As long as you give them proper nutrients in the water, they can thrive indefinitely without soil.
Storage of cuttings
It is best to harvest cuttings in early spring and plant immediately but if this is not possible, cuttings can be stored safely for about 4 months. Store cuttings in a cool, dark, and moist place.
Cuttings need water for hydration, but also enough oxygen for roots to respire and grow. Using a substrate with adequate air porosity, and using the 1 to 5 moisture scale can help to prevent overwatering that leads to slow rooting and increased risk of disease.
If this is not possible, stand the cut end in water or place the cutting in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel and store out of direct sun. If the plant is frost-tolerant, store the bagged cutting in the refrigerator. 2. For a stem cutting, remove some of the leaves.
Place the cutting in a clean glass. Poor enough room temperature water to cover the nodes of the cutting. Change out the water every 3-5 days with fresh room temperature water. Wait and watch as your roots grow!
Check for rooting
Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
The reason cuttings rot is that over time, the oxygen level of the water drops unless it's moving or oxygen is added. Not only do plants need oxygen in order to grow roots (and, indeed everything else), but the bacteria that cause rotting thrive in low-oxygen environments.
Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.
Change the Water Regularly or Use Activated Charcoal
To prevent bacterial growth and maintain a healthy environment for rooting, remember to change the water in the container every few days. Alternatively, you can add a small amount of activated charcoal to the water, which helps keep it bacteria-free.
Basal water uptake by cuttings was highest in the wettest medium moisture level. Water uptake was highest during the first few days after insertion, and thereafter decreased until root emergence. Intermittent mist systems are commonly used to reduce tran- spirational water loss from cuttings during propagation.
Carefully remove excess leaves to reduce transpiration, so cuttings do not wilt. However, some foliage should be retained to allow photosynthesis to occur. Keep cuttings moist, cool and shaded (collecting in a damp plastic bag is a good idea) until you are ready to put them in a propagation medium.
Should we allow the cuts to dry out a little before sticking them in medium? No - while herbaceous cuttings are less likely to rot, they also root faster than woody plants because they contain less lignin in their stems. Don't give them time to dry out.
If you root your cutting in water, it develops roots that are best adapted to get what they need from water rather than from soil, Clark pointed out. If you move the plant immediately from water to soil, the plant may be stressed. Instead, add a small amount of soil to the water that you're using to root your cutting.
Most indoor and some outdoor plant species can be propagated in water. The rule is simple - trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that grow in humid areas or reproduce vegetatively (for example, Aroids) can be propagated in a humid environment, i.e., water. Such plants as succulents can be rooted in water too.
Place the cutting in a glass jar or container filled with clean, room temperature water. You can place multiple cuttings from different plants in the same container as long as the root nodes of each are fully submerged in the water while any remaining leaves are free above the water.
Some houseplants that work well are English ivy, philodendron, tradescantia, purple passion, coleus, and of course that old-is-new-again favorite: lucky bamboo. Finally, if you're looking to add more flowers to your home, root some begonias or impatiens in water. They'll even bloom during the winter!
Warm growing medium temperatures accelerate cell division which leads to faster callusing, root initial development and subsequent root growth. It also speeds up the dry-down rate of the growing medium, which also helps encourage better rooting. The best way to warm the growing medium is through bottom heat.
Cuttings are more difficult to obtain if you do not take them off a mother plant, because you need to know someone who grows a plant successfully. In addition, often less different types of plant varieties are available. The risk of cuttings carrying diseases and insects is present.
It's also worth reducing water loss by removing the lowest pairs of leaves from each cutting, and snipping the leaves of larger-leaved plants in half. Another way to reduce water loss is to keep the cuttings in a humid atmosphere – place a clear plastic bag over individual pots or use a propagator with a lid.
Try to wait until at least 50% of the cuttings have good rooting before potting them up; however, for some hard-to-root species, you may be lucky with only 10% to 20% success.
With cuttings in transit, you don't need to worry about it until after a week. It'll most likely be ok, if not totally fine. As for forgotten cuttings, you've probably got a good few days, depending on where it is.
Technically, you can transfer your cuttings to soil at any time. In fact, you can actually propagate directly into soil, however, it's much harder to do within your home. When you propagate in soil, you have to keep a good balance of soil moisture, air flow, and humidity.
Yes, they need moisture to root, but they also need oxygen. And as water sits on a windowsill, it becomes more and more stagnant (oxygen-depleted). Also, most stem cuttings give off their own rooting hormone… that is diluted and therefore less effective when they sit in water.
The easy way is just potting up the cutting like you would any other plant you're repotting. Fill your pot with a bit of soil, hold your cutting so that the roots are below the rim of the pot, and gently fill the rest of the way with soil.