When taking cuttings now, don't use soil; pad them with a piece of sponge and they'll sprout white roots like crazy, 100% successfully established.

The Wall-Hitting 3.0 Sponge Cutting Method

Suitable range: Sponge cuttings are suitable for roses, jasmine, bougainvillea, pomegranate, clematis, honeysuckle, and so on. Most flowers that are relatively tolerant of moisture are suitable, but ones that rot easily, like kalanchoe and succulents, are not.

How to do it:

1. Prepare a sponge and cut it into small pieces

Old sofa sponge, dishwashing sponge, or shoe-polishing sponge from home all work, but they must be washed clean in advance. It's no good if they have grease or shoe polish on them. Once prepared, cut them into pieces the size of a mahjong tile and set aside.

2. Cut a slit in the sponge

What's demonstrated here is a new sponge, which is still fairly elastic. Cut once from the middle, but don't cut too deeply; it's enough if you feel it can close up by the sponge's own elasticity.

3. Insert the flower stem

Push the flower stem you want to propagate into the slit of the sponge.

4. Put it into a small tray

Most homes don't have small trays for cuttings, so mooncake trays or pastry trays can be used instead. After pushing in the flower stem and sponge, wet the sponge, put it in a ventilated, shady place, and quietly wait for roots to grow.

5. Keep the sponge moist

While waiting for roots to grow, keep the sponge moist. In about a week you'll see roots popping out. With sponge cuttings you can pick them up to take a look, which is a very convenient advantage.

6. When the roots grow to 2-3 cm, they can be temporarily planted

About half a month after cutting, dense white roots will sprout on the sponge, and at this point they can be planted into a pot. Small pieces of sponge don't need to be removed; for larger sponges, just cut off the excess and plant them into the soil together with the sponge.

7. After temporary planting, this is how they get established

After temporary planting, the flowers need more than a week to adapt. After planting and watering thoroughly to settle the roots, put them in a ventilated environment at home. There's no need to water every day; water again after about 3 days.

8. After they're established, gradually give them sunlight

After the flowers are established, they slowly recover their vigor and can get some appropriate sun. Morning sunlight is the most precious; flowers grow fast when they get sun. Gradually increase the time in the sun each day, and in about ten days they can be cared for normally.

Sponges can be used not only for cuttings but also for water culture

Sponge cuttings are so good at rooting that we can also use them for water culture. For plants like pothos, arrowroot, and peace lily, growing them with sponge makes them root quickly and resist strongly!

How to do it:

1. Cut the sponge into a circle the same size as the vase opening, and cut out a "Y" shape as shown in the picture below.

When opened, it looks like this. There is only one gap that can be opened; do not cut through the other two cuts.

2. Fit the flower into the sponge

Fit the flower stem you want to water-culture into the sponge, with about 2 cm exposed at the bottom.

3. Put it into the water-barrier net

Usually a water-culture bottle comes with a matching water-barrier net. Put the sponge with the flower fitted into it.

4. Put it into the water-culture pot

Fill the water-culture pot with water, preferably not too full, and do not let it cover the sponge. Change the water once every 3-5 days, and change the sponge once every 1-2 months.