How to propagate: Polyscias (Aralia)

Looking at the Polyscias, you won’t believe it’s low maintenance as it’s a tree, but this is one of the easiest indoor plants to take care of and brighten up your interior. Propagation of a Polyscias is very similar to that of a Dracaena.

Propagating a Polyscias in 4 steps

Step 1: Disinfect

The propagation of the Polyscias can be quite a tough job. You need a pair of pruning shears or a strong sharp knife.

Before propagating it is important to disinfect the pruning shears or knife. Keep the pruning shears or knife under hot water and clean it well. This prevents you from unnecessarily transferring bacteria during the propagation.

Do you happen to have disinfectant or pure alcohol? Disinfect the tools after using hot water. Let's get away with those bacteria and fungi!

Step 2: Take cuttings

You can propagate two parts of the Polyscias: a top cutting or a stem cutting.

If you cut the top or a stem, make sure that the cutting is at least 20 cm.

It is best to take more than one cutting. We recommend this because taking cuttings from the Polyscias is not a guaranteed success.

Step 3: Apply cutting powder

Do you happen to have cutting powder at home? Then you can apply the cutting powder to the ‘open wound’ of the cutting. Let the powder dry well!

Don’t have any cutting powder? No problem. You can also easily propagate without. Although the use of cutting powder can stimulate root growth. So it is an interesting option to consider.

Step 4: Taking care of the cutting

In the beginning it is important to keep the soil of the cutting slightly moist.

After about a month the cutting will start to grow. At that moment there are enough roots formed to treat the plant as the mother plant. The Polyscias needs enough water once every 2.5 to 4 weeks.