Turns Out, Doing THIS Might Make Your Plants Propagate Faster
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
If you’re an experienced plant parent, chances are that you’ve tried propagating your plants, which is the process of creating new greenery from cuttings. Varieties like snake plants and pothos plants are particularly easy to propagate, and once the cutting is mature enough to plant in soil, you'll have a brand-new houseplant to add to your windowsill.
You’re probably used to the stem-cutting propagation method, where you pick a healthy plant to propagate, cut off a stem that has at least a couple of nodes (the bumps where the leaves grow), and place the cutting in a jar of water. Just a few simple steps, and lo and behold, the roots of your new plant will start developing in about one to four weeks!
But things can go awry at times—the roots might be slow to develop or not form at all. Although there are things you can do to increase a cutting’s chances of developing healthy roots (like placing it in bright, indirect light and changing out the water every few days), you can also use clever hacks to speed up the process.
Luckily, the intrepid gardeners of TikTok have done the experimenting for you. Houseplant expert Clare of @thelittlelifelately posted a video of an ingenious propagation hack. Using a propagation station, she adds neon pothos cuttings to separate glass tubes containing filtered water, filtered water and cinnamon, perlite and filtered water, and potting soil and filtered water. At the end of the experiment, which do you think came out as the winner?
If you guessed filtered water and cinnamon, you're correct! Before placing the cutting into the tube of filtered water, Clare dabbed the end of the cutting into a spoonful of cinnamon. At the end of the three-week test, as she compared the roots of all four cuttings, the one with the longest, healthiest roots had soaked in the combination of filtered water and cinnamon.
But why does cinnamon actually work for this? According to gardening experts, cinnamon is what’s known as a “rooting agent,” which can stimulate root growth and prevent fungus from developing. Essentially, cinnamon makes those roots grow healthier and faster, which Clare says is ideal for “impatient plant parents.”
Many commenters were surprised at the effectiveness of the cinnamon, with one saying, “Cinnamon makes a difference. Wow!” Others sang the praises of using honey in the same way.
So, what do you think? Will you give cinnamon a try the next time you propagate?
Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.
You Might Also Like
