Gadenin日本語Get the appEverything depends on including a node
Run a finger along a stem and you will feel slightly swollen bands where each leaf stalk joins. Those are the nodes, and on a stem that has started climbing you will often see a stubby brown aerial root already pushing out of one. Roots can only come from a node, so a cutting without one will sit in water for a month, stay green, and then rot without ever rooting.
A good cutting has one node, one or two healthy leaves, and about half an inch (1 cm) of bare stem below the node. Longer pieces with three or four nodes work too, and give a fuller plant sooner, but they are not more likely to root. If a node already carries an aerial root nub, take that one first: it will be in water roots within days.
Taking and rooting the cutting
Do this in spring or summer if you can, when the plant is actively growing. Cuttings taken in the depth of winter will usually still root, but they may take a month instead of two weeks and a few will fail.
- Cut just below a node Use clean, sharp scissors and cut about half an inch (1 cm) below the node, straight across. Cutting immediately against the node leaves too little stem to hold the cutting upright in the jar.
- Strip the lowest leaf Remove any leaf that would sit under the water line. A submerged leaf rots within days and fouls the water, which is by far the most common reason a batch of cuttings fails.
- Stand it in plain water Use a narrow glass so the cutting stays upright, with the node covered by an inch (2.5 cm) of water and the remaining leaves well clear of it. No rooting hormone is needed and no sugar or fertilizer should be added.
- Bright shade, room temperature Put the glass where it gets good indirect light but no direct sun, which would heat the water and grow algae. Anywhere from 68F to 80F (20C to 27C) roots fastest.
- Change the water every few days Tip it out and refill with fresh water twice a week, and rinse the glass if it starts to film over. Clear water is what keeps the cut end from going soft and brown.
The sap can irritate skin and it is unpleasant if any part of the plant is eaten, so wash your hands after cutting and keep the trimmings away from children and pets.
What you should see, and when
The timings below are for a warm room in the growing season. Cooler conditions roughly double every stage, and a cutting that has done nothing after six weeks in warmth has almost certainly missed its node.
| Stage | Typical timing | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Cut end seals | 2 to 3 days | The end firms up instead of going mushy |
| First root tips | 7 to 14 days | White nubs pushing straight out of the node |
| Roots ready to pot | 3 to 4 weeks | Several roots, each 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long |
| New leaf on the cutting | 5 to 8 weeks | A tight furled spear from the growing tip |
| Cutting failed | Anytime | Stem soft and brown at the base, water cloudy and smelling |
Pot it up before the water roots get long
It is tempting to leave a cutting in the jar for months because it looks healthy and the roots are impressive. Do not. Roots grown in water are thin and brittle and they are built for water, not compost; the longer they get, the more of them break or die back when you plant them, and the harder the transition is.
Pot up once the longest roots are one to two inches (2.5 to 5 cm). Use a small pot, no more than 4 inches (10 cm) across, with a peat-free houseplant compost loosened with a handful of perlite or fine bark. Make a hole with a pencil, lower the roots in without forcing them, firm gently, and water it in.
For the first two weeks after potting keep the compost slightly damper than you would for an established plant, and keep the pot out of direct sun. The cutting may sulk or drop a leaf while it grows its first proper soil roots. Once a new leaf opens, treat it as a normal plant and let the surface dry between waterings.
Three to five rooted cuttings in one pot make a far better looking plant than one on its own. A single cutting takes a year to look like anything; a potful looks full within a couple of months.
Rooting straight into compost, and what to write down
You can skip the water entirely. Push the cutting into damp compost so the node is buried, cover the pot loosely with a clear bag or a cut bottle to hold humidity, and keep it in bright shade. It roots in three to four weeks and the roots are stronger from the start, but you cannot see what is happening and some cuttings rot unnoticed. Water rooting is the better choice while you are learning what a good cutting looks like.
Note the date you took each batch, whether it went into water or compost, which stem it came from, and the date the first root showed. After two or three rounds you will know your own house well enough to say how long a cutting takes at each time of year, which stems root fastest, and how many to start in order to end up with the potful you actually wanted.