutting that has already roots and is ready to go into some nice aroid soil to grow!
It can be hard to get node cuttings in the right place for growing this way, but this should work well for stem cuttings.
To propagate Philodendron in water, all you have to do is:
You can put cuttings in soil right away without having to root them in water first. If you don’t care about how the cuttings look in water and want to be able to see the roots grow, you can put them right in dirt.
Remember that if you grow the cutting directly in soil, you won’t be able to tell if the attempt to propagate worked until the first new leaves appear on the cutting. In soil, success rates can be a little lower than in water because it can be hard to keep the dirt moist enough until roots form.
If you’d like to root directly in soil, here’s how you do it:
Trailing philodendron can be spread almost any time of the year, but not in the winter because the roots will grow very slowly then. It is best to take roots from a mother plant that is at least a year old and has been established for a while. You should also do this in the spring, summer, or fall.
Plant your hanging philodendron in a new pot every two years or when you see that the roots are getting tangled up or coming out of the bottom of the pot. In late spring or early summer, when the plant will be less stressed by its surroundings, is the best time to repot the plat.
You can cut your trailing philodendron at any time of the year, or you can leave it alone if you don’t want it to get too big. You can take off any leaves that are turning yellow or brown as you see them. You can also do bigger cuts once a year in the spring, but never take off more than a third of the plant at once.
