Arrowhead syngonium: 3 part question

6 years ago

I have one about 8 or so years old. It’s got leaves just on the ends of very long stems. It’s neglected because it’s just plain ugly at this point.

I plan to cut all the tips off and root them: do it in water, or straight into fresh soil? Rooting hormone?

Can I cut the long stems (2 to 3 feet long) into sections and root those too? Or will they fail to root considering they have no leaves to transpire?

I am doing a massive "repot all the houseplants" session today, and plan to repot this one today as well. It would be really great if I could just stick the cuttings into the soil along with the mother plant. But I don’t know if this is an easy to root plant or not.

Thanks!

Featured Answer

hc mcdole

6 years ago

They do get leggy and will drop the older leaves. Cutting it will encourage new growth plus get rid of the excess vines.

When they look good:

Starting some cuttings in drinking cups and perlite (along with cake lids full of brugmansia cuttings)

When you realize things are getting out of control.

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Comments (7)

tropicbreezent
6 years ago
If it's a healthy plant you should have no problems with cuttings. They root very easily in soil. Ask anyone who's growing them in a garden, they're very hard to get rid of, LOL.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Arrowhead+syngonium+propagation&t=ffcm&iax=videos&ia=videos

if you can ID nodes on the long bare parts... you can probably cut them to a few inches ... and root them ... perhaps one of the vids above will show that ...

as long as the stem is green.. it should be able to photosynthesize light ...

why this happened???... perhaps due to low light levels .... and age of course ....

ken
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
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linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
Why this happened? You mean why the long bare stems? I just assumed maybe I should have cut it back at some point to induce branching. If viney plants of this sort do branch....

It has had a prime window space all this time; so I think the light was good.

I can see where the leaves were... therefore nodes. I'll give the cut up stems a try.
tropicbreezent
6 years ago
They do need good light all around to keep that leafy/bushy look. Light on one side or only from the top will make them straggly. The suggestion to cut them back to keep them bushier is good. The offcuts can be laid in the same pot and they all should shoot new vines. Warmth and humidity will encourage growth from the cuttings.

This is "getting out of control".
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked tropicbreezent
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
hc mcdole, perlite alone is good for this? I happen to have a lot of cuttings going right now - besides this one. The syngonium tip and stem cuttings I put into plain water 3 days ago, til I could find the right solution.

Would you happen to know....is perlite suitable for cane begonias?
hc mcdole
6 years ago
Perlite works for Syngonium, succulents, Philodendrons, hydrangea, roses, and somewhat begonias. The problem with perlite unless you put it in a clear cup is how hard to gauge how wet or dry the media is - still put drainage holes in though. The good thing is it has lots of "air space", is sterile, and light weight. The bad is hard to gauge how wet it is, it floats away in a rain storm, and turns brown from decay of plants in it.

begonia seeds germinated rapidly but hard to move up and out.

succulents and a begonia cutting?

agaves

I don't use perlite that much these days unless it is the only thing I have on hand.

I prefer potting soil or Jiffy pellets today.