Have you just purchased, received or taken a cutting? Here are some helpful tips for getting a new plant to root!

Rule number 1: taking cuttings involves risks, it's not 100% but we'll try to get closer with these tips.

Here we will talk about the plants that you will find on the site: monstera, philodendrons (creeping or climbing), syngonium, scindapsus.

1- The cut

To take a cutting, simply cut under a node. The node is where a leaf starts on the main stem. We therefore distinguish between head cutting and section cutting.
The head cutting has the advantage of preserving the growth axis of the plant and will produce new leaves more quickly, and not least: it has a good chance of retaining the leaf size it had.
The section cutting will have to awaken an eye from which the next growth will come, and this takes more time.
note: cutting cleanly, with a sharp pair of scissors or a sterilized scalpel, will reduce the risk of rotting the section.

2- Substrate

There are quite a few choices, and we'll try to cover this as simply as possible.
Water: very convenient and easy, you have to replace the water so that it does not stagnate. The risk of rot is rather high in water I found. Aquarium water, which is oxygenated by the pump, will help. Rooters can also be added.
Potting soil : This is the riskiest. Nothing is visible if it starts to rot. Prefer a specialized potting soil even if the price is higher.
Sphagnum moss : more expensive, but very effective. Simply keep the sphagnum moss moist (be careful, moist does not mean soggy!) in a cup. Reusable for your next cuttings.
Perlite : my favorite way. Pour a third of perlite in a cup, then place the cutting and cover the last two thirds of the cup with perlite, thus covering the node. Add water (with rooter for best results) up to the first third, so as not to put the cutting in direct contact with water. Reusable for your next cuttings. A reel is available on my instagram account ;)

3- Setup

We're almost there! The patience game will begin soon ^^
Once you have your little cutting cup, the best way to avoid excessive transpiration of the leaf is to place the cutting in an IKEA-type storage box, or a Tupperware of a suitable size and place it all in a bright place without direct sunlight. In winter, a heating mat can be useful.
And here we go waiting! You will usually see roots sticking to the edges of the cup in about a month.

4- Potting

When everything is rooted, you can gradually open the box and acclimatize it to the ambient air a little more each day and you can finally put it in a pot! Choose a substrate suitable for the transition: if the cutting was in sphagnum, take a more compact soil than if it was in perlite for example.

5- To avoid

Water on the leaves (avoid spraying a leaf and always prefer good ambient humidity)
Fertilizers too strong
Do not ventilate at all (renew the air from time to time to avoid mold etc.)

6- Tips

Cut half of the leaf to optimize its yield.
The cutting leaf may become exhausted and sacrifice itself when the plant begins to grow, don't stress, it's common!
In terms of rooting and fertilizer, I use osyril and cannastart, it's not very strong but safe.

I hope this is useful to you!
Happy cutting!