How Do I Propagate a Swedish Ivy Plant?

Swedish ivy (Plectranthus spp) is often planted in hanging baskets because of its trailing habit. It grows very thickly over the growing season if given the ideal growing requirements of 65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit and dappled shade. Swedish ivy is also used as a house plant and may be brought indoors during the winter or left to grow all year in a sunny window. Swedish ivy may be propagated---or reproduced---by rooting cuttings taken from the stems.

Things You'll Need

• Swedish ivy plant
• Shears
• New potting soil
• Small container with drainage holes
• Powdered rooting hormone
• Plastic bag

Instructions

1. Prepare the planting medium by filling a small container that has drainage holes in the bottom with new potting soil. Use potting soil from a new source that has not been exposed to insect or mildew spores, which can damage the cutting and interfere with the rooting process.

   Soak the potting soil you placed in the container with clean water and allow it to run from the drainage holes. Set the container with potting soil in an area where the excess water may drain.

2. Take a cutting from the Swedish ivy plant. Look for a healthy stem with green leaves. Count down four leaf sets from the end of the stem and cut just below the leaf node---the slightly raised area from where the fourth pair of leaves is growing---with sharp shears or scissors. This is also the stem area between the fourth and fifth sets of leaves counting down from the end of the stem.

3. Pull off the third and fourth sets of leaves from the part of the stem closest to the cut area. Dip the stem into the powdered rooting hormone, covering the last two nodes where the leaves were removed from the stem with the powder.

4. Push your finger into the wet potting soil in the container and make a hole about 1-inch deep. Stick the cut end of the Swedish ivy stem into this hole being careful not to rub off the powdered rooting hormone. Carefully close the soil around the stem, pushing the soil with your hands so the stem remains vertical. The top two leaves of the stem should be above the soil line.

5. Cover the plant and small container with a clear plastic bag to hold in moisture. Place the container in an area with temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in bright light, but not direct sunlight. If it looks like the soil is drying out, add enough water to make the soil damp, but not soaking wet, and replace the plastic bag. The stem should root and begin growing in three to four weeks.

References

• Aggie Horticulture: Swedish Ivy
• Hawaii Plants: Propagating House Plants
• University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension: Propagating House Plants