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micki777

Propogating House Plants: Jade, Spathyphillum

micki
12 years ago

Since the weather is getting colder and I can't garden outside I'm bringing the garden inside, so to speak. I am brand new on this forum and cant find anything particular to house plants, this is the closest I got.

I have a couple questions:

After splitting my Spathyphillum into two pices she looks spinldly: Can I cut off some of the tall spinly stems to force her to thicken up from the base?

2nd question: When propogating succulents, in particular JADE Plant, can I root them in a mixture of 1 part sand and two parts enriched potting soil? Or do I have to stick to a lighter medium? More vermiculite or perlite?

Comments (10)

  • yiorges-z5il
    12 years ago

    Spath ...YES! Jadethe soil mix should be well drained add water (& see how well it draines may nee more sand or perlite....

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    jade can be rooted by leaves.. just stick them into the soil ... and wait ...

    i never tried any foo foo media with them ... and usually get a 25% success rate ...

    if it were me .. 4 in a small pot ... whatever media ... damp but left uncovered..

    and 4 in another pot .. just a small 2 1/4 inch pot ... damp media.. and cover with a baggie ...

    report back which works ...

    with all the books.. and all the technology ... just 'trying' was how i learned most of what i know ...

    being plants that dont enjoy an excess of water.. i would guess the ones covered will rot ...

    ken

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    Spathyphillum - I don't have much experience with that plant. My guess is that removing foliage would only result in more lanky growth. You might try putting it in an area that gets a little more light. I didn't check the Houseplant Forum for you, but you might try there.

    Jade - I put either small cuttings (with the lower few leaves removed and the upper 4 to 6 leaves left) or individual leaves (as mentioned above) in plain, average, decent-quality potting soil (no sand, no "foo foo" anything). I don't think I've ever had one fail to root and grow (so at least near 100% success rate). I've grown multiple cultivars/types. The only type I have that I haven't reproduced with leaves is 'Gollum' (just never tried it, that way).

  • micki
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi Brandon,
    Help on the Jade?
    What about the amount of water in the soil and the callousing I'm reading about?
    Do I need to let a callous form?
    I've had leaves grow roots using rooting hormone but it's not fail proof. It seems too much water in the mix is causing rot.

    I'm trying to lay stems and leaves on top of soil covered only lightly and misting only.

    funny a month ago things went well, it's hit and miss.
    I've got some pretty big stm cuttings, maybe they are too big.

    Some are small little plants already, won't they root too? The stem cuttings I'm trying to root now have two small branches and about 7 leaves on each stem, are these too big. They are on a heating mat under lights as well.

    I've already had luck several times with succulents and then some are more difficult? Just simple Jade.

    I've root stems in water as well but wanted to try the r. hormone and callousing this time.

    Spath, I just put back into one pot for one huge plant but the one I left seperated sill probably just need time, not my real focus right now.

    I'll keep posting my experiments. In the summer things took easier it seems.

  • micki
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Something to report
    I've decided my cuttings are too large with too many leaves, which can definately hinder other cuttings to root. As much as cutting half the leaf off seems horrible to the plant leaving too much on will put a strain on the cuttings ability to form roots. I thought Jade was full proof but I have not developed a !00% full proof way.

    So I've made my cuttings smaller, seperating branching cuttings into one piece and taken all but aobut 2 leaves off.

    I am using a heating mat and lights within an enclosed plastic tent and I was misting the cuttings, but they dried out too fast.

    I have lightened my medium, will use hormone, sml cell packs, heat and under lights, will allow to callous perhaps a few hours, wish me luck

    Any suggestions are very welcome, I will keep posting my experiments,
    Micki

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    I have never used rooting hormone for jade plants. I don't think it would be helpful. I have always let my cuttings and individual leaves start to callous, but not really form a callous. With leaves, I'd let them set out for 1 full day before planting. With cuttings, I'd let them set out 1 to 3 days depending on the size of the cutting (actually 3 days only if I was going to root a really large limb).

    Don't worry about the soil drying out too quickly. I think the moisture tent is definitely a bad idea (for jade plants). I'm not saying it won't work, but I'd think it would decrease your odds of success. I only water my cuttings once per week, letting the soil dry out in between waterings.

  • raelynn09
    11 years ago

    Jade seems rather easy to propogate. Less fuss is better it appears. We have a sandbox at work with different succulents and cacti displayed for sale. When pieces fall off, I just place them in the corner and pay no attention to them besides a rare watering of the other plants. In a month there's usually a tiny shoot emerging.
    Here's a picture of my first attempt at propagating at home. :) It's just a saucer with a bit of sand. I've got four trays like this, each in a different room, which has a slight difference in temperature and light. It's only day three, so I'll have to sit back and relax. Being patient is not an easy task!

  • micki
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi Raelynn,
    I noticed your leaves are laying down and not inverted into the soil, the only difference between you and I. I have a leaf now trying to propogate but I will lay it down, Thx for the tips, we could talk again, I have many succulents, but in a hurry now. How about root tone, do you use it on your Jade cuttings?
    Micki

  • raelynn09
    11 years ago

    sorry micki! i've been MIA the past week or so. I use rooting hormone for most of my cuttings, but I experimented and tried a few jades without. roottone I believe helped, and few of my leaves have withered already. But they are for the most part coming along nicely! how are yours?

  • micki
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    i'M WONDERING IF THE TIME OF THE YR HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT. i USE TO PROPOGATE jADE WITHOUT HESITATION THEN THROUGHOUT THE WINTER IT SEEMED LIKE i LOST MY TOUCH, DIDN'T KNOW CAPS WAS ON.

    I tried laying a leaf down but nothing and after about 2 months it's just welting. I've been extremely busy so this is not a top priority.

    I was 100% successful with mum cuttings dipped in hormone then incased in a plastic dome for about 3 weeks. It sweated in there but I didn't touch it except to bottom water. I kept the plastic on tight and duck taped the top and bottom together.

    I was wondering if the dome idea would work on succulents??

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