Propagate the elephant's foot - with these methods it works

Propagate elephant foot - tips and tricks

Is the elephant foot easy to multiply?

Growing a plant from seeds or cuttings takes a lot of time and patience because the elephant foot grows slowly. So it's no wonder that the decorative and easy-care elephant foot is not cheap. If you would like to grow it yourself and you have the choice, the best thing to do is to grow it from an offshoot, which is much faster than sowing.

How do I pull an elephant's foot from a cutting?

An older elephant foot sometimes forms offshoots in the leaf axils. These cuttings are great for propagation. Cut these shoots, preferably in summer, so that a little wood remains on them.

With the woody end, you put the offshoot in the growing medium. (€ 9.05 at Amazon *) Before doing this, you can shorten the existing leaves to about five centimeters in length, which reduces evaporation. With constant warmth and moisture, the first tender roots will form after a while.

How does the sowing work?

Don't wait for seeds from your own elephant's foot or that of your friends. The elephant's foot almost never blooms when it is kept as a houseplant. For this he needs a constant climate (dry, warm and without air movement). Buy the seeds from a seed store, for example on the Internet.

Let the seeds soak in warm water for about three hours; this will speed up germination a little. Mix peat and sand in a ratio of 2: 1 or fill a pot with well-drained and nutrient-poor growing medium. Moisten the substrate and press the swollen seeds a few millimeters into it.

For the greenhouse climate required for germination, cover the nursery pot with a transparent film that you secure with a rubber band, or place it in a small indoor greenhouse. Keep the substrate evenly moist at a temperature of 20 ° C to 25 ° C. After a few weeks or months, the first seedlings will appear.