Question
I didn't read your answer to how to start umbrella plants before I went outside with my mother's too tall Umbrella plant and cut it in half and pulled the many little arms off the bottom to try putting it in water and trying to start the top over again!  I stuck all the little leaf branches in the water too.  Then I repotted what was left of the old plant into a new larger pot.  I used the moisture retaining potting soil so hopefully at lease I won't lose the parent plant.  What do you think the "starts" will do?  Should I just go ahead and stick that other half into a pot of soil too?

Answer
Linda,

You will have a much better chance of starting all your cuttings if you get a 2" or 4" pot for each cutting. A 6" pot can be used if it is a really large cutting. Also pick up a bottle of rooting hormone. Fill your pots with soil and press the soil down. Then dip the cuttings in the rooting hormone and make a hole in the soil with your finger or a pencil or stick and insert the cutting into the soil then press the soil firmly around the cutting. Add more soil if necessary. Put these "new plants" outside in full sun and water daily to keep them moist but empty the drain tray after watering or don't put a drain tray under them. These plants are sun worshippers and will root in 4 weeks or less if they are out in full sun. You will not loose the parent plant, it would like being out in the sun also. It will start sprouting new shoots within a couple of weeks (2-3 on each branch you cut off) and you will have a bushier plant. All of your new plants and the parent plant must go indoors when the night temperatures start falling below 50 degrees. The new ones will make nice gifts. Good luck.

Darlene