Growing plants in water, or hydroponic system as it is being called these days, is getting very popular. Hydroponics, or growing plants in water, is good because you can grow a variety of plants in small spaces, for example, lobby, terrace, balcony, rooftop, kitchen, etc. One of the major benefits of growing plants in water is you don’t have to worry about weeds. In this article, we will explain how you can propagate indoor plants in water as well as grow mints and coriander in water.
Propagating Indoor Plant Cuttings in Water
You can easily propagate cuttings in water. For instance, soft cuttings, the cuttings that you snip from the top of the plant grow well in water, however, hard cutting that you snip from the side stem or from branch propagates well in soil. You can propagate houseplants like money plants, rubber plants, snake plant, pathos, ZZ plant, etc.
Snip the plant from 1-2 cm below the nodes or just below the area where a leaf is coming out, pluck leaves from the bottom, and leave only 1-2 leaves on the cutting. Leaves might rot in water, therefore, you should pluck all leaves from the bottom.
Dip the cutting in honey or cinnamon and dunk the cutting in water. Cinnamon and honey work as rooting hormones. You can also buy rooting hormone from the market which works better than cinnamon or honey.
While propagating plants in water, the node needs to be dipped inside the water. You also have to topwater in the container as it might evaporate or be soaked by the plant. Also, make sure that you change the water once a week. When you refill freshwater, plants will get more oxygen.
Use a glass or see-through container because you can see what’s happening and in case you see nodes rotting, you can throw away the cutting.
Place the cutting in the area where it gets diffused light. Let the cutting remain in the water for 25-30 days for the roots to appear. The primary aim of propagating plants in water is to help the roots grow. Once roots grow, you can transplant the cutting in soil, or if you want you can continue to grow in water. However, if you are growing in water, you need to frequently change water. When you are transferring to the soil, make sure you continue to keep the soil moist. Your container should also have a drainage hole. While planting in the soil, you can snip excess roots.
The most important thing to consider while making cuttings is you should know where to cut. You have to look for nodes, and cut just 1-2 cm below the nodes. Another way to find the spot for cutting is to look for aerial roots. However, some plants, for instance, snake plants, do not have nodes. For plants like the snake plant, you have to cut from the bottom. While dunking, you also should remember which one is the top part and which one is the bottom part. You should always dunk the bottom part.
Instead of cutting, you can also propagate plants through division process. If the plant has a lot of stems coming out, you can pluck one stem and propagate in water. While plucking you need to remember that the stem also has some roots. You can use this division method to propagate the plants with bulbous roots.
How to Grow Mint Cuttings in Water
Cut mint stems in 6 inches.
Remove the lower leaves in order to leave the 2 inches of cutting without leaves.
Take a flat plastic container, which is at least 3 inches deep and also has a lid.
Make holes, about one inch apart, on the lid of the container.
Insert mint cuttings inside the holes.
Fill the container with water and cover the lid with mint cuttings inserted.
Change the water in the container in 3-4 days.
In 10-12 days, you will see roots growing.
You can plant these cuttings in garden soil or containers filled with soil, or continue to grow in water.
If you are growing in water, you can harvest in about 2-3 weeks.
While harvesting use scissors and cut from the top, leaving at least two inches of shoots.
Growing Coriander in Water
Get seeds from agro store or from your grocery. Grocery bought seeds could be old and processed, thus have low germination. Therefore, for better result, use agro-bought seeds.
Give a pressure treatment to break the seeds into two halves. You can use bread roller or hand grinder. Make sure you are not crushing the whole seed and making powder. This will improve germination. This process is necessary even when you are growing seeds in the soil. However, you have to make sure you break seeds in just two halves.
Fill a container with water to the brim. Place a basket on the top of the container. The basket should have holes in it. However, the holes should not be too large for the seeds to pass. Also make sure water is seeping into the bottom of the basket.
Sprinkle seeds inside the basket. Do not use all seeds at once. Plants seeds in three batches, in 5-6 days interlude. This will allow you to harvest frequently.
Water from the container should get to the seeds so that seeds get moisture. You can also cover the seeds with tissue and spray water so that seeds are moist. You should never let the seeds dry.
Place in the area where there is enough sunlight. If you are growing in summer, make sure to use diffuse light instead of direct light.
Seeds begin to germinate in a week. Once seeds germinate, remove the tissue or tear them to allow seeds to grow (if you have used it). Using tissue helps grow faster as seeds need darkness to sprout.
In 35-40 days, you can harvest your coriander. Since you have planted in multiple batches, you can harvest frequently
You will have to change water in every 2 weeks.
Conclusion
While growing plants in water (called hydroponic popularly) you also need nutrients for your plant. Water is just a medium, plants need vital nutrients to grow. While water still has nutrients, unlike nutrients in soil water does not have enough nutrients.
Therefore, you have to add liquid fertilizer or water soluble fertilizer. You can buy hydroponic fertilizer from the market and add to the water every 15 days. Add fertilizer every time you change water.