Ask and You Shall Receive: Prayer Plant Propagation

Written by: Sumati Shah, Go Go Green Thumbs

 

I’d looked at the sad overgrown prayer plant in my living room for longer than than I should have, until finally the poor creature needed resuscitation or dispatch. Turns out that if you neglect to repot for long enough, they’ll push out aerial roots in their attempt to seek out better medium…

Conveniently enough that also makes these plants easy to propagate. Prayer always helps, but you won’t find yourself needing to call on it during this rehabilitation effort.

Marantas have a rhizome structure that the roots grow from and their beautiful matte but somehow still sparkly leaves will trail on stems that eventually get too long to support themselves.  Those are the your propagating candidates: just boldly chop at a node and clean off any dead or mushy tissue or plant material before putting it into clear water.

I’ve got a little propagation station with three tubes and they’re the perfect size for this, but any old glass will do. While you wait for roots to grow be certain to change the water anytime it gets cloudy, and keep it topped up. As long as the leaves aren’t deteriorating, good things are happening and after a week or two you’ll see progress.

Well rooted “props” are more than ready to be potted up either combined into a larger pot, or singly in small 2 1/2 – 3” pots.

 

Rule of Green Thumbs: Light up your life with a prayer plant. The lush leaved tropical brightens a shady room and opens to greet you (and the sunlight!) every day. It inspires the magic in your own heart!

 

Err on the small side if you’re not sure. Although Marantas enjoy a lot of humidity and moisture, they definitely need to dry fairly well between waterings. You can even try potting in an orchid mix which is pretty perfect for accommodating them with less risk of rot if you’re prone to inconsistent watering.

I’ve gone from one sad waning plant….to a small nursery of offspring and one main plant which was repotted and now gaining back it’s colour – and all its glory.

 

 Go Go Green Thumbs!