Question
My philodendron suffered from, I think, over-watering about one month ago.  So, I cut some starter branches (just below the nodes).  I have them in a vase of water in an attempt to re-root so I can start over.  They've been in water for one week and I'm not seeing roots yet.

1) should I add plant food to the water?
2) how long before I can expect to see roots or when do I determine that the project is a failure?
3) if I get roots how do I go about re-planting them?  I mean, should I stake them right away or wait a while?

Thanks


Answer
Nancy,

Do not use fertilizer. If you want to use anything go to a garden center and get starter solution or root stimulator.  It will not burn new roots, fertilizer will.  You will get roots in 2-4 weeks. When you have quite a few roots pot your cuttings up in a mix of 2 parts potting soil and 1 part perlite. This will provide good drainage so it will be harder to overwater in the future.

I actually pprefer to root in soil rather than water. You dip your cuttings in a product called rooting hormone and insert them in a pot of fresh soil, the same mix I mentioned above, then treat it like it is already a roooted plant. It will still root in 2-4 weeks and it saves the extra step of transferring the cuttings from the water to soil. The cuttings grown in water have very succulent roots while cuttings grown in soil are very wiry. You sometimes loose your cuttings in making that transition from water to soil. Growing them in soil from the beginning saves that transition. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

Darlene