Propagating Houseplants

When houseplants get large or more plants are desired, many can be easily propagated.
Propagation is the creation or growing of new plants and can be done in many different ways.  Many species easily propagate at home utilizing techniques like cuttings, division, and layering. 

Use the information below to produce more plants to give to friends or produce more plants for your home.

Why Propagate?  |  When to Propagate  |  Methods of Propagation  |  Easiest Houseplants to Propagate  |
|  Best Propagation Method by Species  |  More Information

Why Propagate Houseplants?

Propagating houseplants can be a fun and even meditative process that allows you to grow your houseplant collection.  The propagules created can be gifted to friends or donated to community plant sales or non-profit organizations.  

Propagation can also help improve the appearance of the plant.  Over time, houseplants can become leggy, misshapen, lopsided, or too large.  Propagating can help tame an unruly plant (and you get more plants out of the process!).

When to Propagate Houseplants?

Most houseplants can be propagated any time of the year, but early spring through summer tends to be the best time for the health of the propagules and the parent plant.  

Only propagate from healthy, vigorously growing plants.  Do not propagate from houseplants that:

• have disease or insect pest problems
• show signs of viruses (such as mottled leaves and weak growth)
• do not have vigorous growth

Starting with healthy plants is essential because it is easy to pass along diseases, pests, and viruses when propagating.

Methods of Propagation for Houseplants

There are many ways to propagate plants, and they are divided into two major categories: sexual and asexual, also called vegetative.  

Seed (Sexual Propagation)

Sexual propagation is the creation of new plants by seed.  The production of seeds requires flowers to be pollinated.  This process is the recombination of genetic material from both parent plants to produce a new seed that is genetically similar to the parents but not identical.  Hybrids are produced via seed propagation.  

Houseplants rarely flower; even when they do, there is no mechanism indoors (such as insect pollinators or wind) to pollinate the flowers to produce fruit and seed.  For this reason, propagating houseplants sexually through seed production is impractical and rarely done.

Vegetative (Asexual Propagation)

Asexual propagation utilizes vegetative parts of the plants (roots, stems, leaves, etc.) to create a new plant by growing adventitious roots and/or sprouting new shoots.  The new plant is genetically identical (clone) to the parent plant.  There are many different forms of asexual or vegetative propagation, including cuttings, layering, grafting, tissue culture (aka micropropagation), and division. 

Which Method do you Use?

The method of propagation used depends on several factors, and each plant species has a method that is used more successfully than others.  Some houseplant species, like pothos and English ivy, have stems that can be cut off and easily be rooted.  Others, like African violet, have a growth habit that makes propagation by leaves better. 

The most common forms of houseplant propagation used by home gardeners are Cuttings, Division, and Layering. 

Cuttings  Stem Tip, Cane, Leaf Petiole, Leaf Vein, and Leaf Section

Division & Offsets

Layering  Air Layering & Simple Layering

Propagating Succulents  Propagating this group of plants has some special considerations

Easy Houseplants to Propagate

While most houseplants are straightforward regarding propagating, a few are very easy!  Start your propagation hobby with these species for the most success.

• Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
• Sansevieria, Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata syn: Sansevieria trifasciata)
• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
• Zz Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
• Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperiomoides)
• Tradescantia, Inch plant (Tradescantia spp.)
• Arrowhead plant (Syngonium podophyllum)
• Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
• Heartleaf Philodendron (Philodendron hederaceum)
• English Ivy (Hedera helix)
• Mother Of Thousands (Bryophyllum daigremontianum)
• Aloe (Aloe vera)
• Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides)
• African Violet (Saintpaulia ionantha)

Best Propagation Method by Species

Foliage Houseplants  |  Flowering Houseplants  |  Succulents

Best Propagation Method for Foliage Plants by Species

Best Propagation Method for Flowering Plants by Species

Best Propagation Method for Succulents by Species

More Information

• How to Care for Houseplants
• Indoor Plants (publication)
• How to Propagate Succulents
• Growing Indoor Plants Under Supplemental Lights
• Home Propagation Techniques (pdf)
• Propagating Houseplants from South Dakota State University
• New Plants from Cuttings from Purdue University
• Propagating Houseplants from Penn State University
• Home Propagation of Houseplants from University of Missouri