How to propagate a rattlesnake plant is a question that is often asked because of the popularity this plant holds among both old and new gardeners. The rattlesnake plant is known to many as a sacred plant, and other than that has many benefits.
You can simply buy a rattlesnake plant from the garden store, but propagating it yourself surely makes it even more special and forms a bond between you and your plant. In this article, we have curated a very simple stepped process of propagating a rattlesnake plant for your home garden, so let us get started.
Contents
How To Propagate a Rattlesnake Plant With Ease?
To propagate a rattlesnake plant with ease, you must pick the right time, and choose a healthy plant. Remove and clean the cutting, then grow them in some water medium. Transfer it to a new pot, and maintain the plant’s growth as you are aware of the problems.
You can propagate a rattlesnake plant for your home garden by growing and caring for a cutting of the plant taken from an already grown and mature mother plant. This is the fastest way of growing a rattlesnake plant is by cutting, but also, compared to a faster thrive is from seeds.
1. Pick the Right Time
The best time to propagate a rattlesnake plant is early spring. At this time, the plant is in its best condition on the outside and inside. So if you are planning on propagating the rattlesnake plants, keep an eye out for them in the early spring seasons.
On the other hand, you should also know that the worst time to propagate this plant with colorful leaf tips is probably the winter season, as in this season, the plant hibernates and does not develop much.
It cannot stand to be in colder weather, so it shuts off completely. In winter, it is best to keep your rattlesnake plant in a room that has some sort of heating system going on because, other than that, the plant would catch frost.
2. Choose a Healthy Mother Plant
One of the moist important steps in propagating a rattlesnake plant is to find a healthy and mature plant that will act as the mother. The mother plant is the plant from which the cuttings are taken for the new formation of plants through propagation.
You need to look for a healthy and disease-free plant that has beautifully grown leaves that are colorful and vibrant. Whatever features the mother plant has, the same features will be passed on to the newly propagated plant.
While inspecting the plant, make sure to start from the bottom and go all the way up. Look for any roots protruding from the soil if they have any root rot or not. The plants will need to be infected and infestation free, so look out for any damages and bugs, and try to avoid that stem because of the ongoing hindrance that it would start to face.
You can find mature rattlesnake plants in any outdoor garden, nursery, or grading shop that lets you take cuttings. If you collect the cuttings from an outdoor point, ensure you have the appropriate permission so as not to overstep someone’s hard work.
3. Remove and Clean the Cutting
The second step in the process of propagation is to remove the cutting from the plant. Once you have decided on a mother plant, you will now need to cut an appropriate part of the plant for propagation. We will need a cutting of about 12 inches that has some roots and few leaves, and you will need a sharp blade and a pair of safety gloves for this.
Carefully make an incision vertically, freeing a stem with roots and leaves. As soon as you have the cutting, put it in a damp cloth so that the cutting does not eventually dry out and die. You will now need to clean the cutting by wiping any and all sorts of dirt away.
Now, you should also make sure that you handle the cutting with extreme care as it can break very easily. The roots will all be tangled up and with a lot of soil, so with delicate hands, try to open up the roots a little. This will help the roots to form well when propagated.
4. Grow them in Water
After collecting and cleaning the cutting, the next step is to grow it in the water. Take a glass pot and fill it up with water. We say glass pot because, in such cases, it is important to see the root formation, and in a glass pot you can easily see that. You will not need to pull out the plant every time you need to see if the roots develop and damage anything in the process.
Position the cutting in the water in a way that the cutting stands vertically. It may seem impossible, but you can use clear tape at the rim of the jar to hold the cutting however you want it to.
The second thing that you need to keep in mind is that you need to change the water after every two days to ensure that it is clean and that the cutting is growing in a clean environment. Be very careful to not out the cutting through any damage, because this can be an issue, so you must be very detailed in the process.
5. Transfer to a New Pot
After the cutting has been in the water for a good time, and you can visibly see the growth, it is time to transfer the cutting into its final growing position. You will need to use an indoor safe pot that will not create a mess and is large enough for the plant to grow and expand.
Fill the pot with good quality soil with a good amount of nutrients because otherwise, you will need to use a fertilizer soon. Transfer the cutting from the water to the soil. Make sure that the cutting is positioned in a vertical position in the pot. Add soil around the cutting and press the soil gently from the top. This will ensure that the soil and the plant are positioned perfectly.
After the pot is ready with the cutting, water the plant lightly and make a schedule for watering the plant. The schedule should be frequent and should be timed, as this plant comes from the rainforests, so they require a good amount of humidity.
If you really want to give them a real natural feel, you can get a humidifier, but it is unnecessary, so make sure that you would be balanced in this notion. These plants love humidity and thrive in a wet, highly sunlit place. So when keeping the rattlesnake plants indoors, make sure you find a place for them that gets direct sunlight and can get humid throughout the day.
6. Maintain the Plant
The last step in the process is to maintain the plant for its growth, and the plant will grow slowly and will take its time. An appropriate amount of sunlight and water will ensure that the plant is being maintained, and this is why you must make sure the position of the plant is most desirable because this is how it will be well enough to establish properly.
All there is left to do is to wait patiently and see the plant grow. The plant is great for cuttings and propagation because, throughout the month, the rattlesnake plant needs to be pruned. Pruning the rattlesnake plant will make it grow even bigger than before and will enhance its leaf development after it has grown well with the right requirements. This is great when propagating, as pruning will yield a lot of cuttings for you to grow new plants from.
The rattlesnake plant takes weeks to grow and shows signs of any growth and development, and they are fairly slow-growing plants naturally. They may stop growing completely when they come under any external or internal stress and unfavorable conditions.
So for the plant to grow in a healthy way, you need to maintain the conditions in the best way possible and also make sure that there are no bugs and insects around to disturb the growth of the plant. Be patient to see the first signs of growth on the propagated rattlesnake plant because they are slow bloomers.
7. Be Aware of the Problems
However, if your plant has stunted growth, it may need more sunlight or water. The other reasons can be that its roots have started to rot or that a bug infestation is eating away at the plant.
These are the most common reasons why your plant might have stopped growing. These reasons are universal, and they can be judged on any plant when they show weak signs of growth and development. Try to move the location of your rattlesnake plant to a point where there is good sunlight and fresh air; in short, this should help your plant’s growth in the long term.
This is the type of plant that is very easygoing and do not require much care, but they will surely die when the conditions are very unfavorable for them. Other than that, average graded soil and scarcely watering routine will sit all well with this plant in your house.
Conclusion
You can to the end, where we covered all about how you can propagate rattlesnake plants at home using the most successful way, but if you missed anything, here is a short review for you to read:
- You can propagate a rattlesnake plant for your home garden by growing and caring for a cutting of the plant taken from an already grown and mature mother plant.
- The plant should be watered regularly and loves humidity, and it can be grown in water alone without the constant need for soil.
- The propagation of a rattlesnake plant is much easier through cutting rather than seeds.
- Make sure that you place the plant in the right position to receive thee right amount of lighting.
Here we come to the end of the article about growing rattlesnake plants via propagation, as you grow this plant, it is a very famous plant for keeping indoors as it has vivid and vibrant colors, and also it has beautiful foliage.
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