Caring for houseplants is a rewarding process, especially when your hard work is rewarded with healthy, lush plants. If you have houseplants in your collection that are growing rapidly, why not snip some off and share them with friends? Propagation is the process of creating new plants from a parent plant, and it’s a great way to grow your collection or tame unruly growth.
That said, not all houseplants take kindly to propagation. After planting your cutting in a small container filled with soil or water, you may find it dies just a few days later. To help you avoid this, we asked gardening experts to share which houseplants are easy to grow from cuttings. Here’s what they said.
Pothos
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Pothos (Epipremnum spp.) is a classic houseplant that’s known for being easy to root. “As long as you have a node (a dormant growth point where the stem meets a leaf), you can typically grow pothos from a single leaf or a longer cutting with several leaves,” says Justin Hancock, horticulturist at Costa Farms. “Clip your cutting and pot it in moist potting mix, sand, perlite, vermiculite, or your medium of choice.”
- Size: Depends on variety
- Care requirements: Bright light; well-draining potting mix
Heartleaf Philodendron
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A cousin of pothos, heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum) is another easy plant to grow from cuttings, says Hancock. Cut a stem from the parent plant just below a leaf node. Remove the bottom leaves, leaving at least three leaves attached to the stem. Place the cutting in a container with moist potting mix.
- Size: 3 to 13 feet long, 1 to 3 feet wide
- Care requirements: Bright, indirect light; well-draining potting mix
Monstera
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Monstera (Monstera spp.) are some of the most sought-after houseplants of all time, says Chuck Pavlich, new product development director for Terra Nova Nurseries. The most common species is monstera deliciosa, which boasts large, deeply cut leaves. “Monstera can be rooted in water or in a moss cocoon,” says Pavlich. “Moistened moss can be wrapped around a stem and held in place with twine. The moss must be moistened daily to get roots activated. Once the roots are several inches long, the segment can be cut off and potted up.”
- Size: 15 feet tall x 6 feet wide
- Care requirements: Medium light; well-draining potting soil
Echeveria
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Echeveria (Echeveria spp.) are low-water succulents that are just as easy to care for as they are to propagate. “Just pop a leaf off, let it sit for a day or so to develop a good scab, then pot it up in a cacti and succulent mix,” says Hancock. “It’s a slow grower and can take quite some time to put on size.”
- Size: 1 to 12 inches tall x 4 to 8 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright light; cacti and succulent mix
English Ivy
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English ivy (Hedera helix) comes in a variety of beautiful ornamental forms, including variegated, ruffled, margined, splotched, and even pure gold, says Pavlich. No matter the type you’re growing, English ivy is easy to propagate. Cut 4- to 6-inch stem sections and root them in a container filled with water or moist perlite, Pavlich says.
- Size: 3 to 8 feet long x 1 to 5 feet wide
- Care requirements: Bright light; well-draining potting soil
Spider Plant
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Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are popular houseplants that produce small plantlets that look like baby spiders, making propagation a breeze. “Spider plants produce offsets that naturally dangle and root themselves when they touch soil,” says Pavlich. “In many cases, plantlets develop roots on their own, especially in humid conditions. To propagate, simply clip a plantlet from the mother plant, place it in potting soil, and water thoroughly.”
- Size: 12 inches tall x 24 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright, indirect sunlight; well-draining potting soil
Polka Dot Begonia
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Polka dot begonia (Begonia maculata) is a fast-growing houseplant with wing-shaped leaves adorned with beautiful silver spots. “It can grow more than 5 feet tall in time, but if you don’t want it that large, just cut back the new growth and pot it up,” says Hancock. “Cut off growth that has about three to five leaves, remove the bottom leaf, and pot it in moist potting mix, sand, or another substrate.”
- Size: Up to 5 feet tall x 12 to 18 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright light; well-draining potting soil
Flame Violet
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Flame violet (Episcia cupreata) is loved for its colorful flowers and fuzzy variegated foliage. According to Hancock, it’s super easy to propagate from plantlets. “Just cut off a plantlet and pot it up in a high-quality potting mix,” he says. “Keep it moist, and it should root in and start to grow in no time.”
- Size: 8 to 12 inches long x 12 to 24 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright to medium light; well-draining potting soil
Inch Plant
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Inch plant (Tradescantia zebrina) boasts silver leaves marked with purple that sparkle when kissed with sunlight. “To propagate, just pinch off a cutting with about three to five leaves, remove the bottom leaf, and pot it in moist potting mix,” Hancock says. “It’s pretty quick to root, especially when it’s warm.” Inch plant is a fast grower so it doesn’t take long to get a lot of them through propagation.
- Size: 8 to 12 inches long x 12 to 24 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright to medium light; well-draining potting soil
African Violet
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Pavlich says African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha) are easy to propagate from leaf cuttings. Start by filling a small container with fine perlite and watering it thoroughly. Poke small 2-inch holes in the perlite. Cut African violet leaves with approximately a 2-inch petiole, dip the cut end in rooting hormone, and insert it into the prepared hole. Water again to ensure good contact.
- Size: 2 to 8 inches tall x 2 to 8 inches wide
- Care requirements: Bright light; moist, well-draining potting soil
