Do you enjoy the beautiful and intense green and violet foliage produced by Wandering Jew plants (Tradescantia zebrina)? If that is the case, you would be glad to know that propagating these stunning houseplants is an easier than you could think of. In this all-inclusive tutorial we will discuss all the aspects and best techniques of propagation wandering jew plants. 

How To Propagate A Wandering Jew: Cutting

Propagating the wandering jew plants requires knowledge on what part of the stem to cut, how to choose the right stem, where to locate the node and trimming the leaves.

Here’s how to do it:

To take cuttings for propagating a wandering jew plant, follow these steps:

Select Healthy Stems: From your wandering jew plant, pick safe, non-flowering stems. Target the stems that are long and healthy without any signs of damage or disease. Healthy stems are green and firm.

Prepare Cutting Tools: Make sure you have a clean pair of sharp scissors or pruning shears. Used tools with a proper maintenance will help to stop the disease spreading and provide a good cut for high successful rooting.

Locate Leaf Nodes: Check out the stems and see the leaf nodes. This is where they both attach through the stem at those points where the leaves emerge. Nodes are vital for the growth of roots from this point. 

Make the Cut: Taking your scissors or pruning shears, you want to make a clean cut just below a leaf node. Your purpose is to make the slant at the 45-degree angle to have the max root surface.

Remove Lower Leaves: Carefully remove the lower leaves from the cutting and keep the few ones on the top. This will minimize moisture loss and promote root development from the exposed nodes.

Repeat if Desired: You can take numerous cuttings from various stalks to increase your probability of successful propagation. Make sure each stem has at least one or two leaf nodes.

Optional: Stick the plant in Rooting Medium (if you want to): Indeed, some gardeners prefer making the lower end of the cutting wet by dipping it in the rooting hormone powder or gel prior to the placing of it in the rooting medium. Use of rooting hormone would boost up root growth and ultimately, improve viability of cuttings.

Provide Proper Care: It doesn’t matter which way of propagation you choose, make sure to put the cuttings in a place which receives bright or indirect light. Monitor them frequently and create necessary moisture adequacy.

How To Propagate Wandering Jew: Water Propagation

Water propagation is a method of plant propagation where cuttings are placed in water to encourage root development before being transplanted into soil. 

• Select healthy plant cuttings.
• Place the cuttings in a container of water,’ making sure that nodes are below and leaves are above the level of water.
• Replace the water into the container to prevent it from becoming stagnant, just like what you do to your house plants.
• From planted nodes, roots will quickly develop within a few days to weeks.
• Rooted cuttings can be transplanted into the soil once their roots grow sufficiently.
• Water propagation is a plant propagation method through which a cutting is placed in water allowing the growth of roots before moving the cutting into the soil.

Materials Needed:

• Healthy wandering jew cuttings
• Clean container or jar
• Water
• Optional: Rooting hormone (for faster rooting)

Steps: Prepare Cuttings:

Choose healthy wandering jew stems and cut them into the 4-6 inches long pieces.

Separate a few leaves from the bottom section of the stem to expose nodes which trigger the roots into growing.

Prepare Container:

Fill a clean container or a jar with room temperature water. Make sure the container is deep enough to cover the nodes of the cuttings.

Place Cuttings in Water:

Placing the bottom tip of the cuttings into the water and making sure that each plant has nodes that are under the water while the leaves are above is the ideal position for growing the Wandering Jew cuttings. Nodes are where the roots will come out.

Change Water Regularly:

Clean water is a key to success in the establishment. Replace the water at frequent intervals to avoid the accumulation of organic debris and to provide oxygen to the cuttings.

Provide Adequate Light:

Position the container in a light, bright, and indirect place. Prevent the water from getting direct sunlight, since this can make the water hot or act as algae promoter.

Monitor Root Growth:

Over the next 1-2 weeks, check the cuttings for root development. As the roots emerge from the submerged nodes, you will know that it has started.

Transplanting:

At the length of 6 to 8 inches with the healthy roots, you can now put the cuttings into the pots that are filled with the draining potting mix.

Optional: Use Rooting Hormone:

Thinking that you would love to make the rooting process quicker, you can dip the cut ends of the wandering jew cuttings into rooting hormone before putting them i.e. rooting hormone water.

Tips:

• Keep track of water levels and make them regularly clean in order to protect your succulents from rot and fungal growth.
• Do not keep your container around the edges of the draft or in an extreme temperature location as well.
• Being patient is indispensable. It might take time for plants to root. However, some cuttings may root much faster than others.
• It is important to avoid disturbing the cuttings once the roots start to emerge, because this can cause damage.

