It’s definitely that time of year! We have had our first few mornings of heavy frost and snow flakes, the trees are bare, and the stores have made the yearly switch to jolly music and bright lights.
Last Christmas we decided to go on a low waste journey, focusing more on homemade gifts, Christmas ornaments made by the boys or foraged outside, and finding an unsprayed, rootball tree we planted this spring. You can see our tree and some of our ideas from last year here!
Between delayed shipping, shopping regulations, and the general extra waste associated with ‘traditional’ Christmas shopping, we are leaning more towards purchasing gifts this year that are local or can be made at home! I personally feel we should focus on supporting the small businesses around us who have suffered significantly during the trials of 2020.
The gifts we have been working on recently all come from items we already had on hand or were able to forage before the heavy frost set in. For Part 1, I am focusing mainly on gifting houseplants from our own collection, while Part 2 will focus more on crafts and other DIY’s!
Check out my post from last year on homemade and low waste Christmas ideas for extra inspiration!
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Propagated Houseplants
If you remember from a previous post this year on houseplants, I am quite fond of them! The warmth they bring into a room is unmatched from any other decor – in my humble opinion. One of the key factors I also consider when adding to my collection is ease of propagation.
Plant propagation is the ability to start another plant from cutting or splitting of the parent plant into new babies.
Before you consider propagating your plants, make sure they are properly identified so you can investigate on the best mode of creating babies. Certain houseplants can be cut off at the stems or below a node, while others will produce their own baby plants (usually called ‘pups’ that are small growths along the base of the mother plant).
Rooting Medium
As the saying usually goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat. After you have your cuttings, you can place them directly in water, a damp potting soil, or damp sphagnum moss. Another option recommended is to dip your ends in a rooting hormone to encourage root growth.
I prefer using water for my plant cuttings, so I can evaluate their root progression.
When rooting in water, make sure to change frequently. I change water every 3-4 days using either our filtered water from our reverse osmosis system, or rainwater collected outside.
Keep in mind, if you are separating a pup from a mother plant, you need to gently separate the pup roots from the mother’s and place directly into potting soil.
What am I Propagating?
I noticed several weeks ago many of my vining plants were getting extremely long. The boys were starting to play hide and seek with them – which is definitely not safe for my plants! Once the plants received their ‘hair cut’, I separated them down into smaller cuttings and placed them into water for propagations.
It’s taken roughly 4 weeks for good root development on these plants, but some houseplants will grow differently than others. In this photo, I have a Cebu Blue, Neon Pothos, and a Heart Leaf philodendron for vining plants. I also wanted to try propagating my Burgundy Ficus Elastica (rubber tree). Not included in the photo (because I already repotted them) is a Philodendron Brazil, Satin Pothos, Golden Pothos, and a Marble Queen Pothos.
Where to Cut?
For many pothos and vining philodendron plants (which I prefer!) locating a node along the vine and cutting 1-2″ down from the node. The node is where new roots will begin to form and usually located directly below a leaf. Make sure to remove the leaf associated with this node and submerge the node fulling in your rooting medium. Always, always, always use clean, sharp scissors to prevent spreading disease and from damaging your plant.
(Pictured is a node on a heartleaf philodendron, you would cut 1-2″ down from there)
Propagating a ficus elastica proved just as easy! Simply take a cutting from a branch and allow the cutting to sit for about an hour to produce a callous over the wound and place in water! Take care, as the milk secreted from this plant can cause irritation to the skin and eyes.
You definitely can have success growing roots from a leaf cutting with ficus elastica, but unfortunately, you will only end up with a leaf with roots and no stem or further growth will occur, so make sure you choose your cut on an actual branch or stem of the plant.
More Easy to Propagate Plants
The list could go on and on!
Some other houseplants I have had good success propagating Marantas and Calatheas (as they LOVE water!) But struggle keeping the mother plants healthy in our home. (They love humidity and our house is usually pretty dry).
Pilea peperomioides and Watermelon pilea are two of my favorite plants right now. They have beautiful round disks for leaves and can grow wild in proper settings. These plants will produce tiny pups when they are in good conditions that can be separated into different pots.
Oxalis (the shamrock plant) are fascinating to us! The beautiful leaves open and close throughout the day. Stirling calls them his Moth Plants, and gets tickled every time he notices they move! This plant comes in a beautiful, deep purple, vibrant green, and we somehow ended up with a green plant with purple spots!
Various culinary herbs are also easily propagated. We successfully propagated basil, thyme, oregano, and rosemary from the garden and have them inside for winter use. Mint varieties will also propagate easily in water!
The best part of this – it’s completely free! It simply takes your time and patience while the roots are forming on the new plants!
If you wish to add take your gift up a notch, a beautiful pot will round things out. I prefer white ceramic or terra cotta.
Some plants do take longer to produce roots than others. If you find yourself in a time crunch, you could place your cuttings in a beautiful propagation station and gift the plant cuttings and stand together.
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