July 09, 2020
Propagation Station: Neon Pothos
Propagating is your excuse to play Plant God – you take one plant and you turn it into many (or is that Plant Jesus?). It saves money, it is easy to do and it makes a great present. And if those weren’t enough good reasons, plants want you to do it. Sound heavenly? Read on.
Neon Pothos (or Epipremnum aureum Neon) is the ideal candidate for flexing your propagating skills - it's easy going and quick growing, and its lime green foliage make for a real show-stopper of a plant. It deserves to have it's name in lights!
Before we start, let's go over the ground rules for propagating:
- Propagate during spring and summer for optimum growth
- Always try a few cuttings to increase chances of success
- Use clean and sharp tools for snipping
- Water the plant you are propagating from around a day before taking your cutting.
- Not strictly needed for a Neon Pothos, but rooting formula will help baby stems grow. Learn how to make your own here!
Neon Pothos are propagated using the stem cutting method, which happens to be the easiest method for propagating! So let's get propagating!
First things first, select a healthy stem with at least 4 established leaves on it.
When you've chosen your stem or stems, identify the leaf nodes. There will probably be lots of them! Look for ones surrounding a leaf joint, which will have a few nodes and a ridge.
Use a very sharp, clean knife or scissors to cut closely below the leaf joint.
After you've snipped, gently remove the lower leaves from the cuttings - this is the part that your new roots will be growing from. You also need to have a couple of leaves left on the other end so your cutting can carry on drinking up the sunlight!
If you have a very long stem, you can make several cuttings from one stem - just make sure there's 2-3 leaves and around 12cm of stem per cutting.
Once your cutting is fully prepared, it's ready to start propagating! Place it into it a vessel of clean, room temperature water.
We like to use a glass bottle with a narrow neck so that the cutting can be kept in position and the water can be easily monitored - something like our Glass Vase/Bottle is perfect!
If you don't have something like this, a glass tumbler or even a clear plastic drinks bottle will do the job.
Keep your propagation vessel in a warm and bright spot (windowsills are ideal) and refresh your water at least once a week. After a couple of weeks you'll start to see roots shooting out the cut stem.
Once you've got a few roots around 2 inches of root growth, your cutting is ready to plant! Simply prepare a clean plant pot with potting soil, make a hole with your finger or the end of a pencil and place your cutting (or cuttings if you want a fuller plant) so that the roots and around 1 inch of the stem above is covered with soil, and gently firm into place.
Give it a good drink and voila! You have successfully raised a plant a baby!