Easy Beauty

Start a windowsill garden by taking cuttings from some of your favorite indoor and outdoor plants and rooting them in water. Use pruners or a sharp knife to cut a 3- or 4-inch stem; strip off the bottom leaves and place the cut stem in a small container of water. If you like, choose colorful containers and set them on a windowsill for a pretty effect.

Although it doesn't suit every plant, rooting plants in water is the easiest propagation method. Change the water in the containers weekly because stale water turns cloudy and detracts from the attractiveness of the arrangement. More importantly, bacteria may develop and create an unhealthy medium for the plants.

 

Enjoy the cuttings during the
winter months, then transplant
them into containers and set
them outdoors for the summer.

• Angelwing Begonia
• Hoya
• Swedish Ivy
• Wandering Jew
• Purple Passion Plant
• Coleus
• Gardenia

Most plants thrive only a limited time without soil in which to spread their roots. When you transplant rooted cuttings into a pot of potting mix, remember that the roots they form in water are finer and more fragile than the ones they develop in soil. For at least a week after transplanting, keep the potting mix moist to avoid shocking the plants and to allow new roots a chance to grow. However, cuttings that are rooted in soil should be watered once when they're placed in a pot of soil to begin developing, and not again until the soil is almost dry.