By Lily Bourne
Looking for a way to grow essentially infinite plants, all for the price of one? Well, propagating might be just the technique for you! Many plants have the unique ability to grow from one root, stem, or leaf into a whole new plant. By taking this propagule and placing it in optimal conditions, the plant regrows its missing pieces to create a clone of the original plant. Now, this all seems a little complicated, but it is so simple and easy to execute. First, find a plant to propagate. My personal favorites are spider plants and pothos, as they are hard to kill and grow quickly, but you can also look for some of the best choices being philodendrons, aloe veras, and snake plants among others. There are many ways to propagate, but the general idea is to take a single leaf, or the babies off of a spider plant, and place them in water. Empty coke bottles are a great recycled option to hold your propagations, as the thin neck holds the plant up so it doesn’t sink into the water. Place your propagations on a windowsill and after a week or two, roots will fill the bottle. Once you are satisfied with the roots, you can transfer your propagations to a real pot, and now you have a clone of your original plant! The easiest plants to propagate are conveniently also the easiest plants to grow, so you should be set with any plant you choose. If you don’t want to go out and buy the original plant, you can always ask a friend for a cutting of one of their healthy plants, or snag a baby from a wild plant outside (just make sure you aren’t harming that plant!). Good luck and happy plant growing!