Professional gardeners use many methods of cuttings to propagate new plants. We will talk about the two most frequently used methods here—stem cutting and leaf cutting. Increasing your stock by cutting often can serve two purposes. Beside the obvious one of giving you more plants, stem cuttings can often be helpful in trimming back an overgrown plant and bringing it back into line.
Equipment. Here again, the equipment you need can almost always be found around the house. Pots of several sizes are a necessity as is a sharp penknife or razor blade. A tamper and a dibble are helpful but not essential.
Soil. The same rules apply to setting cuttings as to starting from seed. The ideal starting mixture is vermiculite compound, or better yet a beefed-up mixture as Vermiculoam. Here again, a regular potting soil is used after the process is underway.
Timing. As with seeds, the time necessary for cuttings to develop new roots varies both with the type of plant and the type of cutting. The minimum time for rooting you should expect, however, even with fast rooting plants such as Coleus, is about three weeks. Other plants may take a considerably longer time.