One of the best ways to fill the garden with roselle plants is to take cuttings and root them — it doesn’t cost anything.
Best of all, the new plant will exhibit the same qualities and characteristics of the mother plant.
It’s pretty easy to do and only takes two to three weeks for roots to develop.
To propagate the roselle plant by cuttings, take the cutting below a stem node and place in either potting soil or water at room temperature to get it to root before transplanting.
A cutting can root up fairly easily and you do not need to use a rooting hormone, although it will help guarantee quicker rooting growth. Here are some simple tips to grow roselle from cuttings.
How to Propagate Roselle from Stem Cutting
Cuttings of a roselle plant can be propagated using two methods:
- Using water, or
- Using soil
Using either of methods, the cutting will still produce roots and leaves then be transplanted into pots or into the ground in order for it to grow on.
Selecting the Stem Cuttings
Choose the Stem Cuttings
Begin your day with cutting your cuttings while the stem are still moist and healthy, look for pests and diseases, and only take a diease free healthy branch.
Choose a stem where there is a new sprout, and cut it off; avoid taking cuttings from stems that have flowers or flower buds on, this will have taken some of the plant’s energy, and these cuttings will root slower, or may not root at all.
How to Take Cuttings from the Mother Plant
The most important part of propagation is making sure your cutting has a node (the raised bump where a branch connects to the main stem), as this is usually what helps them root. Ideally, we want one to three nodes on the cutting.
Before cutting it, make sure you keep one at the top and one at the bottom to allow the tissues to seal effectively.
Use a gardening pruner to make a slant cut below the node; this is a great visual cue to remember where the bottom is, and it will also help you poke the cuttings into the soil later.
Each cutting should be about 10-15cm long.
Prepare the Stem Cuttings
Once you have your stem cuttings:
- Remove the leaves and branches that aren’t necessary, leaving one, or two leaves maximum, at the top. This will give the plant energy while the roots develop.
- Make sure the lower half of the cutting stem is leaf-free so everything you are sticking in the growing medium does not have leaves.
- And then choose the rooting medium.
How to Propagate Roselle Cutting in Water
This is by far the most common and most straightforward way to propagate a plant.
Your simple task is to:
- Take your stem cuttings and place them in a clear container that is tall enough for the water to cover at least one of each cutting’s nodes.
- Fill the container with the water at room temperature, and fit as many cuttings into the container as you’d like, just as long as their root nodes in the water are submerged.
- Next, place the container in a semi-shaded area so it can soak in some indirect light. Leave the cuttings until they grow roots.
- You should also be vigilant to keep the cuttings submerged, and add water as needed to replace the water level.
- You must change the water once a week or when it begins to look yellow or thick, or gross.
In 7 to 14 days, you should see little roots and branches.
At 3-4 weeks, the roots are two to three inches long, and the plant is ready to transplant.
Works Well: Dip the cutting in a rooting hormone before placing in water or add rooting hormone to the water to speed things up.
How to Propagate Roselle Cutting in Soil
Here is the process to follow:
- Fill a clean seed tray with a mixture of potting mix, sand, perlite, and vermiculite to a height of about four inches. Don’t pack too much soil in the tray as it will be difficult for the new roots to grow and attach.
- (Optional) Dip the end of the cuttings in a powder or gel root hormone to promote root growth.
- Make holes in the soil that are larger than the cuttings so as to not rub off the rooting hormone when the cuttings go in the soil. Place cuttings in about one-third of the length. You can place multiple cuttings in the tray, but don’t overcrowd them, which could produce mold and rotting.
- Gently push the soil around the cuttings so the cuttings are in good contact with the rooting medium. Then water the cuttings thoroughly until the soil is saturated. The cuttings will need a lot of water to grow roots.
- Create a greenhouse by way of a glass top or a bag inflated with air but doesn’t touch the cuttings’ leaves. This will lead to mold on the leaves and cuttings.
- Then, put the entire tray in a plastic bag and twist tie the bag shut.
The covering will help increase humidity, moisture and encourage growth. Place the cuttings in a bright location but not in direct sunlight.
In approximately two to three weeks, new shoots and roots will have already developed at bottom of the cutting.
You can verify this by carefully pushing your fingers beneath the cutting to see if there are roots.
To Make The Decision: If there’s root growth, then it’s time to move them to a permanent-growth location. If there aren’t roots, you will have to repeat the process using new roselle cuttings.
Transplanting Process and Basic Care of Roselle Plant
Once the cutting has roots, transplant it. You will want to remove the plant from the water if you used a water rooting method.
For soil rooting:
- Use a small gardening shovel to dig around the cutting, being careful not to hurt the roots.
- When you have the plant out, lay the cutting in a well-drained media, such as perlite or vermiculite, in a larger pot or outside in the garden.
Confirm that the chosen site receives sufficient sunlight for your Roselle.
The care of a Roselle plant is quite simple, as they hardly need fertilizing at all. Water it regularly (every 2-3 days), and therefore you will need to weed around if needed.
Roselle will grow to approximately 2 meters high, will flower at around 3 months, and will produce ‘fruits’ for months until frost arrives.
When: You want to harvest them when the fruits have reached just under 3 cm and the tip is just about to pop open.
Final Thoughts
Taking some cuttings from a plant, using a pair of scissors to cut off a couple of tips, putting the cut tips into a medium and waiting for a new plant to emerge could not be easier.
When you take cuttings you are creating clones of the original plant you took them from, which means you are guaranteed to get what you are starting with.
This makes it a more efficient process than starting with seeds that are genetically changeable, and you do not have the same lottery issues that you would have, again, using a seed.
If you have the commitment and the strategy, you will find it to be an unbelievably simple process.