If you have them laying around, now is the time to use them. Vases with smaller openings work really well for this application. These are sturdy and help keep moisture in where the roots need it.įor water propagation, find some glass jars or vases that will support a standing cutting and will only submerge the bottom inch or two of the cuttings. For planters, aim for smaller sizes, like 4” plastic grower pots. Jars or potsĭepending on whether you want to use the soil or water propagation method, you’ll need something to put your new cuttings in. It isn’t necessary, but it’s a nice tool to use for propagation success. Rooting hormone accelerates the rate at which a node will produce new roots, as well as how fast they grow once burgeoned. This stuff, when applied to new cuts, helps a cutting to grow roots much faster and provides it with enough growth hormones to sustain itself in the process. Rooting hormone comes in both powder and liquid forms, but the powdered type lasts much longer and keeps better. Gather enough to form a 2” diameter moss ball in your hand. Make sure the moss you use is not dyed, treated, or otherwise made water resistant. If you’re air layering, you will need moss and some sort of horticultural string or twine. Perlite is your best friend for rooting any plants. The more perlite, the better, so long as you have some larger chunks in the soil to help prevent occurrences of over or underwatering. If it can hold water, purple heart will root in it.įor soil propagation, use a soil that has a good ratio of perlite. You can use any sort of growing medium you’d like for purple heart leca, soil, water, moss, and anything else you can think of. This one’s pretty obvious, but we’ll touch on it anyway. Other useful cleaners include hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice, although these are a bit messier and don’t just evaporate away. You get it this stuff is cheap and there’s no reason not to have it around anyway.Īnything that has an alcohol content of at least 70% or higher is a good candidate for cleaning. This stuff can be used for cleaning work surfaces, accidental finger knicks, and well, the list goes on. Speaking of clean shears, rubbing alcohol is by far the best way to go about sanitizing your pots and tools for propagation. You can use a variety of methods to achieve clean enough shears for taking cuttings. Blades should be sterile, or clean, at best. Make sure that your blades have no rust on them.Īnother important part of using any kind of blade to propagate plants is sanitation. If you don’t have a sharp pair, you can always substitute sharp, clean kitchen scissors or a new razor blade for them. Plant ShearsĪ solid, sharp set of plant shears is what makes propagation successful. Here’s what you’ll need and what you need them for. Aside from some of the more uncommon purple heart propagation methods, most everything can be found at a local garden store. What You’ll Need to Get StartedĮvery propagation project requires a basic set of common gardening tools that you’re likely to already have on hand. It’s even used to beautify parking lots and outdoor landscaping in hotter climates. If you live somewhere sunny, you may have seen them planted in large containers in malls. Known to improve air quality, it’s strategically used in office landscaping and interior design. Today, purple heart serves a purpose in indoor spaces. By today’s cartography, it was found just south of the state of Texas, where many tropical-to-desert species originated. They were first documented by the famed Edward Palmer, a British botany enthusiast and archaeologist, back in 1907. Purple heart is actually native to Mexico, near the Gulf Coast region, where humidity from the ocean helped the purple heart’s leaves adapt very fine hairs designed for catching water from mist out of the air, then pouring it down the stems to the soil beneath the plant for use. While you should definitely try not to fill every corner of your house with these (they’re not exactly pet or child-friendly), making a few starts to give to friends or bring to work is a fun and rewarding process. Who could, when they look so cute as small plants? Once you get the hang of their growing patterns and the best times of the year to take cuttings, it’ll be nearly impossible for you to stop making new purple heart plants. Propagating these plants is incredibly easy. There are also a variety of different types of purple hearts out there, so you can always find one that wows even more! Unsurprisingly, new hybrids hit the market all the time. These lovely little plants bear small, tri-sided blooms in shades of pink and violet. Adding to its allure are the long, slender leaves that grow from each node along the plant, creating a lovely stacked aesthetic that adds something sophisticated to a space. Purple heart, also known as Purple Queen, is an extremely popular houseplant due to its rich, vivid purple hue.
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