Papayas

Coming out of the lab the other day, I happened upon this beautiful sight:

What could this sexy specimen be? A closer inspection was fruitful..... GET IT?!? OMG, SNORT.

A papaya! It was excellent to see a papaya growing so well indoors, because I recently sprouted a few papaya seeds in my plant room. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that my plants will ever be so productive or appealing; my seeds came from a grocery store papaya, while the specimen above was labelled Carica papaya 'TR Hovey,' from Logees greenhouse in Connecticut. We'll just have to see what becomes of my little cuties: 

Welcome to the world, seedlings!

      You should know that there's only one rule in my house: GROW OR DIE. Oh, and try not to fraternize with the Meyer lemon seedlings... they've been experimenting with aphids lately. Citruses are such bad influences.

Plant Surgery, Antietam-Style

This weekend I acquired my first Schefflera. In it's previous life as a bonsai, it was performing poorly and headed for disposal when my friend Julia came upon it. It was graciously donated to me.

As you can see, this bonsai habit is what we technically call "jacked up." And it's no wonder... the roots are cemented into the pot by a top-layer of gravel and glue, as big box stores often do with bonsai for some inexplicable reason. Nonetheless, it is perfect for one thing: pyrotechnics.

What? Pyrotechnics? No, just kidding. What I really meant was Air Layering.

Air layering is a propagation method. Air-layering requires some labor and patience, but it's a great way to revive a plant that has become tall, top-heavy, or bare along the trunk. It works with specifically non-herbaceous or woody plants. The process allows new subterranean roots to grow in the air along the stem. This is achieved by partially severing the main stem/trunk and then tricking it into thinking it's underground. When the new roots have grown sufficiently, you can sever the trunk, and ta-da! New plant, ready for potting. Here's how.

Assemble your Air-Layering tools:

A small, sharp, sterilized knife*

A clean paintbrush*

Rooting hormone powder

Long-fiber sphagnum moss (one handful)

Plastic wrap

Tape or twist-ties

*Always use clean tools. This is modern amateur plant surgery, not Civil War whack-a-limb. Have you been feeding whiskey to your schefflera-patient as well? For shame.

Okay. Step one. Using your knife, take an angular incision along the stem of the plant at the desired height. Make sure there is a leaf node (or adventitious root protrusion, if applicable) above the cut. Remove any intermediate leaves, leaving a bundle of the topmost growth. Angle the cut upward so that you have separated (but not removed) a small flap of stem tissue. What you are cutting is called a "tongue," so that may give you an idea of what it should look like. Also, the cut should be shallow- less than halfway through the stem, or the upper portion will die.

Step two. Brush the cut with rooting hormone powder.

Step three. Get your sphagnum, and moisten it with clean water. Squeeze out the excess. Wrap the wad of sphagnum around the cut as if you were dressing a wound with a bandage.

Step four. Take your plastic, and wrap it around the sphagnum bandage. Secure it in place with your tape. All done! Give your plant a little pat-pat, and resume regular watering in a few days.

Holy crap! That was so easy and enjoyable. Now just keep the dressing evenly moist, and you should expect to see roots forming after a few months. Water from the top of the dressing, with a dropper or something similar, rather than opening the dressing and inviting bacteria. Wait until you see roots through the plastic before you remove it. Then you can sever the stem just below the roots (don't leave too much extra; it will rot) and plant in the smallest suitable container.

Good luck!

I Will Straight Up Cut You, Plant

The Nature Assassin guide to water-rooting your own cuttings. For specified indoor tropicals only; no grafting, no rhizome division. This is easy as hell. Plants that will root in water include but are not limited to:

Gynura aurantiaca (purple passion vine)

Tradescantia zebrina (wandering jew, inch plant)

Epipremnum aureum (pothos)

Hedix hedera (English ivy)

*Update: Peperomia

1) Pick your plant. Scindapsus pictus 'argyraeus,' I pikachoose you. This plant goes by many names, including satin pothos and silver philodendron. Whether it is a true philodendron, I don't know... I really doubt it is a true pothos. It looks remarkably similar to philodendron sodiroi, but is apparently not the same thing? Expert advice will hopefully follow. This plant was sick when I bought it and has never been particularly vigorous. Still, even when it was down to just a few sick stems, it wouldn't be killed. So I have managed to coax it slowly towards becoming the full, compact, well-colored plant that it was meant to be. Check out the amazing silver metallic sheen to this plant. It's even better in person... you can see literal glitter.

So we're ready for step...

2) Assemble your team.

3) Assemble your tools. You will need a clean vase filled with room temperature filtered water, a bottle of rooting hormone powder, and finally your cutting. Rooting hormone powder can be obtained cheaply from any garden store including major hardware chains. One bottle will last you forever.

WAIT, WHERE/HOW DO I CUT IT?

Along the stem between two leaves/by merciless shanking. Use a clean knife, not scissors, and definitely not your fingers. Cutting the stem wounds the plant and the cutting, so it should be a sharp, clean cut rather than a messy tear. The cutting should be at least 5 inches long, though others may tell you that 3 inches will suffice. Leave the endmost leaves or terminal buds in place; remove all the other leaves along the stem. Make sure your cutting contains at least one adventitious root; it will look like a very small brownish protruding scab or bump. Without them, your cutting will not produce roots, and will eventually die. Now for step...

4) Dip the cutting in rooting hormone powder. Some people only do this if they are rooting a cutting in soil... I find most of the powder stays on and speeds the rate of root productions in water as well. From my understanding, rooting hormone powder functions like an antibacterial protectant, keeping the wounds and new roots from rotting. Therefore, I dip all of the cut sections in rooting hormone powder, as opposed to just the stem tip.

To prevent contaminating your entire bottle of rooting hormone powder, pour however much you will need into a smaller container and throw it away when you are finished. The cap, by the by, is from Two Hearted Ale by Bell's Brewery. So good or no good? Soooo good.

That's it! You're done! Put it someplace sunny (but not blindingly so; bright indirect light is perfect) and leave them alone. No humidity chamber, no nothing. Just change the water about once a week, more if it takes on a green tinge. If you notice sections of the stem getting soft, dark, or fuzzy, get rid of them; they are rotting. You can keep a few types cuttings in water permanently; I find them much more attractive than vases of blooms.

Newly assembled cuttings should start to make roots after about 2 weeks, depending on the type of plant you are using.

Other cuttings that I have going:

Sanseveria NOID, courtesy of a friend. I believe these will only root in water when a piece of the original root is included.

Neon Pothos (Epipremnum aureum "Neon")

Variegated Hedix hedera NOID- this one has taken a long time to root, but root it has!

Happy cutting!