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Talking about growing house plants in water

 
steward
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Trace was asking about growing pineapple which he started in water.


source

I am going to see if I can grow some plants in just water as an experiment.


source

First I have to figure out how to get the plants. Maybe from seeds or order some cuttings on eBay?

Do you grow plants in water?

Did you start them from seeds or cuttings?

What are you growing?


source


source
 
Anne Miller
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I bought spider plants because I thought I would have the best success since the houseplants are coming by mail and they were the best buy for my money.

4 LIVE Spider plant babies $8.98 (including shipping)



https://www.ebay.com/itm/165925136764


The cheapest houseplant I could purchase at eBay was $7.10, (including shipping):



https://www.ebay.com/itm/360654036429


Next was a Baltic Blue Pothos Cutting for $7.73 (including shipping:



https://www.ebay.com/itm/266092683918


Live Spider Plant In 2" Cut for $8.30 with free shipping:



https://www.ebay.com/itm/185301163957

Now my dilemma is what to put them in when the plants get here?

I might have some small jelly/preserve jars.



 
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Many houseplants are easy to propagate in water or even grow in water. A clear container will allow you to see the root development clearly but anything not leaking will work.

Here is my window sill propagation center in early January. In about two weeks they all rooted and I had a new batch for rotation.
P1190019.JPG
Rooting spider plant, goji, watch chain plant, dragon plants, nasturtium
Rooting spider plant, goji, watch chain plant, dragon plants, nasturtium
 
Anne Miller
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May, thanks for the encouragement.  I can't wait for the spider plants to arrive!

Those look so pretty in your window.

How often do you change the water or do you need to change the water?

We have well water which might get gunky soon so my plan is to change the water every day until I get some experience with what is happening.
 
May Lotito
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I simply use tap water and change it only when it gets cloudy. Remove lower leaves if necessary so they won't get submerged in water and rot.

Rooting houseplants is very easy and part of the fun of growing them.
 
Anne Miller
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It has been almost a month since I received the spider plants since I got them on Feb. 21.

Instead of four plants, I got six.

Finally success with houseplants, at least so far.

It has been a hectic month, too so I have sometimes forgotten to check on them so the plants seem to be happily taking care of themselves.
 
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Willow grows wonderfully in water. Just put a stick in, there will grow roots underwater and leafs above. I put a big one in my garden pond, to make it clean the water, give some shade and look pretty. I tied it to rocks with a string, like a boat. Today I cleaned the pond edge and looks like the willow survived winter (although some parts of it died).

Then a strong wind blew more willow twigs to my garden, so I took one and put it in my aquarium. It started really quickly and even produced a flower! I don't have a picture because it's hidden behind another plant but looks lovely.

Here is a picture of my aquarium - it's not really "just water" as it has garden soil on the bottom (look up Diana Walstad - she wrote a book about this type of low tech aquarium). I took soil from mole mound and covered it with gravel. It's a year old now.

The willow is to the right, and the sushi box under one lamp has tomato seeds sprouting in it!

IMG_20230318_180406.jpg
The aquarium, with a willow twig and tomatoes sprouting in a sushi box!
The aquarium, with a willow twig and tomatoes sprouting in a sushi box!
 
Anne Miller
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In another thread about food as house plants there was a mention of the Kratky Method.

I had forgotten about that method so I ask eBay about it.

I need some suitable containers for the Spider Plants.

Here are some suggestions from eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295152563134

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165779166050

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294404958617

https://www.ebay.com/itm/293993911267

I tried making something similar out of a soda bottle.  Maybe cardboard might work.
 
Anne Miller
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A couple of weeks ago I had a bout with gout, I was not able to check on the plants growing in water so I lost one.  I now only have 5 plants growing in water.
 
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