How To Propagate A Wandering Jew: Soil Propagation

Soil propagation, which refers to the way plants multiply, is the process of taking cuttings from the parent plant and placing them into the soil or a substrate in order to allow the roots to develop and the cuttings to grow into new plants. 

• Pick a disease-free and healthy parent plant.
• Take a clean cutting off the parent plants.
• Place seeds in pots that give you drainage well.
• Burying the stem section in the soil with a at least a node in the soil.
• Water the cuttings thoroughly.
• Pick the right environment factors like indirect light, proper temperature, and humidity.
• Make every effort to take care of the cuttings, ensuring that you don’t let the soil to dry up and that the plants are protected from different temperatures.
• Plant up the rooted cuttings when they are established well.

Certainly! The following are the essential steps for soil propagation on a wandering jew plant.

Materials Needed:

• Healthy wandering jew plant
• Sharp and the clean scissors or pruning shear
• Mini pots or containers with holes for the drainage.
• Well-draining potting mix
• Optional: Rooting hormone

Select Healthy Stems:

Choose a healthy-looking wandering jew which has no flowers and is strong. Search for stems that seem to be long and strong without any sign of damage or illness.

Prepare the Cuttings:

Now we will run through the steps. Use a clean pair of scissors or pruning shears and take some 4-6 inch stems.

Get rid of the bottom end of the leaves of each cutting by removing the nodes. Nodes are the small bumps on the stem from which leaves grow.

Optional: Use Rooting Hormone:

If you wish, dip the ends of the cuttings into rooting hormone powder or gel.

Prepare Potting Mix and Containers:

Fill small pots or containers with the potting mix that has good drainage. Make the pots have drainage holes at the bottom so that the water doesn’t stagnate.

Plant the Cuttings:

Moisten the cuttings and put them in a pot with well-drained soil. Burying the nodes into the soil completes the process. Care for the stems once placed in water and plant multiple cuttings in a single pot increase the possibility of success.

Lightly press the soil around the cuttings and apply gentle pressure to provide support and give good soil contact.

Water Thoroughly:

Once the cuttings are in the ground, water them regularly until the soil is evenly moist. Allow the pots to drain out from the bottom, and pleace with any excess water.

Provide Proper Care:

Put pots in an area with bright but non direct sun. Keep them out of the direct sun light because it can make the leaves turn yellow.

Make sure that the soil is always moist but not waterlogged. Frequently check soil, add water, and watch for excessive drainage or flooding.

Fog them with water now and then to increase the humidity level and as air can be dry in this time.

Monitor Growth:

For the next few weeks check the cuttings for anything new, like leaves or roots. Roots may take a long time to establish- from 3-4 weeks- so have patience.

Transplanting:

When the cuttings the time comes and they have developed roots properly and well-established, they can be planted into larger pots or the garden if willing to move there.

Tips For Successful Wandering Jew Propagation

Choose Healthy Parent Plants: Use young parent plants without pests, diseases or stress. Good health in parent plant leads to good health in cutting, which in turn translates into successful cuttings propagation.

Select the Right Season: In the growing season, usually spring or early summer, propagate wandering jew plants. This usually happens when plants are harvested when they are actively growing or at the stage when they have the most chance of rooting successfully.

Take Cuttings Correctly: Use clean and sharp scissor or pruning shears to take the cuttings from parent plant. Make a cut just below the leaf node, and take away any excess leaves on the bottom so that a node will be exposed, from which new roots will grow.

Use Rooting Hormone (Optional): You may use rooting hormone providing for the areas with faster and stronger root growth. Although, this is not applicable to all types of wandering jew plants, it can be helpful, most of the to very slow rooting kinds.

Provide Adequate Light: Place the cuttings in a place with plenty bright but indirect sunlight. Stay out of direct sunlight as it can cause burning of the leaves. Although sufficient light enables photosynthesis, it also induces the stems to grow and develop roots.

Maintain Proper Humidity: Keep the air humidity close to cutting around to cut down on excess moisture loss. This can be achieved through frequent misting or placing the cuttings in a humidity dome or tray.

Monitor Watering: Keep the soil and water moderately moist but not all wet. Too much watering can make it rot and too little watering will make them dry out and possible fail to root.

Provide Warmth: The wandering jew plants flourish the most in warm surroundings for both rooting and growth purposes. Keep a temperature between 65 and 75°F (18-24°C) for the successful propagation.

Be Patient: To root may require for weeks, so keep patience and let the cuttings to build their roots/ Don’t interrupt and disturb the cuttings at this time for easy and uninterrupted root development.