To be frank, there’s not much to making a plant propagation station. you just need a very sunny spot and some repurposed glass bottles and jars. I hope this post convinces and inspires you to create a special place to propagate your plants.
But first, what is plant propagation?
Plant propagation is when you take a piece of an existing plant, encourage it to grow roots and create a whole new plant from it. In The Sill’s article Plant Propagation for Beginners, they make the important point that first attempts aren’t always successful.
As someone whose best propagation work has happened by accident, I can attest to that point. In fact, I mentioned in a recent post that I don’t expect success each time I try to root store-bought basil. On top of that, I’ve learned the lighting conditions do have to be just right.
At our old house, I never had luck with rooting plant clippings. I think the windowsill I attempted the rooting at got too much sun. I tried outside when it was too hot and I tried in spots that weren’t sunny enough. So step one, find the right spot.
Make your own propagation station
Something that I’m pretty sure I’ll never buy again are drinking glasses and vases. Why? Because I make it a point to shop local farmers markets which tend to use a lot more mason jars. We are a loud-and-proud mason jar-using family here at the bungalow. We use them for everything – drinking, storing, mixing, shaking, for plants, for flowers, you name it.
I’m also a big fan of Iconic Cocktail Co. mixers which come in glass bottles. We repurpose these glass bottles in the same way, and I discovered they make the cutest display of plants and herbs on the window sill. We even used them recently for our STEM-focused St. Patrick’s Day flower experiment.
As I said at the beginning of this article, there’s not much to it. Pick a spot and put some water-filled bottles on the windowsill, pop some plant clippings in and leave it alone.
Tips for creating a propagation station
This is a very simple task but there are some points I’ll go ahead and make:
- Test different spots in your home until you find success
- There’s a right and a wrong way to create clippings. (See step 1 in The Sill article I linked above)
- Be sure to change the water frequently
- Start with an easy and healthy plant
- Be patient, it can take several weeks for roots to form
So what do you say? Start setting your glass bottles and jars to the side and get to propagating! It’s fun to trade clippings with friends too. I love gifting plants I created from plant clippings too, it feels good to know that I created something beautiful that will grow and thrive in someone else’s care (hopefully).
