New Plants from Leaf Cuttings: A Simple Propagation Method

Many fleshy-leaved houseplants—African violets, Cape primroses, gloxinias, peperomias, some begonias, and succulents—can be propagated quickly from leaf cuttings, one of the best ways to ensure identical new plants. The process takes at least six weeks (faster in spring and summer).

Time: A few minutes per pot. Cost: 50–75¢ per pot.

Tools & Materials

• 3- to 4-inch pots
• Propagating mix
• Pruning shears or sharp scissors
• A mother plant
• Pencil
• Rooting hormone (optional)
• Propagation heat mat (optional)
• Small plastic cup
• Fertilizer

Directions

1. Fill pots with mix; firm and water well.
2. Cut healthy, fully grown leaves with stems from the mother plant (remove no more than 10% of foliage), snipping close to the base. Trim stems to 1–1½ inches.
3. Poke 1½-inch holes in the soil just off-center with the pencil.
4. Dip stems in rooting hormone; tap off excess powder.
5. Insert one-half to two-thirds of each stem into the soil, leaf tips pointing away from the pot's center. Firm mix around stems.
6. To speed rooting, set pots on a heat mat in bright, indirect light. Create a mini-greenhouse by inverting a plastic cup over the leaf. Keep soil moist.
7. When new leaves form, fertilize with a dilute solution.
8. When leaves cover most of the soil surface, move young plants to larger pots. African violets produce clusters of plantlets; gently separate and repot individually.