Let Them Grow: 10 Easy to Propagate Indoor Plants

Posted: May 2, 2021 10:27 am

Believe it or not, there is no such thing as a brown thumb. People who say they can’t get plants to grow are probably growing the thing. Plants actually want to grow, they want to propagate and best of all plants want to be admired. Here is a list of ten very easy plants to propagate and grow.

In the admirable category, who can forget the swiss cheese plant. This plant has heart-shaped leaves with fenestration or gaps randomly scattered throughout the leaves, hence the name swiss cheese plant (in other words, it has holes just like its cheese namesake). This plant can grow to six or eight feet tall in the wild, usually, indoors they are under a foot tall.

Propagation of the swiss cheese plant happens simply by cutting one of the stems. Then it can either be rooted by water or in a growing medium. If using growing medium rooting hormone is recommended. It does take at least a week to develop roots. Once the roots develop it is time to plant the monstera adansonii in some peat-based potting soil and place it in an area that gets lots of sunshine.

A particularly unforgettable plant is the Chinese money plant, also known as the UFO plant however its botanical name is pilea peperomioides. The plant has distinctive round leaves like coins that remind people of Chinese money. Folklore traditions around the plant suggest that it is given as a gift with the sentiment that money will come to the recipient.

To make more of these plants a person doesn’t have to do a single thing, the plant makes more of itself. From the main stem, it will send up a secondary stem, called a pup. Wait until the pup has a few leaves and then carefully snip-it from the parent plant. Place the plantlet in water for at least a week until roots seem to be growing. Find the new plant a bright spot with indirect sunlight, direct sunlight can burn the leaves.

Succulents of all varieties have the reputation of being impossible to kill. An unusual succulent gets its name from its appearance, string of pearls, or senecia rowleyanus. The plant has many stems with little green pearls or round succulent leaves hanging from the stems.

To make another, like most succulents it couldn’t be easier. Break off a piece of the stem and place it in water or well-drained soil. Actually, most succulents will propagate in this manner. The string of pearls can be placed in direct sunlight.

If there is one plant that has the reputation of being impossible to kill, it would be the ZZ plant or zamioculcas zamiifolia. This plant is slow-growing and is given its name because the leaves look like the letter Z growing up and down its stems. This plant loves indirect sunlight and will even thrive under the fluorescent lights of an office.

It is said this plant can even be propagated from just one leaf. Usually, the ZZ plant will be started by cutting a stem and placing it in water. Once it roots place it in well-draining soil.

Mother of thousands describes its method of propagation right in the title of the plant. Bryophyllum daigremontianum or mother of thousands grows more of itself on the ends of its leaves, giving the plant a curly-looking edge. Each of those little curls is actually a little plant that will start growing on its own. In the wild, this plant can be considered invasive, the little plantlets will drop off and propagate taking over a space.

No indoor garden is complete without an aloe vera plant or aloe barbadensis miller. Of course, it is prized for its health and healing properties but it is also easy to propagate. It actually propagates itself. Even in a pot, over time the plant will fill out all of the space in the pot. Unpot the aloe, separate the new pups from the bottom, and repot the mother plant. It will continue to grow more.

Calatheas are a great low-light plant that does wonderfully indoors. They are very impressive and come in hundreds of varieties, calathea makoyana is one of these. It is also called the prayer plant because it folds its leaves up every night.

As it grows the stems will have notches in them, eventually, leaves will form from those notches. This is when you can cut it and root a new plant. The cutting can be rooted in water or soil.

Spider plants may look like variegated grass but when they propagate that is when it is true to its name. Chlorophytum comosum or spider plants send out new plants on stems out from its center. Hence, it is said it looks like a spider. Each one can be cut off and planted.

The money tree is another easy to propagate and grow plant. Also known as, Pachira Aquatica, the money tree is said to bring money to anyone who grows one. This plant can be reproduced from a cutting that is rooted in water or soil. Reproducing in soil makes a stronger plant however propagating in water is easier and quicker.

Anthurium is a plant that produces unique leaves that look like red flowers. The botanical name is the same. However, there are hundreds of varieties of anthurium and the leaf-like flower comes in many colors. This plant is much like the aloe in the way it propagates. It does such in clusters. Once a potted on looks full, it is time to separate the clusters. These are all new plants and can be planted individually.

The key to understanding indoor gardening is selecting the right plants and then understanding how that plant propagates. It extends the life of the plant and gives the indoor gardener more of what they enjoy. In turn, the indoor gardener can now boast that they have a green thumb.

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