Dieffenbachia has been grown as a room culture for over a hundred years. This plant is famous for decorative leaves and the ability to quickly grow green mass, as well as its unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. Easy and simple dieffenbachia multiplies.
The plant got its name in honor of the gardener, who served in the nineteenth century at the imperial court in Vienna. His name was Joseph Dieffenbage. He was one of the first to appreciate the beauty of the flower and began to grow it for landscaping residences and gardens. The main feature of the plant is its beautiful leaves. Gradually, different varieties began to appear: bush, with one stem, high and low. Tall species form a thick stem: the height of such species can reach two or more meters, even in room conditions.
Over time, adult plants lose their decorative effect: their stems are exposed, the leaves remain only on the crown. To return decorativeness to the plant, it is necessary to propagate dieffenbachia. This procedure is quick: the parts of the flower give roots quickly and easily. The uniqueness of the process is that Dieffenbachia can be propagated in all its parts: stems, shoots, cuttings, root with hemp. A new specimen grows from each part, the main thing is that there are sleeping kidneys on the selected part.
When working with a plant, safety rules must be observed. This is due to the toxicity of the juice: it can cause skin irritation, burns of the mucous membranes. To protect yourself, you should carry out all cutting work with gloves, and then thoroughly rinse all the tools.
Cuttings
The process of propagation of dieffenbachia begins with the preparation of cuttings. In order to cut the cuttings from an adult elongated plant, you need to take a sharp knife, which cuts off the crown with a piece of the trunk. It should have two internodes. Cut off the top in one motion so that no burrs form.
In order not to bring the infection to the place of cut, before cutting the tool is treated with either alcohol or boiling water.
The remainder is divided into cuttings so that each has at least three internodes. About two of them will sink into the water, and one remains on the surface: a kidney will wake up on it, and new foliage will begin to grow.
During cuttings, it is necessary to remember where the threaded stems have the top and where the bottom. The farther away the part of the stem from the crown, the coarser the tissue on it and the longer the roots will grow.
Having decided to propagate Dieffenbachia at home, do not cut the stems to the ground. Be sure to stay a stump with 1-2 internodes. This pruning is continued to be looked after: from sleeping buds, the plant grows a new green mass.
Rooting
When propagating by cuttings of Dieffenbachia, all chopped parts are left in a dry place to dry the sections. This procedure takes about a day. Only after the cutting places have dried, can the plant be put on root. For this, a can of water is used: cuttings and a crown are placed in it. The process of root growth takes about three weeks, but the plant can grow the root mass sooner or later: it all depends on the part of the stem, season.
So that the plant does not rot during the root extension procedure, activated carbon is placed in the water. The fluid in the container is changed every two weeks. The root system grows faster if the capacity is put on the windowsill, where there is no direct sunlight.
When propagating the dieffenbachia flower on bare stems, while they are rooted, not only roots grow, but also shoots with leaves. Usually, roots appear from the lower buds, which are lowered into the water, and shoots appear from the upper ones. As soon as the roots appear, the plant is ready for planting in the ground.
Landing the cuttings
For planting the plant, ready-made soil is used for indoor decorative deciduous plants. The stem cuttings are deepened into the ground so that a small stump with a young shoot remains on the surface.
When rooting the crown, all leaves and a short stem with two nodes should remain on the surface.
Propagation by root shoots
Low-growing dieffenbachia grow in beautiful lush bushes. But with the growth of the bushes lose their decorativeness, the lashes begin to curl, stretch, the lower part is exposed. To propagate such varieties, pruning of cuttings is carried out at ground level. Then the resulting stems are divided into small fragments, on each of which 2-3 sleeping buds are left. The resulting cuttings are rooted according to the principle described above, and the plant can be propagated horizontally.
Horizontal propagation method
The stem cuttings of a bush type plant are ideal for the horizontal propagation method. For this, a soil mixture of sand and peat is taken in equal parts. Instead of sand, vermiculite or perlite can be used. The soil must be loose.
Then, parts of shoots without leaves are taken and laid out horizontally on the ground. In order for the plant to give roots, it can be half deepened, completely filled up, or left to lie on the surface. With this method, sleeping kidneys should be in contact with the ground.
Having decided to completely fill up the stem, it is important to consider that it can rot due to an excess of moisture.
A container with a handle is placed on a windowsill without direct sunlight.
Soil reproduction
The care and propagation of Dieffenbachia is so simple that this type of plant can be easily rooted directly in the ground without any special preparation. To get new plant instances, you need to prepare loose soil. Slices should fade. Then the soil is prepared, and cuttings are vertically deepened into it by one or two internodes. The plant is placed in diffused light. With this method of propagation, the soil should always remain moist, and between waterings it must be loosened.
Leaf propagation
You can carry out the propagation of Dieffenbachia with a leaf with a piece of stem. This leaf does not propagate with one leaf. Reproduction methods are no different from others.
Leaf rooting is carried out if it is not possible to get the crown or other part of the plant. To do this, take a leaf with a piece of the stem, on which there should be two buds. If you make the stalk of the stem small, then he will not be able to provide all the necessary nutrients to the leaf and he will die.
Bush division
Shrub varieties propagated by division. This procedure is carried out in the spring, during a plant transplant. To get a new plant, the bush is divided into several parts, separating the stems with roots. For this procedure, you need a knife. Place the cuts sprinkled with charcoal.
The resulting delenki are planted in different containers.
Another way of propagating dieffenbachia in the video below.
A few breeding tips
On the Internet there are many photos of Dieffenbachia breeding at home, but there is little information about the problems that the grower may encounter. The first and main of them is when the plant does not grow roots for a long time. Without waiting for the formation of the root, the plant is thrown away.
The problem of long-term rooting is either the wrong period of cuttings or the use of the oldest parts of the plant. In winter, the flower sleeps and does not grow roots. If you wait for awakening, it will quickly increase the root mass and release a new shoot. If rooting is carried out in spring or summer, and the stalk is long standing in the water without roots, this means that the oldest piece of the stem is taken: this part takes longer to root (up to two months).
Sometimes flower growers are faced with the problem of rotting cuttings in water. This may indicate a drift of the infection during the propagation of the cuttings or a poor quality of the liquid used for rooting. Sometimes rotting cuttings associated with the use of low-quality (sick) planting material.
To prevent this from happening, cuttings need to be cut only with clean tools and only filtered water should be used. In order not to lose the stalk, the decayed part is removed from it with the capture of healthy tissue, the cut site is treated with charcoal and dried. Then the stalk is put on further rooting in filtered water.