Multiply Your Indoor Plant Collection by Propagating Cuttings

Want to multiply your collection of indoor plants without spending a dime? Or perhaps you have an all-time favorite indoor plant that you wish you could clone? Well, you're in luck! You don't need magic powers or access to a science lab—all you need are some stem cuttings and water.

Can You Grow Indoor Plants from Cuttings?

Yes! Growing indoor plants from cuttings is one of the easiest ways to grow a whole new houseplant. It's also much faster than growing from seed, so you won't have to wait long for them to develop. Cuttings in water are beautiful, and we love watching their roots develop. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be filling all of your sunny window sills with jars full of plant cuttings!

How to Propagate Your Indoor Plants with Stem Cuttings

Propagating indoor plants from cuttings is simple—you don't need fancy tools or products! You'll need a cup of water, clean scissors, and a well-established plant from which you can take at least a 2-inch cutting.

You can cut indoor plants with soft stems like African violets, sansevieria, or begonias anywhere along their stems. Place them in your cup of water—making sure that none of the leaves are submerged in the water—and place the cup on a bright windowsill. Replace the water with a fresh batch every 3–4 days, and soon, you'll start to see little roots poking out from the bottom! If you want to keep your cuttings in the water for a longer period, we recommend adding a bit of hydroponic fertilizer into the water so that your indoor plant gets the nutrients it needs. However, if you want to plant the cutting in soil, you can do that as soon as the roots develop.

Vining indoor plants with tougher stems—like pothos, Heartleaf philodendron, and tradescantia—can also be propagated through cuttings, but you'll need to use a cutting with at least one node near the base. Nodes are those bumpy ridges along the stem. New leaves or vines will typically emerge from nodes, but if you submerge them in water, roots will sprout instead! Again, make sure no leaves are left soaking in the water and replace the water in the jar regularly. Once those roots are nicely developed, you can put your new baby plant into a fresh pot of soil.

There are also many succulents that you can propagate through cuttings—like jade plant and burro's tail—but you don't need to put them in water. Place your cut stem on a sunny windowsill, allow the cut end to dry for a few days. After this, you can place your cutting in potting mix or on a clean paper towel, and water or mist the cutting until new leaves and roots begin to grow.

Using Rooting Hormone Instead of Water Propagation

If you're out of room on the windowsill, another clever way to propagate indoor plants through cuttings is by using rooting hormone. Rooting hormone comes in powder or liquid form and is readily available at our garden center in Orange County. Simply dip the cut end of your stem in the rooting hormone and place it in a loose, dry potting medium, such as sand, peat moss, or vermiculite. Keep the potting medium moist but not saturated, and soon your plant will show signs of new growth. Move it into a pot of soil once its roots have sprouted.

The Easiest Indoor Plants to Propagate

Some indoor plants are easier to propagate than others! Here are our favorite varieties that you can easily grow from stem cuttings:

Pothos
Heartleaf philodendron
African violet
Tradescantia
Fiddle leaf fig
Baby's tears
String of turtles
Begonia
String of hearts
Jade plant
Burro's tail
Sanseviera
Philodendron
Hoya

Visit Roger's Gardens to see our collection of gorgeous indoor plants for sale in Orange County, Take one home, propagate a couple of cuttings, and you can have three plants for the price of one! We also have plant cuttings for sale that are ready for you to propagate into new plants.

For more information about propagating, please read and learn: How to Propagate a Plant and How to Propagate a Plant: Part 2.