Top 5 Plants That Grow from Stem

“ Who Plants A Garden, Plants Happiness.” Nurturing a garden with lush green, foliage, and the flower blossoming plants is a way of embracing happiness, health, beauty; naturally. Plant propagation is a vital gardening practice. The most popular method to grow plants is not seed sowing, but stem cutting propagation.

Propagation of stem cutting plants is an ancient practice of cloning. A piece of the stem of the parent plant is sown in a rooting mix, say moist soil. The favourable conditions create an ideal thriving environment for the plant to grow, independent of the parent plant. The process is also known as striking. The plants that grow from stem obtain the characteristics of the mother plant.

Types of Stem Cuttings:

1. Softwood Cuttings: The unripe tips of the ornamental shrubs and trees below the nodes are taken, the bottom leaves are also removed.
2. Herbaceous Cuttings: These are a kind of softwood cuttings taken from herbaceous plants such as Chrysanthemums, Dahlias. The cuttings are 2.5 to 10 cm long.
3. Semi-hardwood Cuttings: The stems which are green and hard, but not mature enough are taken. The semi-hardwood cutting propagation is used to raise plants of Jasmine and Hydrangeas.
4. Hardwood Cuttings: Stem cuttings from mature woody trees and shrubs. Hardwood cuttings are 15-30 cm long.
5. Terminal Cuttings: Tip portions of the shoot are sown in the soil.
6. Heal Cuttings: Lateral shoots pulled from the stem and contained a portion of the stems.
7. Single or Multiple Node Stem Cuttings: The stem cutting is planted horizontally in the soil. Outdoor plants like Dracaena, Dieffenbachia are grown from this type of stem cutting.

When To Grow Plants From Stem Cuttings?

Monsoon is the ideal season to breed plants from stem cuttings. However, softwood cuttings can be propagated at any time of the year. Clerodendrum, Duranta are the plants grown from softwood cuttings.

Tips For Stem Cutting:

1. Cut the stem in a slanting manner with a sharp knife or secateurs, always.
2. The exposed tissue at the bottom of the stem cutting should be applied with rooting hormone.
3. Add rooting medium like sand or soil in a potting vase or a tray
4. From growing plants from cuttings, stem cuttings are sown to a depth of 2.3- 3 cm in the rooting mix after removing the leaves at the bottom.
5. About one-third of the length of the stem cutting is sown in the soil if it is a hardwood cutting.
6. Stem cuttings are raised in partial shade if these are not planted in the monsoon season.
7. As the cutting begins to develop roots and shoots start to grow, it is removed and planted in a garden.

There is a long list of plants that grow from stem cuttings, but we will discuss only five plants that grow from the stem. The selected plants are easy to grow with stem cuttings.

1) Syngonium

A Feng Shui plant native to the tropical rainforests in southern Mexico, West Indies, and Central & South America. The arrow-head leaves of Syngonium Plant change shape according to the plant’s growth.

●Take a stem with 2-3 nodes
●Place the stem in water or soil mix in such a manner that the nodes are entirely covered
●In the ideal growing conditions of indirect sunlight, warm and humid conditions, the roots will develop.

2) Philodendron

A flowering plant from the Araceae family. The plant derives its name from the Greek words, Philo, meaning “ love or affection” and dendron, meaning “tree,” hence, a loving Tree.

●Take a healthy Philodendron stem about 7.5 cm long.
●Remove the lower leaves near the cut.
●Place the stem in a jar of clean water and locate the pot in a medium-light.
●When roots develop, plant the tree.

3) Dracaena

It is a plant belonging to the family of Asparagaceae, native to Africa and southern Asia. Dracaena is an architectural plant having strap-like leaves and producing bold rosettes.

●Chop the stem of Dracaena into sections 20-30 cm long. While cutting, note the base and top of the stem.
●Place the bottom of the stem in a jar of the water in standing position. Top up the water regularly
●Check the stem for nodules, emerging swellings.
●The nodules will develop into roots, and shoots will grow.
●Once the stems are well rooted, plant them in containers.
●Feed and water them regularly.

4) Ficus

An evergreen plant native to Southwest Asia and Mediterranean regions, Ficus includes fig bearing trees. Ficus is a common houseplant tree.

●Stem cuttings of Ficus with green growth at the tips of woody bases are ideal.
●Plant the cuttings in well-draining potting soil and cover it with plastic, which creates a greenhouse.
●Ficus stems also grow roots in vases of water.
●Once the roots develop, you can plant it in pots or the garden directly.

5) Hibiscus

A species of flowering plants belonging to the Mallow family. Hibiscus is highly renowned among gardeners and nature lovers for their large, showy flowers, less widely known as rose mallow.

●Take a softwood cutting.
●Branches of hibiscus are softwood
●The cutting should be 10-15 cm long
●Remove everything but the top set of leaves
●Trim the stem below the bottom leaf node
●Plant the cutting in the rooting medium.

May You Have A Lush, Green, and Beautiful Garden!

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