How to Propagate Prayer Plant

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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The prayer plant is a little plant that folds its leaves up in prayer in the evening and reopens them during the day. The prayer plant comes from the family Maranta and is quite at home in a terrarium. Although propagation must be done carefully, you can create a whole set of prayer plants from a single mature specimen.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Mature prayer plant
Newspaper
Potting soil
New containers

Step1

Propagate the prayer plant by root division. This plant tends to be delicate so be careful as you begin propagation.

Step2

Wait until the spring to divide the plant for propagation. The spring is when the growth of the plant is the best, so both the original plant and the new ones are most likely to survive if you propagate in spring.

Step3

Cover the pot with your hand. Place the stems between your opened fingers and palm covering the surface soil.

Step4

Lay a newspaper out where you are going to turn the pot. This just simply aids in the process of clean up, and allows you to lay the divided plants out.

Step5

Turn the pot over and tap lightly on the bottom. The contents of the pot should drop from the container into your hand. If the roots have grown through the pot holes at the bottom, gently help them back through.

Step6

Separate the roots gently with your fingers so none are damaged. Work quickly so the plants don't dry out.

Step7

Place the individual rooted stems in a potting mixture. Keep the soil moist but don't allow standing water as the roots could easily rot.