Aroid Propagation: Leave the Leaf on or Take it off?
I did an experiment to test one of the greatest questions in the history of mankind: does leaving the original leaf attached to the stem on a plant cutting help the cutting to produce new roots and shoots faster? With the rise in popularity of the “wet stick” (a cutting without any leaves / just a node with stem that looks like a stick) I was eager to find out for myself.
Here is a video of the experiment in which I used cuttings from my Philodendron Verrucossum and planted them in sphagnum moss.
PART 2
Experiment Set-up:Part 1
RESULT:
And WOW! The results were more drastic than I anticipated.
Photo of Results: Leaves win!
This may look like a bunch of sh*t on sticks but it's an important visual reminder to keep the leaves and petioles attached to stems when possible during propagation. For those of you newer to plants, this translates to: keep all the leaves on your plant when you cut up your plant to make babies. And while I did this experiment using a Philodendron, this same rationale can be applied to all Aroids.
Leaving a leaf with a petiole attached to a stem cutting will encourage the cutting to produce roots at a much faster rate (group on the right). This still holds true even if the leaf and petiole turn yellow and die, and in some cases completely fall off. The energy from the leaf transfers downward, helps to fuel new root growth, and eventually a new green shoot will emerge from the bud near the node on the original stem. Sometimes, a shoot will emerge first, and then roots. It is important to note however, that even given these results, there will still be times when it is more practical to chop the leaves off when propagating. If you are propagating your Philodendron in a small propagation bin without a lot of overhead space, wet-sticks are still the way to go. The nodes will still grow without their extra appendages, albeit slower.
