The tropical plants are native in those locations that are closer to the Equator. They are also common in the places known as ‘monsoon areas’. The characteristics of these regions include the fact that they have drier seasons. In case you would like to have some tropical plants in your garden, you should know that they can be easily propagated through cuttings.
The cuttings are parts of a plant that are rooted in order to create a new plant. The most basic thing that the tropical plants need for propagation is light and also a higher temperature of 64 degrees F or more.
The cuttings can be made from stems, leaves or roots. In order to make sure that the cutting has high chances of survival, consider the herbaceous stem cutting that is taken from the new growth of the tender shoots.
In case you prefer the leaf cutting, then you should take the leaf blade and also a part of the petiole. This should be trimmed to half an inch length. Some of the plants could also be propagated with the help of a part of the stem without any leafs.
Place the cutting horizontally in the dirt, and slightly cover it. When looking for the portion to make the cutting from, you should select the healthy stems and always cut beneath the node or the area that attaches the leaf. When making a cutting use a sharp knife.
The cuttings should be placed in those mediums that can be found in the garden supply stores. If you would like to create your own medium, then mix construction grade sand with an equal amount of peat moss. As alternatives you could also consider vermiculite and perlite. All of them are lightweight and they retain water to help the plants grow. You shouldn’t use the soil from your garden inside propagators because it may be filled with disease organisms.
Another solution to make sure that you will have healthy plants is to be using peat pellets that expand when they are placed in water. After you have soaked and drained them, place them in a plastic bag. In each of the bags you should place one cutting and close the top. You won’t need to water the cuttings until after they root.
After the cuttings have rooted, you should plant them. Remove the leaves from the bottom portion of it and add rooting hormone. Read the instructions of the hormone before using it. Clean the cuttings and do not leave them on dirty containers.
The 6-8 inch planting pots could be used for several cuttings. After you have planted the cutting in the pot, place a plastic bag on top of it to close it. During the rooting process the medium should be moist at all times.
The cuttings need a high level of humidity to be able to develop. The pot that has been covered with plastic shouldn’t be placed in the direct sunlight because there will be too much heat inside that will burn the cutting.
