Dieffenbachia has been grown as an indoor crop for over a hundred years. This plant is famous for its decorative leaves and the ability to quickly grow green mass, as well as for its unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. Dieffenbachia breeds easily and simply.
The plant got its name in honor of a gardener who served in the nineteenth century at the imperial court in Vienna. His name was Josef Dieffenbaj. 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 in its beautiful leaves. Gradually, different varieties began to appear: bush, with one stem, high and low. Tall varieties form a thick stem: the height of such species can reach two or more meters even at room conditions.
Over time, adult plants lose their decorative effect: their stems are exposed, the leaves remain only at the top. To return the decorative effect to the plant, it is necessary to propagate dieffenbachia. This procedure is fast: parts of the flower easily and quickly give roots. The uniqueness of the process is thatdieffenbachia can be propagated by all its parts: stems, shoots, cuttings, root with stump. A new specimen grows from each part, the main thing is that the selected part has dormant buds.
While working with the plant, you should follow the safety rules. 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 tools.
Cutting
The process of propagation of dieffenbachia begins with the preparation of cuttings. In order to cut 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 infect the cut site, the tool is treated with either alcohol or boiling water before cutting.
The rest is divided into cuttings so that each has at least three internodes. About two of them will sink into the water, and one will remain on the surface: a bud will wake up on it and new foliage will begin to grow.
During cuttings, it is necessary to remember where the cut stems have the top and where the bottom. The farther from the crown part of the stem, the coarser the tissues on it and the longer the roots will grow.
When deciding to propagate dieffenbachia at home, you should not cut the stems to the ground. There must be a stump with 1-2 internodes. This pruning continues to be looked after: from dormant budsthe plant grows new green mass.
Rooting
When propagated by dieffenbachia cuttings, all cut parts are left in a dry place to dry the cuts. This procedure takes about a day. Only after the cutting sites have dried out can the plant be rooted. For this, a jar of water is used: cuttings and the crown are placed in it. The process of root growth takes about three weeks, but the plant may grow root mass earlier or later: it all depends on the part of the stem, the time of year.
So that the plant does not rot during the rooting procedure, activated charcoal is placed in the water. The fluid in the tank is changed every two weeks. The root system grows faster if the container is placed on a windowsill where there is no direct sunlight.
When a dieffenbachia flower propagates on bare stems, while they are rooting, not only roots grow, but also shoots with leaves. Usually, roots appear from the lower buds, which are lowered into the water, and shoots from the upper buds. As soon as the roots appear, the plant is ready for planting in the ground.
Planting a cutting into the ground
For planting plants use ready-made soil for indoor ornamental foliage plants. 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.
Reproduction by root shoots
Short dieffenbachia grow beautiful lush bushes. But when growing, the bushes lose their decorative effect, the lashes begin to curl, stretch, the lower part is exposed. For propagation of such varieties, cuttings are pruned at ground level. Then the resulting stems are divided into small fragments, on each of which 2-3 dormant buds are left. The resulting cuttings are rooted according to the principle described above, or you can propagate the plant horizontally.
Horizontal propagation method
Stem cuttings of a bush type plant are ideal for horizontal propagation. For this, a soil mixture is made of sand and peat, taken in equal parts. Instead of sand, you can use vermiculite or perlite. The soil should be loose.
Then, parts of the shoots without leaves are taken and laid out horizontally on the ground. In order for the plant to give roots, it can be half buried, completely covered, or left to lie on the surface. With this method, dormant buds must be in contact with the ground.
When deciding to completely cover the cutting, it is important to consider that it can rot due to an excess of moisture.
The container with the handle is placed on the windowsill without direct sunlight.
Reproduction in the ground
The care and propagation of dieffenbachia is so simple that this type of plant can be easily rooted directly in the ground without much preparation. To obtain new specimens of plants, it is necessary to prepare loose soil. The cuts should fold. Then the soil is prepared, and the 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.
Reproduction by leaf
You can propagate Dieffenbachia with a leaf with a piece of stem. This plant does not reproduce with only one leaf. Breeding methods are no different.
Foliar 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 stem, on which there should be two buds. If you make the stem stalk small, then it will not be able to provide all the necessary nutrients to the leaf and it will die.
Dividing the bush
Spruce varieties are propagated by division. This procedure is carried out in the spring, during plant transplantation. To get a new plant, the bush is divided into several parts, separating the stems with roots. For this procedure, you need a knife. Places of cuts are sprinkled with charcoal.
The resulting delenki are seated in different containers.
Another way to propagate Dieffenbachia in the video below.
Some breeding tips
There are many photos of Dieffenbachia breeding at home on the Internet, but there is little information about the problems that the grower may face. The first and main one 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 rooting is either the wrong cutting period 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, then he will quickly increase the root mass and release a new shoot. If rooting is carried out in spring or summer, and the cutting has been standing in water for a long time without roots, then this means that the oldest piece of the stem has been taken: this part takes root longer than others (up to two months).
Sometimes flower growers are faced with the problem of cuttings rotting in water. This may indicate the introduction of an infection during cuttings, or the low quality of the liquid used for rooting. Sometimes rotting cuttings are associated with the use of low-quality (sick) planting material.
To avoid this, cut the cuttings only with clean tools and use only filtered water. In order not to lose the cutting, the rotten part is removed from it with the capture of he althy tissue, the cut is treated with charcoal and dried. Then the cutting is placed for further rooting in filtered water.
