I can't help but try to save and root pieces of plants that have broken off or take cuttings of plants that are struggling (like those rescued from the overwatering garden centers) or just trying a cutting of something to see if I can root it. Just can't throw things away.

For all these odds and ends of plants, I keep a "nursery" pot.

This weekend was a bit moist outdoors so I logged some greenhouse hours and thought I'd share photos of these pots. I am always happy to see how well an assortment of plants do in the nursery pot.




These are some close ups of the plants.























These were started as a succulent nursery pots. It appears some of the succulents have become a bit aggressive.




I would like to know I'm not alone with this need to save plants. Any one else out there that does this? Any photos to share?

Yes, I do it too! Prune, then cannot throw away.

This african violet had a sucker, which I removed and placed in another pot, then the pruned leaves from this and another violet, went into water.



I trimmed this Schefflera and couldn't throw the cuttings away....in water again.



This brasil/lime was the result on just a small cutting from the main Brasil plant. Weirdly, I had trimmed only the lime part out of the Brasil, but the veriegated part grew on another stem!



The Brasil was the one I cutting I put directly in dirt. I've been trying different methods to see how it works best.

Yes, wherever there is bare soil on the surface of a pot, I will stick a leaf or cutting & try to forget about it. The truly forgotten have a 100% survival rate... because I don't remember if there was anything else that failed. It's very rewarding!


I don't like to look at dirt, I just want to see plants when I look at pots.



Over winter, a lot of pots get a stem or 2 of Coleus added, to be saved to use in the landscape again the following spring. After I potted these 2 pineapples, I added other little cuttings all around the empty spaces between the leaves, saving a lot of space.


The tall Coleus stems in this pot will be a great start in the landscape, allowing me to start with 18-24" cuttings, not 6" plants.


A pot of Begonia cuttings, taken & put in this pot around November.


Various cuttings & leaves added to the empty space around this Opuntia. The unrooted red Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) tip, was a lark, but it seems to be either still alive & taking root after being there for a few months, or dying more slowly than I could imagine. I'm totally surprised.

How fun to see both of your successes. (and happy to know I'm not alone in this sickness) Love the photos and the ideas...

There is some reward in saving these plants for gifting or replanting.

Alyssa Blue ~ do you find the roots to be more fragile when rooted in water?

Tiffany, I love the logic of 100% survival rate. The glass is ALWAYS full this way!

I feel that plants in community pots actually thrive when placed with other plants. Or perhaps it is the benign neglect they receive that makes them root and grow. Certainly not my green thumb!

Pod- yes the roots are more dainty and have to be handled more carefully than rooted in dirt because they can break off while putting them in soil. It guess it really depends on which plant I'm working with, whether I choose water or dirt.

Now, plants like wandering jew or a hoya can do well with the cutting put right into the dirt and they don't miss a beat. But philodendrons are not that way, they take much longer to root in dirt so I put them in water to start. At least that's my experience.

I don't leave any cuttings in the water too long though, only to get them started, when they have maybe 1/2" roots max. Then I move them to dirt. It's seems a little quicker, to me anyway.

Hi Kristi, yes I also end up with cuttings here and there, since my plants are mostly succulents, so I have an anything can live there pot where I can park those cuttings and leave them alone.

If it thrives then I start moving them to its own container later on especially around early Spring or maybe in mid Fall. I don't always leave them alone to get so intermixed, some become too fast growers and easily overtakes the others making them rather unruly looking. I choose later on which I can group together properly.

Always fun to have freebies in the garden.

Alyssa ~ I've not experimented with water rooting in many years but it stands to reason that some plants perform better in water versus soil. From what I have read, it is also good not to let the roots become too long before transplanting.

Tarev ~ Unruly is a good description for where mine are at right now. I rather dread separating the succulent container but need to do so. I am so amazed that some of these plants were struggling in their own pots and took off when deposited in a community pot. Almost scared to segregate them again.

Kristi, sometimes it is the timing when you get the succulent cuttings and the quality of the leaf cutting itself. They may take their sweet time when ambient temps are still rather cool and light levels way too low, but if conditions are nicely warm, they can have an easier transition. I have seen that with some of my Crassula cuttings. Or in the case of Aeoniums, they are just more actively growing during cooler weather, so no matter what, it will wait till it gets cool again, before it starts growing again, so I now know to wait for mid to late Fall or late winter to early Spring to get my cuttings. Or with Plumeria cuttings, cuttings can be obtained while dormant, but it will just wait it out till it goes warm again to awaken and start rooting. It just varies from plant to plant.

Also there are leaf cuttings that are just not that viable as some succulents naturally drop leaves they do not need anymore as they redirect their energies to new growth coming soon.

Good information, thank you. I have read that some succulents root system does draw up during their dormant season and that may also be part of the rooting issue. I will have to get my courage up to separate the succulent nursery pot.

This pot has a bunch of new Senecio crassissimus stems coming up from the roots of a cutting, some Kalanchoe babies that fell in, a K. 'Fang' leaf taking root, some Crassula cuttings that were so small that I'm thrilled were able to take root & start growing, all growing below the "canopy" of a snake plant, mama K. 'Fang' plant, and stem of K. fedtschenkoi.

Kristi, whatever became of your little ones?