Making new plants from old ones
Pothos, pilea and spider plants practically ask to be shared. Here is how to root cuttings and pot up babies.
Cuttings in water
For trailing plants such as pothos, cut a length of stem just below a node, the small bump where a leaf meets the stem. Remove the lowest leaf and stand the cutting in a glass of water, with the node under the surface.
Put it somewhere bright but out of direct sun and change the water every week. Roots usually appear within two to four weeks.
Offsets and plantlets
Chinese money plants send up small offsets from the soil around the base; spider plants grow babies on long stems. Once these are a few centimetres tall, cut them free with a little root attached and pot them up in moist compost.
Spider plant babies can also stay attached while they root into a small pot placed next to the parent.
Moving cuttings into soil
When water roots are 3 to 5 cm long, plant the cutting in a small pot of fresh compost and keep it slightly moist for the first few weeks while the roots adjust to soil.
Plant several cuttings in one pot for a fuller plant sooner.
