by Raven Lebeau

Created on: November 17, 2007

Perhaps you see that scrawny scrap of a philodendron on your windowsill and envision an indoor Garden of Eden, a paradise teeming with greenery (but minus the talking snakes). Or maybe you'd like to give all your friends a copy of your favorite living dcor item. What could be better (or cheaper) than Christmas crotons?

You won't get there with cuttings. If you want a cheerful plant-filled home or a green gift, head to the nursery. It's fun watch your botanical babies grow, but you do need a high tolerance for failure and a lot of patience. While no one can hope for a one hundred percent success rate, there are some simple ideas that will give your cuttings a dramatically improved chance for survival. Even my dog has a few successful cuttings. Well, I was the one who took care of them, but she broke them off, so I give her the credit.

First, you will need the right materials:

1. Buy rooting hormone. I had never heard of such a thing until recently, which is why so many of my cuttings died. Follow the instructions on the bottle or jar.

2. Don't try to root cuttings in soil or plain water. Philodendrons will root in water, but not much else will. Soil has bacteria that often rot the plant before it can root. Your best bet is perlite, a white, gritty substance you can buy at a nursery or garden store.

3. Use a clean, sharp set of scissors or knife to make the cut. You don't want to introduce bacteria or disfigure the mother plant (that's a gardening term, I'm not being mystical).

Next, you need to consider the plant in question:

1. Woody plants like trees and shrubs are difficult to grow from cuttings so don't get your hopes up on cloning a favorite tree. Also, note that the time of year you take the cutting can mean certain failure or potential success. Different trees require cuttings be taken at different times of year. Do some reading before you snip.

2. Cacti cuttings usually need to dry out before being stuck in perlite. Such treatment would kill any other type of cutting, but cacti are an exception to many plant-care rules.

3. Many plants actually grow extra roots and are just waiting for soil. Any plant described as "creeping" has this trait. Find a portion of you mother plant with little white roots coming out, cut it off, and set it in some soil. It will probably grow.

4. Other plants will usually do well with the procedure below, but it doesn't hurt to read about your specific specimen before starting.

Making the cut:

1. Take the cutting at a "joint" where

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