Thank you so much for this information. I need to get that one out of the water and potted! I've been waiting to hear from someone and now my cutting has a gob of roots. Rooting things in water is very new to me. It's good to know that it can be rooted and potted within a matter of a week. How great is that.

I don't have experience with over wintering this plant so it's also helpful to know it will do well as a houseplant. My plan is to over winter mama plant and come next spring, I'll be set to go.

Mary

Mary - You did right. You want as many roots as possible. Your plant will do so well since you let it get big roots. As long as the plant is green you're good to go. I planted mine directly outside in pots. They didn't wilt or anything. Put in a very sunny window/location inside.

I've had my cuttings in water for a week now and see no roots. What did I do wrong?

There's not much you can do wrong. Be certain there are leaf nodes below the surface of the water. If you have rooting compound, you could stick a toothpick down into the rooting compound, then stick it into the water of the cutting to wash off the bit of compound on the toothpick. That might help to encourage rooting. I suggest the toothpick or something like it in order to limit the amount of rooting compound added to the water.

Mary

Another suggestion is to use a clear container so they are getting more light. I was trying to root some Wandering Jew and Golden Pothos cuttings recently. Some of them were in a white plastic container and some of the shorter ones were in a glass jar. The ones in the glass jar took off like crazy and the ones in the plastic container were pretty much just sitting there. This may not hold true for Euphorbia but it's worth a try! =)

I'm a novice gardener & I LOVE diamond frost euphorbias, However in Zone 8 where I am its treated as an annual & I'm thrilled at the idea of getting cuttings for me to use them next spring! Thanks for this post! I do have one question, usually I'm instructed to take all bottom leaves out leaving a couple on top before submerging the stem in water, but here you specifically say to leave one leaf node below water, did I get that correct?

I don't have experience with euphorbias, but I have rooted quite a few other plants ... From my experience, having more than one leaf node under water increases your odds of success because some nodes might be "sterile", and there is no harm in having roots growing from multiple nodes =)

su79,

A leaf node is the area on the plant stalk where a leaf is attached. When rooting cuttings of this plant, this is where the roots will form. You are correct to remove leaf material that would be under water. Look at my photo of the root development. See where the roots are forming. Each place on the stalk is what is commonly known as a leaf node. There is some reflection from the water surface but no leaf material was left on the part of the plant stalk that was underwater.

realcocacola78(Wisconsin, Zone 5a) is also correct, the more nodes below water, the greater chance of root development. Also, I have read that in general, using new growth for your cuttings is best, as plant growth hormones are strongest in new growth.

Good luck with your cuttings!

Mary