Philodendron Burle Marx Water Propagation
Welcome to our guide to water propagating the philodendron burle marx variegata, with step by step instructions from taking cuttings of my own plant. They tend to root really well in water.
They are really impressive plants with their almost neon variegated coloration.
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To water propagate your burle marx, follow these steps:
Step 1:
Select your plant, make sure it is big enough. Each cutting will need at least one leaf and one node. And you’ll want to leave at least some of the plant to grow back.
Step 2:
Take a sharp knife and cut between the nodes, they are sometimes large enough to make the cut easily, and sometimes they are close together so you can have to be really careful using a sharp knife. Try to cut them in the middle equally between the nodes. See the image below for where I cut.
Step 3:
Leave the cuttings aside for at least 3 or 4 hours so the wounds heal over. This is so that the open cuts close up, which will reduce the chance of rot as the would are sealed and do not go soggy.
Step 4:
Take the cataphylls and any other organic material you can off the nodes, as this can rot in the water and cause the water to turn cloudy and the rot to spread. You can see in the image below on the left that there is organic matter around the nodes that is not needed, and in the right hand image I have remove it carefully so as not to damage the roots. This helps to avoid rot or the water going cloudy.
Step 5:
Put the cuttings in a jar that is tall enough and narrow enough to hold the cuttings upright and not fall over (the stems are usually very long on the Burle Marx).
Step 6:
Fill the jar with water and keep it well lit but no direct sun, and keep it warm and humid to encourage rooting. It should start to root with in a week and have well developed roots within two months.
You can keep them in water if you like (just keep the water topped up) or pot them up into soil or leca to grow them on.
Tip: use filtered water if you can. I recommend something like a Brita (this is an affiliate link which helps this site out if you buy).
Further reading: our full care guide: Philodendron Burle Marx Care. Plus be sure to see all Philodendron Burle Marx propagation articles here: Burle Marx Propagation In Leca, Burle Marx Propagation In Sphagnum Moss, Propagating Burle Marx From Nodes / Wet Stick, Burle Marx Propagation In Soil, Burle Marx Variegata Reverting. And How To Propagate Philodendron and How To Propagate Philodendron In Water.
Philodendron Burle Marx Water Propagation – FAQs
Yes you can use tap water. If you live in a hard water area, like I do, I would use tap water that has been filtered with a water filtering jug (like a Brita for example).
Yes, once you have propagated a cutting and rooted it in water, it can live there indefinitely. Keep the water topped up (it is best to use filtered tap water), and change the water if it goes cloudy as rot can set in the cuttings. You can reduce the chances of cloudiness by keeping leaves from going in the water and rotting. For more on caring for this plant see our care guide: Philodendron Burle Marx Care.
They will start to root in a week or two, but you many need to wait up to two months for the roots to be fully established.
Conclusion
Hope you found this article helpful, please get in touch via our contact page if you have any plant questions, we are happy to help.
You might also like these other guides:
Burle Marx Propagation In Leca, Burle Marx Propagation In Sphagnum Moss, Propagating Burle Marx From Nodes / Wet Stick, Burle Marx Propagation In Soil, Burle Marx Variegata Reverting.
