How to Propagate House Plants for Money

Propagate most house plants from rooted offsets or stem/leaf cuttings. Although plants can be started from seed, this is a slower process; faster propagation means sooner profits. Take cuttings or pull offsets, put them in dirt, grow them into viable plants and re-pot them for the market. This sounds like a simple process, but a little refinement will raise survival rate and make plants more attractive to buyers.

Things You'll Need

• Garden shears, utility scissors, or razor blade
• Potting soil
• 3-inch starter pots
• 5-inch or larger plant pots

Instructions

How to Propagate House Plants for Money

1. Detach plant parts to propagate. Use garden shears, utility scissors or razor blade to make a clean cut. Depending on plant part to be used:

   Take stem cuttings that include two or three leaf nodes. (Leaf nodes are the point at which a leaf grows out of a stem.) Use garden shears or sharp utility scissors to make a clean cut.

   Take leaf cuttings from mature leaves. Remove a healthy leaf and make 1/16-inch to 1/8-inch cuts on the leaf's underside at points where veins meet.

   Remove plant offsets from parent plant by gently separating roots. Include some of the shared roots.

2. 

   Moisture is important for plant survival.

   Fill starter pots with soil to within an inch of the top. Plant stem cuttings with one or two leaf nodes buried. Set leaf cuttings in starter pot with cut side down. Set plant offsets with roots well covered. Pot cuttings as soon as possible. Cuttings that sit around for a few days are less likely to survive. Keep all starts moist.

3. Put starts in full or partial sunlight for 4 to 6 weeks. Never let the containers dry out. Look for new leaves, which show that the cutting is a viable plant, not just a piece of an older plant.

4. Remove young plants from starter pots. Notice root condition. Shake out any little weeds that have emerged with the plant.

5. Re-pot plants into 5-inch or larger containers. If the plants' buyer is a nurseryman or retailer, pot the plants to the buyer's size specifications. (The retailer will probably want all the plants to be similar in size.) If the new plants are to be sold at a seasonal fair or flea market, do not pot all plants to be uniform in size and appearance. Fair and flea market customers will be browsing. Plants of different sizes or quantity per pot will get attention and invite the buyer to decide which container has the best plant. Once the customer chooses the best container, she is unlikely to walk away without buying it.

References

• "Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening"; Carroll C. Caulkins et al.; 1978
• "Better Homes and Gardens New Garden Book"; Gerald M. Know et al.; 1990