Hi,

I played around rooting some leaves in water too. My results were pretty much the same as yours. I have one Bally leaf that is hanging on with some little roots. Even though it's possible to grow a plant from one leaf, it's probably not worth the wait. It would take years to grow a full sized plant.

Sorry it's not going well, but not enough info here to know why. Did you let it callous first? Not sure if you meant to say leaf instead of root?

I don't think it's a hoax. I think some people can root leaves in water because they have the right temperature, light, time of year, water quality, water container, and species. Different cultivars grow and root at different speeds. Slow grower in cool temps in faucet water in a tall container is much less likely to root than a fast-grower in Florida warmth in a saucer of rain water. Don't beat yourself up.

As kwie2011 said the right temperature (read summer as best), good light and let it callous as purple stated. Rooting in water works faster than soil and you get to see the results in real time, not just wait till it pups to know for sure it has rooted. I am currently using both methods at the moment and the water method is tending to be a failure this time round. I still recommend the water method, but I use both on my cuttings.
Fred

You can root in semi-hydro using something like a deli cup or tall plastic container. Make a hole about an inch up the side of the container, fill with hydroponic media such as hydotron, place leaf cuttings inside but keep them above the water line, fill the container with water until all media is wet and reservoir is full. This way the cutting is not standing in water but it is in humid conditions. I have had success doing this with several different Sansevieria species including trifasciata and parva.

Mike

I'm still not sure if the original question was about trying to propagate a leaf or about trying to grow a plant from roots that were severed during repotting? (Or that the person who asked is coming back?)

Regarding propagating leaves...
Every leaf I put in water took root. Yes, I did it outside, in warm weather. I put each leaf in a tall jar with a wide opening, with about an inch of water, tried to keep the level as even as possible. I put jars where they would get some sun, but not during the heat of the day, and situated with the water in shade, to make sure it didn't get too hot. Not that much to it, but I wouldn't try during shorter, cooler days of winter, whether inside or out.

To compare, I put 5 leaves in the ground, mostly shade last summer, and they took about the same amount of time, but much less exciting because the pups were just starting to poke up after about 5 months, when I had to dig them up to bring inside for winter. Pretty much the whole time, all summer, the visual was just leaves poking out of the dirt.

Both seem to work equally well, at least during summer. The hydroton sounds very promising too. I'd try that if I had some of that stuff.

However, the fastest way to get more plants is to give them plenty of room to make pups, more light than a dark corner, and warm temps. They are actually very thirsty plants when it's hot & there's some direct sun. Outside for summer is obviously good, in the ground for that time is even better, but if one is expecting an always inside, "low light" Sans to grow fast, they will be disappointed. Yes, Sans can stay alive forever that way, and even look great, but not grow quickly. Nothing wrong with that, especially for those who don't want the plant to change much, they like it the way it is.

LOL!

I don't think this person is coming back...?