Anyone who has ever looked around for an elephant's foot may be amazed at the rather high price of a relatively small plant. So the thought of growing an elephant's foot yourself from seeds or offshoots comes to mind.

Propagating elephant foot is not an easy task

Is the elephant foot easy to propagate?

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

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

An older elephant's foot sometimes forms offshoots in the leaf axils. These cuttings are excellent for propagation. Cut off these shoots, preferably in summer, leaving a little wood on them.

With the woody end, stick the offshoot into the growing substrate. You can shorten the existing leaves to a length of about five centimeters beforehand, which reduces evaporation. With even heat and humidity, the first tender roots form after a while.

How does sowing work?

You should not wait for seeds from your own elephant foot or those of your friends. The elephant's foot almost never blooms when kept as a houseplant. For this he needs a constant climate (dry, warm and without air movements). Buy the seeds from a specialist seed store, for example over the internet.

Soak the seeds in warm water for about three hours to speed up germination a little. Mix peat and sand in a ratio of 2:1 or fill a pot with permeable and nutrient-poor growing substrate. Moisten the substrate and press the swollen seeds in a few millimeters deep.

For the greenhouse climate required for germination, cover the seed 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.

The essentials in brief:

  • Sowing possible all year round
  • Let the seeds swell to speed up germination
  • Cover seeds a few millimeters with soil
  • Cover the pot with foil or place in an indoor greenhouse
  • Germination period: several weeks up to several months
  • Sowing far more complex than growing from offshoots
  • constant heat and moisture necessary for germination or rooting
  • Be sure to water the cuttings regularly, but don't drown them

tips

Propagating from a cutting takes far less time than seed.

Category:

Vegetable garden