Stem cuttings are a great way to reproduce plants with no additional cost. All you need is a plant you want to take cuttings from, a pair of pruners (scissors will also work) and a glass or two of water. Here's how to do it:
- Take a cutting from an indoor or outdoor plant. You'll want a lengthy part of the stem so make your cut about six to eight inches from the tip of the stem. (In most cases, it's often best to take a cutting from the young, tender tips of the plant only.) Measure with a ruler or guesstimate its length and cut with a clean pair of pruners or scissors.
- Before dunking the cutting into the glass of water, remove all the leaves that would be submerged in the water. These leaves would rot otherwise and compete with root development, so just pick them off.
- Put the bare part of the stem into a container of water. Roots will begin to develop from the submerged leaf nodes (the part of the stem at which the leaves were originally attached) in approximately one to six weeks--this may depend on the type of plant you use. Coax roots into developing more quickly by placing only one cutting per container; this helps to avoid competition for water.
- Once the cutting develops roots, put it into potting soil without delay because the developing roots can adapt to the underwater environment. If this happens, the roots can rot when placed in the soil.
