How to Regrow Already Cut Flowers
Freshly cut flowers can brighten any room inside your home, they can also turn into individual plants with the right care. Whether you have just cut your flowers or they have been in a vase of cool water for a day or two, you can try to start your new plant anytime your plant is actively growing. When you use cut flowers, or cuttings, you can get a thriving plant faster than sowing seeds and can ensure your new plant is exactly like its parent.
Prepare a pot for your cut flowers by filling it with a seed starting medium. Spray the seed medium with water to dampen it well throughout, feeling with your finger if needed to check for moisture.
Push your pencil straight down through the soil 2 to 3 inches in four evenly spaced places to leave a pocket for each of your cut flowers. Cut the top off a 2-liter bottle to make it have a wide opening to form a mini-greenhouse when turned upside down over the pot.
- Freshly cut flowers can brighten any room inside your home, they can also turn into individual plants with the right care.
- When you use cut flowers, or cuttings, you can get a thriving plant faster than sowing seeds and can ensure your new plant is exactly like its parent.
Remove the flower portion from your stem by cutting it off just above a set of leaves. Depending on the type of flower you have, your cutting may be longer or shorter, but the stem only needs to have three sets of leaves and measure 2 to 6 inches long.
Count down from the top leaves to the third leaf set, and cut the stem base just below the third set on a diagonal. Remove the bottom two sets of leaves by pinching them off at their base with your fingernail, leaving only the top leaf set intact.
Dip the bottom end of your cut flower into a bowl of water 1 inch deep and then immediately into the rooting powder. Slip the end of the flower into one of the preformed holes in the soil to bring the middle leaf area (where the leaf has been removed) to the soil level.
Gently work the soil around the cutting to hold it in place without putting pressure on the stem. Repeat with each of your cut flowers.
- Remove the flower portion from your stem by cutting it off just above a set of leaves.
- Slip the end of the flower into one of the preformed holes in the soil to bring the middle leaf area (where the leaf has been removed) to the soil level.
Set the bottle greenhouse over the soil and lightly press the edges of the plastic into the soil 1/2 inch to secure it. Place the pot in a sunny window where it can receive indirect light without sitting in full sun.
Water the pot as needed to keep the soil consistently damp. As long as the stems aren’t wilting, you are safe to assume roots are growing. When new growth appears on the stem, you can remove the soda bottle and begin to gradually introduce the plant to direct sunlight over the next few days.
Tip
If any of your cut flowers start to wilt or turn black, then lift the soda bottle and remove the diseased or dying flowers from the pot to keep other cuttings healthy.
Different plants may take different amounts of time to root. Be patient as you wait for roots to grow over the next two weeks to three months.
Warning
Be sure you’re working with healthy plants, and avoid using cut flowers from diseased plants or your new plant may struggle to grow roots and survive.
Related Articles
References
- "Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Gardening"; Carroll C. Calkins; 1993
- Purdue University: New Plants from Cuttings
Tips
- If any of your cut flowers start to wilt or turn black, then lift the soda bottle and remove the diseased or dying flowers from the pot to keep other cuttings healthy.
- Different plants may take different amounts of time to root. Be patient as you wait for roots to grow over the next two weeks to three months.
Warnings
- Be sure you're working with healthy plants, and avoid using cut flowers from diseased plants or your new plant may struggle to grow roots and survive.
