When your houseplants begin to crowd their pots, you may thin them out and create new plants by taking cuttings. Some plants may be propagated, or reproduced, by cutting off 1 of the stems or leaves and placing it in water or replanting it. Cutting the cane, or stem, off a plant is 1 method to propagate overgrown houseplants such as Chinese evergreen, yucca and Dumb Cane. Cane cutting propagation is an uncomplicated method to thin out overgrown houseplants while making new plants at the same time.
1Slice the base of a stem with a sharp knife.
- Avoid leaving a bare stub by cutting the stem near the soil. When you are reproducing plants with cane cuttings, using a sharp knife will ensure that you don't damage the rest of the plant.
- Dieffenbachia, or Dumb Cane, is a common houseplant. Dumb Cane produces sap when you cut it. Wear gloves to prevent sap getting on your clothes or in your eyes.
2Cut the stem into short pieces about 3 inches (7.62 cm) long.
- Use the pieces of cane that have a bud beginning to develop on it. Cane cutting propagation depends on utilizing canes that have buds on them. The buds will grow into new shoots.
- Discard the stalks that don't have buds on them. When you create new plants, you only want to use the canes that will be able to develop new growth.
3Fill a wide planting pot with an equal amount of peat and sand. When reproducing plants with cane cuttings, you want to provide a healthy soil for the canes to grow in.
- Pile the soil into the pot to approximately 1/2 an inch (1.27 cm) from the lip of the container.
- Mix the soil together. With cane cutting propagation, you want the soil prepared for the canes.
4Place each cane into the soil mix horizontally. You may place more than 1 cane in each pot.
- When you create new plants, be sure to have the buds on the cane facing upward.
- Press the cutting into the soil to cover about half the cane.
- Use a small piece of bent wire to secure the cane to the soil.
5Water the pot. When reproducing plants with cane cuttings, you need to keep the soil moist.
6Cover the pot with plastic wrap. With cane cutting propagation, you need to keep the canes warm. The plastic wrap will provide a warm environment to help promote healthy growth.
7Place the pot in a well-lit area. Do not leave them in direct sunlight. When you create new plants, you don't want them to get sun burned.
8Take the plastic wrap off the pot every couple of days to check on the growth of the cane and to add more water. When the new growth on the canes is approximately 2 inches (5.08 cm) long, you may remove the plastic wrap.Ad
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Things You'll Need
- Sharp knife
- Wide planting pot
- Plastic wrap