Single leaf, leaf flag, peace lily - the tropical spathiphyllum goes by many names. The attractive houseplant with its dense, bushy growth, large, dark green leaves and mostly white, characteristically shaped flowers is one of the most popular ornamental plants in German living rooms. The distinctive plant is also considered to be quite easy to care for, which also applies to its propagation: for this purpose you simply need to divide the bush into several individual plants.
How to propagate a single leaf?
To propagate a single leaf (Spathiphyllum), divide the root ball and rhizomes into pieces with at least 3 leaves each in spring. Plant the divided individual plants in smaller pots with nutrient-rich, loose substrate.
Sharing a sheet – timing and procedure
The best time to divide the single leaf is in spring, when the plant will be moved to a larger pot with fresh substrate anyway. This approach has proven successful:
- Carefully remove the plant from its planter.
- If the single leaf is too tight, loosen the root ball and soil from the edge of the pot using a sharp knife.
- Loosen the root ball and gently shake off excess soil.
- Now divide the rhizomes including the green leaves into several individual pieces,
- each should have at least three leaves.
- If necessary, use a clean and sharp knife.
- Plant the divided pieces individually in prepared pots.
- These should of course be adapted to the size of the individual pieces and therefore be quite small.
You don't need to divide the whole plant into many small plants - just take as many new leaves as you actually want, even if it's just one. Since Spathiphyllum also grows very quickly, you can repeat the procedure every one to two years if necessary - always in conjunction with repotting.
Repotting and repotting single leaf
So that single leaves feel comfortable, you should put them in a larger planter once a year - preferably in spring - and at the same time provide the plants with fresh substrate. It is best to use a loose, nutrient-rich substrate with a pH between 5.7 and 6.8. It is also often read that the ideal soil is based on peat. This may be true, but it should be avoided for environmental reasons. To cut peat, moors are still drained today, irretrievably destroying valuable habitats for rare animal and plant species. By the way: Older, fully grown single leaves of course no longer need a larger pot, but the substrate should still be replaced every year.
Tip
If you are lucky enough to get hold of Spathiphyllum seeds (very rare in stores!), then they can also be propagated. However, the seeds are not sown immediately, but are first allowed to germinate at around 25 °C and high humidity. Only after germination do you plant the small seedlings separately.