Sunday, January 20, 2019

A Little Vegetative Propagation




Who doesn't love free plants? I know I do. I was excited, therefore, when I noticed my snake plant (Sansevierias) had two babies at its base. I purchased the plant at the end of last summer from one of the big-box stores. Like many of my plant acquisitions, it was an impulse buy. It reminded me of my mother's collection when I was a child. She called hers mother-in-law's tongue. I remember she would have me wipe each stiff leaf with a damp cloth to remove dust and make it shine.


Sansevierias in the middle of the back row

Clump forming plants such as snake plant, hens and chics, and bromeliads develop plantlets or, to use the correct term, offsets. It is very easy to propagate these plants by division. Propagating means to create new plants.


Offset on the right at the base of the plant

When you are considering propagation by division, make sure your plant is free of disease, insects, and stress. As you can see, my snake plant seems to be quite happy. I began by assembling the materials I would be using. It was too cold to work in my potting shed, so I spread newspaper on the kitchen island and used a special tray to contain the mess; it's the tray I use when starting seeds. I gathered together the plant, some empty plant pots with drainage holes, a sharp knife (not shown), trowel, and gloves. For Sansevierias I prefer an organic cactus potting mix.


I began by collecting the materials I needed for propagating my plant

I gently pulled, cuting apart the offsets from the parent plant. It is important that the plantlets have roots.

Two offsets with roots.

I soon realized that one of the pots I had chosen was not big enough. Fortunately, I had a bigger one.


Realizing one of the pots wasn't big enough, I picked another

I covered the drainage hole of each plant pot with a small rock then added the potting mix. I quickly replanted each new plant. I watered without saturating them. Sansevierias needs indirect light and a temperature between 75° - 80°F. I placed them in the garden room, near a window.


New snake plants (Sansevierias) with silver lace fern (Pteris ensiformis)

The new Sansevierias plants should have some humidity so I put them next to my silver lace fern that is sitting on a dish of small rocks covered with water. I do mist the fern from time to time, but the pebble-and-water method is more consistent. Actually, I am quite pleased with my humidity tray: I bought a footed-dish made of recycled glass from Home Goods, filled it with small rocks from the Dollar Store, and added water. It looks more attractive than the plastic humidity trays that you can buy.

Plant sitting on a dish of small rocks with water added

With the fast-approaching snow and ice storm, it was so much fun to have an indoor gardening activity. I love my new little babies.

Happy Gardening (even if, like me, you are experiencing winter where you live.)

Pamela x




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19 comments:

  1. While I love working with my outdoor plants, I am so lazy when it comes to my houseplants! I have several that need dividing, but I just never get around to it. Perhaps in the spring?

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    1. Actually, Robin, I think spring is the best time. That's when I repot my houseplants. My parent sansevierias is ready for a bigger pot, but must wait until spring. I stopped feeding the houseplants because, after all, they are supposed to be dormant now.

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  2. Beautiful! I have fern like yours growing wildly in our front yard under the fruits trees.

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    1. Endah, I would love to see your wildly growing silver lace fern.

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  3. Nice blogpost on Sansevierias. I also remember them from my mother when I was young. After a long time they are high fashion again.

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    1. Thank you, Janneke. We have a saying in this country, 'What goes around comes around.' It is like my haircut, every few years it is fashionable again.

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  4. Plants are quite expensive to buy when established yet so easy to propagate, I always feel as though I've saved myself some money when I divide a plant. I've got one of those plastic trays, they're so handy, especially when doing a bit of indoor gardening.

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  5. We are on the same wavelength! I just did some propagating with my ZZ plant and Christmas Cactus yesterday. With the freezing temperatures outside, one has to garden inside! I enjoyed your helpful tips!

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    1. You are right! I need dirt under my nails year round.

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  6. Your humidity tray is a lovely solution, an extra layer of pretty.
    My Sansevieria are happy in the garden, with some shade.

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    1. What grows in your South African garden is a houseplant here, Diana, but it is wonderful that we share the same plants.

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    2. Diana, it is very hard to relate to your growing this ‘houseplant’ in your garden. Lucky you!!!
      PS...I’m in Canada.

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  7. I do love free plants, whether offsets from established plants or reseeds in the garden. It's always like Christmas morning coming upon one of these unexpectedly.

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    1. When I bought the Sansevieria I had no idea I was really buying three of them. Such fun.

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  8. So much fun! I love propagating plants and watching the babies grow. But seeing your snake plant makes me doubly sad that I had to get rid of mine when we got our kitten. I'll probably try to put out a plant as a test once she is a couple of years old and cross my fingers she's not a plant digger/eater.

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    1. Sorry about that, Margaret. But I'm sure the kitten is bringing joy. Make sure any test plant is not toxic to animals!

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  9. Oh yes, that's always fun to start new plants! Lucky you!

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  10. I have a medium sized sansevieria that I grew from a tiny little plant I got about a year ago. I thought 15.00 was a lot to pay for such a tiny plant, but it was literally the only one I could find. The other day I saw a nice full sized one and ran over to check the price. 100.00. This was in a discount store!! So I am pretty excited at the prospect of starting plants for anyone I know who would like one. Thank you for the post showing us how.

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