How about a friend that you could grow yourself?
Caring for another creature can help you feel calmer and more connected. Your heart rate slows, breathing becomes more regular, and muscles relax. But if a cat feels out of the question and dog walking is a step too far – well, how about looking after a houseplant?
Plant pets are becoming ever more popular companions, and with good reason. They give you the chance to care for another living thing without having to worry about walks or grooming. And, as you grow, your leafy youngsters will too. They’re the gift that keeps on growing!
Learn some simple propagation (or breeding) tricks and you could end up a plant grandparent! Before long, you’ll have a brood of baby houseplants to give to friends and family as presents. Here are three to consider adopting…
Swiss cheese plant:
Famous for their holey, Emmental-like leaves, Monstera deliciosa (Swiss cheese plant) can get pretty gigantic when they grow to full size. But they have a gentle nature. They’ll need regular watering and a spot away from direct sunlight – but they also love it when you dust off their leaves to help with photosynthesis or give them a bit of mist to increase humidity.
Holey leaves are a sign your monstera is contented, and in the wilds of Central America, they help the plant withstand heavy rainfall and wind. When the plant gets bigger, look out for white or brown roots growing above the soil – these are called aerial roots, and help support the plant as it grows taller.
It’s hard to believe a plant of such size would be easy to breed, but you can use the same water rooting method as used for spider plants (see right). Look for a new stem with several leaf ‘nodes’. These are the brown circular rings where the leaf used to be. Each of these nodes will support new roots.
Choose a node low down on the stem and get help to carefully cut 2 cm below this with sharp scissors. Pop the stem in water and wait for roots to form. It may take more than a month for the roots to begin showing, but it’s fascinating to watch them grow as this is a process that’s normally hidden away underground.
Note: Monstera is toxic to humans and animals, so must be kept out of reach of any pets and never consumed.
Pancake Plant:
Their Latin name, Pilea peperomioides, might sound like a pizza topping, but pancake plants are actually so-called for their circular, disc-like leaves. They’re also known as Chinese money plants or ‘pass-it-on’ plants – they are believed to bring good luck and fortune.
Despite their unusual appearance and glossy, saucer-like leaves, these indoor plants are straightforward to grow and don’t need much attention. Try not to let them sit in wet soil but don’t let them get too dry, either. If the leaves start to droop, you’ll know it’s time to give them a drink.
Propagating pancake plants is so simple – one of the reasons they make good presents is that the parent plants easily produce plantlets around their base.
All you need to do is pick a small plantlet that already has three or four leaves then gently dig it up, roots and all. You can either pop them in water to grow more roots, or plant straight away into small pots of potting mix.
Spider Plant:
If there’s one plant that’s guaranteed to forgive you when you forget it, the spider plant – or Chlorophytum comosum – is it. And, yes, it really does look like a spider. As with all the houseplants mentioned here, the spider plant needs very little care. It likes to be kept out of direct sunlight, and you only need to water it when the top few centimetres of soil feel dry. You might want to serve up a little plant food during summer – but, other than that, these guys are not fussy.
Spider plants also do a nifty job of removing household pollutants (such as detergent, air freshener, and smoke). They absorb the chemical particles into their leaves and roots and breathe out oxygen.
One way your spider plant will tell you it’s happy is by popping out baby spider plants on the end of long stems. It’s also known as the ‘hen-and-chickens’ plant for its ability to spawn a flock of tiny offspring. These spiderettes have small nodules on the base, where they’ll grow their own roots. This makes them easy to propagate, and you can help them produce roots by snipping the spiderettes off the parent plant and placing them in water.
Get an adult to help cut the stem connecting the baby spider plant to the mother plant with sharp scissors. Fill a vase or large glass jar with water and place the babies in the top so their bottoms are submerged in water. Once you have a nice nest of white roots (typically at around three to four weeks), you can plant them into small pots of good-quality potting mix (you can find this at your local garden centre). Place so that the roots are level with the surface of the potting mix and fill in firmly with more compost. Water well.
