How to propagate: Dieffenbachia (Dumb cane)

The Dieffenbachia is a nice and mainly eye-catching indoor plant. The plant can be recognized by its leaf drawings in drawings in different shapes, just like an Aglaonema.

Propagating a Dieffenbachia in 4 steps

Step 1: Disinfect

First clean the knife you might be using.

Keep the knife under hot water and clean them well. This prevents you from unnecessarily transferring bacteria during the propagation.

Do you happen to have disinfectant or pure alcohol? Disinfect the tools after using hot water. Let's get away with those bacteria and fungi!

Step 2: Take cuttings

Choose a nice stem at first. You can cut off a stem just above a leaf. It's best to cut a stem that is at least 15 cm.

Step 3: Apply cutting powder

Do you happen to have cutting powder at home? Then you can apply the cutting powder to the ‘open wound’ of the cutting. Let the powder dry well!

Don’t have any cutting powder? No problem. You can also easily propagate without. Although the use of cutting powder can stimulate root growth. So it is an interesting option to consider.

Step 4: Taking care of the cutting

Fill a vase or glass with water. Put the cutting(s) in the vase. Make sure the cutting is touching the water, but avoid that the leaves touch the water too. Leaves that touch the water can cause rot.

If the leaf is in contact with water, all the energy of the cutting will go to the rotting leaf. So make sure to remove any leaves that are touching the water.

Change the water once a week. This way you keep the cutting healthy!

As soon as the cutting starts growing roots, you can plant them in the soil. Roots will usually appear after 2-4 weeks. If roots are more than 5 cm you can repot the cutting to soil.