Reproduction whole leaf with petiole
This method is characteristic of senpoli, gloxinium, small-leaved peperomia and some types of begonia. To do this, take an adult healthy leaf cut at the base of the plant. The length of the petiole you leave behind will depend on where you root it.
So, when the senpolia is rooted in water, the petiole is left at the leaf about 3-4 cm. And when rooted in the ground - no more than 1 cm. The tip of the petiole is cut off strictly across with a sharp knife, dipped in a solution of phytohormone (see phytohormones). The petiole is placed in a recess previously made in the soil so that the underside of the leaf faces the wall of the pot. The sheet itself should not touch the soil, but rise above it. Then the pot is covered with a jar to increase the humidity and must be ventilated twice a day.
In general, you can root a leaf with a petiole both in water, which is done more often, and in the ground. If you put a leaf in a glass of water, you can always take it out and look at the roots or not. If the petiole of the leaf does not want to give roots in any way, you can put it in the solution of the drug "Rokorenit" - see phytohormones.
When a leaf with a petiole takes root in the ground (it can be a mixture of peat and sand in equal parts, or clean sand, or vermiculite), then you can find out whether the roots appeared only after some time has passed: if you remove the jar and during the day and the next day the leaf does not wither - most likely, it is rooted. The fact is that in a dry room, if there are no feeding roots, then the sheet evaporating moisture will not be able to replenish it in any way, and will begin to fade. After the leaf with the petiole takes root, it will begin to intensively build up the root mass, and only when it is sufficient, the growth of the aboveground part will go. Therefore, sometimes flower growers ask the question: "the leaf stands in the ground, does not wither and does not grow, what is wrong with it?" So, if the leaf is not under a bag or jar, then the growth of shoots is not visible while the root system is growing. The rate of root growth depends on many factors, primarily temperature, light and uniformity of moisturization. It must be warm, but not hot, optimally 24-26 ° С, not higher than 32 ° С, and light, but do not put the pot in a leaf in direct sun, otherwise the temperature under the jar or bag will rise strongly and slow down the development of the plant. The light should be bright and diffused. If necessary, you can illuminate with fluorescent lamps so that the daylight hours are 12-14 hours.
Reproduction whole leaf without petiole
This method is used for the reproduction of succulents (stonecrop, echiveria, fat woman, zamiakulkas, etc.), begonia Rex. In begonia Rex leaves on their lower side, it is necessary to pre-cut all thick veins, in succulent plants fleshy and large leaves are pre-dried for two days. The soil is covered with wet sand, into which large leaves are immersed with the lower part, and small ones are laid flat and slightly pressed.
Begonia Rex leaves are large in size, so you need to put the leaves on the lower side on the surface of the sand and press them in several places with matches to the sand.
After rooting, plants are planted in permanent pots when young rosettes or new shoots grow up. But some plants are difficult to replant, such as sediments. When you transplant Morgan's clean, his fragile leaves instantly fall off under your fingers, and half of the shoots "bald" before your eyes. In this case, it is necessary to plant in a permanent pot (without further transplantation), it is enough to put the leaf on the surface of the earth, maintain uniform humidity and good lighting. If the soil dries up too quickly, you need to cover the plate with leaves on rooting with glass or film.
Propagating part of a sheet
It is a common breeding method for Maison's begonia, royal begonia, sansevieria, streptocarpus, aloe, and other plants, mainly succulents. Sansevieria leaves are cut into pieces up to 5 cm long, in begonia part of the leaf with a base of up to 4 cm, and planted in moist warm sand or a very loose substrate from a mixture of leaf earth and peat.
To prevent the leaf from falling flat on the soil, a supporting stick is placed under it. At high temperature (30-32 ° C), careful watering, as well as good lighting, pieces of leaves give roots and form a young plant. When propagating part of the leaf, a higher temperature of soil and air is allowed, since the evaporating surface of the plant is much less.
What is noteworthy, when dividing a sheet into parts and planting, it does not matter which side to lower a fragment of the sheet into the ground - where there was a bottom or top, it does not matter if even to plant a piece of the sheet "upside down" it still gives roots. Here the success of rooting cannot be called one hundred percent, often from planted fragments of leaves, only half or a third takes root. Some rot, others dry out. According to my own observations of the rooting of fragments of sansevier sheets, I can notice that pieces of leaves planted in pure vermiculite were better rooted. The only explanation I find is that vermiculite has no organic elements, i.e. it does not rot, absorbs water well and, if necessary, gives it away. No special care is required, only occasionally spraying leaves and substrate. But in the future, when growing young leaves, transplantation into the ground is necessary, and here there is a danger of plant loss. The roots formed by cuttings in water and vermiculite have many fluffy root hairs, they are also called water roots. When planted in the ground, they quickly dry out, and the plant greatly inhibits growth, sometimes dies. Therefore, when planting in a pot, in the ground you need to make a hole and plant a leaf with roots there along with part of the vermiculite (without shaking the roots). After transplantation, the first days are shaded from the sun.