Kids corner
Let’s grow more pots of this lovely indoor plant!
Brought to you by Jane Byrne our Kids’ Corner Contributor
Most of us have some sort of greenery in our homes in the way of indoor plants. They make us feel good, they improve our atmosphere, they are a great way to decorate our homes. There are lots of indoor plants where children can become involved in their propagation. They can take cuttings from a variety of indoor plants, enjoy watching them grow roots, cleaning the lovely shiny leaves, observing nature. This month we are talking about taking cuttings from Philodendron Heartleaf, or as it is commonly named, “sweetheart plant”. This plant will give you effortless results.
So kids, first of all, make sure your plant is healthy!
- The easiest way to take a cutting, using very sharp scissors (ask an adult to help with this), is to cut off a piece of stem below a node (a small bump along the stem of the plant), leaving at least three healthy leaves above your cut.
- Place your cutting into a container of water.
- Make sure that you top up the water regularly as it will evaporate very easily.
- Over several weeks you will notice that roots will start to develop from the node.
- When the roots have developed, you can pot your plant into soil.
- You can take cuttings from this indoor plant any time during the year. You might then like to try to take cuttings of other indoor plants that you have. You could gift them to your friends so that they can enjoy the delights of indoor plants too!
Materials that you will need…..
- Philodendron “Heartleaf”
- Scissors
- Jar
- Water
- Small tube or pot with potting soil
Send us your photos to operations@opengardensvictoria.org.au
Past activities