They say nothing in life is free, and that’s true for the most part.  At the rate of the rising cost of plants, I try to clip and remake plants as much as possible.  When I first began my life as a “plant mom”, I use to get upset when I lose a plant and run right out and buy another to replace it.  Well those days have long gone past because I’m noticing how the cost is rising, bit by bit.  Plants that were once $5-$10 are now $10-$20, which means I buy less and begin my propagation journey.  This monstera plant was actually my first propagated plant I began a couple years ago and it’s still going strong.  

Here it is now.  It sits on top of the stereo etagere and has grown quite a bit.  I will be transferring it to a bigger pot this month because it’s going through a growth spurt.

And remember the pineapple plant.  Here it is back in 2017.  It was already a year old and now it’s even bigger.

It sits in the bigger basket although it still hasn’t produced fruit, I do love how it looks.

Those are the freebies that I like growing.  This year instead of buying pineapples, I spoke with someone in my job’s cafeteria and asked if I could get the tops off the pineapples after they’re finished cutting them.  She obliged and I got a few more in the making. Take advantage of getting freebies.  Often times people love to share their babies with you.  This snake plant was the baby from a friend’s plant who graciously offered me a piece and I graciously accepted it.

A few years ago I joined a Facebook plant lovers group and someone posted a picture of this plant.  I had never seen it before and asked her about it.  She offered to send me a clipping and I was completely excited.  It’s called “queen of the night” and is kind of a strange plant because it grows so tall on these thin limbs, but, it’s also gotten a bit wider.  I learned it’s in the cactus family which means – not a lot of water.

Mind you, this was a small clipping she sent and see how tall it has gotten.   I just keep adding taller sticks to support it.

The limbs just swag over each other so I just let it be wild and free.

There’s history behind this jade plant.  I’ve never had any luck with a jade and one Summer I visited my aunt.  She had the biggest and most beautiful jade I had ever seen.  She couldn’t understand why I had no luck because they’re easy, but I’ve killed a few in my time.  Before I left to go back home, she snipped a piece and handed it to me and said “good luck”.  I followed her instructions, which was just stick it down in the dirt and make sure it’s bone dry before you water it.  I put it in this green compote bowl and it’s been in there ever since and sat on my kitchen counter until this Summer.  It was growing well and I didn’t want to risk knocking it, so I moved it to the guest room.  I’m so proud of it because she’s surviving.  What makes it special is because my aunt has since passed so I named it Noonie.

The tiny little christmas cactus was from a plant I had which has gone onto green pastures, but I managed to save this piece.

Taking it back to my living room last year, see the tall plant, well it apparently didn’t want to grow anymore and decided to start dying.  So I clipped the off-springs and put them in water until roots formed and I was able to grow 3 more.

One sits on my bedside table.  The other two I gifted to my niece and her girlfriend when they came to visit.  I was so excited to hear them say they like plants.  They look so cute leaving here with matching plants and planters.. heeeheee.. made my heart smile.. (side note.. I put the dying part outside on the porch and let mother nature tend to it and how about the bugger is coming back ).. go figure.. lol

This plant is called Callisia fragrans, aka,”basket plant”.  Last year on my first visit to meet my now granddaughter’s family, Brittany’s grandmother, had this plant around her house and we began talking plants (as all plant mommas do) and she said it had been in her family for almost 100 years – clippings passed down to generations… so guess what.. since I’m family – I got a clipping and my gosh it’s been a wonderful plant to have.  It’s growing like crazy. I’ve had to separate it a couple times. So now I have 3 different plants and I’ve shared them with my mother, sister and a friend.

Lastly is this famous pothos which are extremely easy to propagate.  My co-worker has one and I snipped a piece of hers and kept it in water until it rooted and now it’s growing strong.

So with the rising costs of plants (and everything else) it’s great to still be able to feed the fetish without breaking the bank.  I do splurge every now and then on a plant but not like I used to.   Joining plant clubs or having other plant moms in your circle helps keep the green family growing around you.  Now you know my secret to having so many green babies around.  I’d like to pay it forward, so if you’d like a clipping of something, let me know, I’d love to share.  The first three readers to comment that you want one – let me know of which and you’ll get a clipping from me.  I hope you enjoyed reading about my propagated and shared clippings and became inspired to begin your journey into plant motherhood.  It’s a ongoing experience and learning about different plants and their moods is quite interesting.  But in the meantime – save some dough, propagate and share some clippings.  As always – happy hunting while you thrift your house into a home.