Propagation: Spider Plant

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by Spanish Witch, Feb 23, 2012.

  1. Spanish Witch

    Spanish Witch Member

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    Hello there.....I have been taking cuttings of spider plants for years and then putting them in water till they show roots, then planting them. But this year, I have had them in water for well over a week and there are no signs of any roots showing. Is it possible to plant the cuttings without doing the above? Can someone please help me with this. Ty for listening.
     
  2. Barbara Lloyd

    Barbara Lloyd Well-Known Member

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    Another way to root spider cuttings is to just poke the pups (?) back into the soil in a bare spot in the pot w/ mom. Do not cut the umbilical cord. It will root that way also. :)) barb
     
  3. mrsubjunctive

    mrsubjunctive Active Member

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    It is possible to just stick the plantlets directly into soil without rooting them in water first, yes. (That's how I prefer to do it myself.) If this particular plantlet hasn't rooted in water, though, it's possible that it won't do so in soil, either.
     
  4. Spanish Witch

    Spanish Witch Member

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    Thankyou Mrsubjunctive for your help. I will try this and hope it works. I just don't understand why they haven't rooted. Cheers.
     
  5. Spanish Witch

    Spanish Witch Member

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    Thankyou Barbara Lloyd.....I love this idea and will give this a try if all else fails. Cheers.
     
  6. Furballs

    Furballs Active Member

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    Fwiw, it can matter if the plantlets are very young and have not yet started to show any rootlets on their own. Very young ones will sometimes either rot or dry up, which I suspect is because they are simply too young to produce roots yet. I usually wait until my plantlets have some clearly visible root nubs of their own before I try to root them. Then I root them directly into pots, not in water. For some reason, if I root them in water, they tend not to do well when I pot them later. So I figure why waste time with that, and bung them right into pots with soil. Most do very well. I have noticed that some highly variegated ones are often a bit slower to root than the all green ones, or ones with lots of green.
     
  7. Spanish Witch

    Spanish Witch Member

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    Thankyou Furballs for the information. My cuttings were about a year old, so maybe they are too old!! In any case, I will try planting them in the soil now, as they have been in water for over a week at this time. Thanks again.
     
  8. Furballs

    Furballs Active Member

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    No worries. I forgot to mention, when I do put plantlets in soil, I don't really stick them INTO the soil. I get the soil damp, but not soaked, and prefer to just let them sit on top of it. I'll prop them up with bamboo skewers if need be to keep them more or less vertical, and put them in a plastic bag with the top mostly left open, so they don't wilt if it takes awhile. That way, I have fewer problems with the outer leaves possibly rotting, and the roots, when they form, go straight down into the potting mix and I can usually tell with a gentle tug on the plantlet, that it has struck roots and take the bag off, from there it's treated just like the parent plants.
     

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