The elephant's foot (Beaucarnea recurvata) is an easy-care houseplant that is easy to propagate. Read here how you can easily grow new bottle tree specimens using a variant of traditional division.
Can you split an elephant's foot?
You can divide an elephant foot withbranched tuft of leavesinto offshoots. Cut 10 to15 cm long side shoots close to the trunk. Plant each cutting in a pot with moist potting soil. The best time is in spring.
How to propagate an elephant foot?
You can propagate an elephant foot (Beaucarnea recurvata) byoffshootsorSowing.
Offshoots are side shoots of a mother plant in a reproductive stage of growth. The cuttings are cut from the elephant's foot trunk and stimulated to form roots through special care measures. This propagation technique is easy to carry out and produces additional bottle tree specimens within a short period of time. Sowing elephant's foot seeds is demanding and time-consuming. The advantage is that elephant foot seedlings are better able to develop the characteristic, thickened trunk.
How can you divide elephant foot to get offshoots?
With the elephant's foot, you can divide abranched tuft of leavesand use theside shoots as offshoots. The best time is in the spring after repotting. How to do it right:
- Cut off a 10 cm to 15 cm long side shoot close to the trunk.
- Fill the pot with permeable potting soil over expanded clay drainage to prevent waterlogging.
- Put cuttings into the substrate and water.
- Place the elephant foot cuttings in a bright, warm location without drafts.
- Put a plastic bag over the top for a favorable, warm, humid microclimate.
- Water the cutting regularly from below to prevent mold from forming.
Tip
Propagate elephant foot discorea by sowing
Dioscorea elephantipes forms a rounded trunk with climbing tendrils. In reference to the bizarre caudex, the exotic yam plant (Dioscoreaceae) is called turtle plant or elephant's foot. There are no offshoots or a root ball that can be divided. The only way to propagate is by sowing. At room temperature, Discorea seeds germinate within four weeks. Three weeks later, the mini elephant foot is already 1 cm in diameter.
