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Overview
Summer is the ideal time to take leaf cuttings from your houseplants. A single leaf can produce many young plants, and this technique is particularly useful for foliage plants such as Begonia rex.
Do it:
June - September
Takes just:
1 hour
How to do it
-
Remove a healthy leaf, lay it on the cutting board and, using a clean, sharp knife, cut it into pieces the size of a large stamp. Each portion should have a vein down its length. -
Fill pots with compost. Push leaf pieces down into the compost, standing them upright as shown and ensuring that the cut vein comes into contact with the compost. -
Water from above to settle the compost around the cuttings, then seal in a clear polythene bag and place in a warm, light position. -
Leaf cuttings take several months to root and produce shoots. Once large enough to handle, pot them up individually.
"Roots and new plants will develop from the vein at the base of each cutting. You can tease the pot of plantlets apart and grow them on separately or transplant them as a group to produce a bushier pot plant."
