So many people will say they’ve found the secret to propagation. I’ve tried many of them and some are definitely better than others. Here are some techniques that you can try to propagate your monsteras.
Water Propagation
This is a very simple way to propagate plants. I have found a lot of success as long as you do the following to increase your chances of success:
- Use filtered water or rain water (If you’re using tap water, leave it out for 24 hours so that the chemicals in it can evaporate)
- Change water 1-2 times a week (You’ll start to see algae form and they’ll suffocate your roots)
- Place the monstera cutting in bright light
It’s that simple! After 2-3 weeks you should start to see some root growth. I typically like to wait till roots grow a minimum of 1 inch before I move them into soil.
Air Layering Propagation
This takes a little bit more skill, but I would have to say this is probably the fastest way to propagate with a 100% success rate. I say this, because if it doesn’t root, you don’t cut. So here’s how you do it:
- Identify the node – if there’s an aerial root, that’s what you want!
- Gather your supplies
- Plastic wrap or a Plastic bag
- Sphagnum moss or Perlite (Growing medium)
- Rubber band, Tape or Twine
- Wrap the node/aerial root with sphagnum moss or perlite and use the plastic wrap or plastic bag to contain the growing medium
- Use a rubber band, tape, or a piece of twine to hold it all together and make sure you leave an opening at the top to moisten the perlite/sphagnum moss
After a week or two roots should begin to grow. This is a great way to propagate because if the roots fail to grow, you don’t need to cut your plant up. Another bonus is that the plant will still continue to grow while it’s being rooted since when you cut your nodes up, they begin to use all their energy to grow roots.
Propagation with Leca
This isn’t too different from water propagation, except now you have a medium for your plant to grow in. However, there are some considerations you want to take before going this route:
- Presoak your leca balls
- If you’re reusing – wash your leca balls thoroughly
- If you have aerial roots, keep your node above the leca balls
- Keeping your node dry will help prevent node rot
Just keep an eye on the water levels of your container and you’ll be able to see the roots grow between the leca balls.
Propagation with Sphagnum Moss
This method is similar to propagation with leca. Just spray the sphagnum moss with filtered water, place nodes above sphagnum moss and roots should grow out in a couple of weeks.
Propagation with Perlite
Again this method is similar to leca and sphagnum moss, just keep node above perlite, keep the perlite moist and in a couple of weeks the monstera node will have rooted.
Now that you know 5 different ways to propagate your monstera, take the plunge and grow your collection of monsteras! Or even trade your propagation for other plants on your wish list!
