How To Use Propagation Pods For Air-Layering

No matter where you are in your plant collecting journey, you will inevitably find yourself wanting to propagate your plants. Many plants can be propagated by simply taking cuttings and placing them in a container of water to root. However, a propagation method called air-layering tends to have a higher rate of success and healthier plants. This article will introduce you to the use of propagation pods for air-layering. Later on, I will demonstrate the use of a propagation pod on a Philodendron melanochrysum.

What is air-layering?

Air layering is a propagation or cloning method that allows you to root branches and stems that are still attached to the parent plant. Because the clone is still attached to the parent, it has a higher likelihood of establishing a new, healthy root system in a relatively short amount of time. Air-layered plants are generally stronger and more robust than plants rooted from cuttings.

Air-layering can be used quite successfully for woody plants. I have used it for cloning camellias and roses. For houseplants, it can be quite useful for propagating climbing aroids.

What are Propagation Pods?

Propagation pods (a.k.a. air-layering pods, rooting devices, rooting pods, or propagation balls) are hollow orbs usually made of black plastic. The pod opens and closes at a hinge, and holes in the top and bottom allows a plant’s stem to fit inside. The pod is packed with a rooting substrate like sphagnum moss, then closed and sealed around a plant’s stem.

The sphagnum moss needs stay moist to encourage the development of a healthy root system.

Where to find Propagation Pods

Propagation pods are available online. There are many vendors selling them on Amazon.com and eBay for quite cheap. The pods are sturdy and reusable, which makes them very worthwhile to keep in your plant propagation arsenal.

How To Use Your Propagation Pods

In the rest of this article, I will demonstrate how to use a propagation pod to clone a Philodendron melanochrysum.

What you will need:

• Sphagnum moss
• Propagation pod
• Binder clips (optional)
• Wood dowel or plant support

Since this aroid is a climber and tends to send out adventitious aerial roots from its nodes, it will be quite easy to propagate. Propagating a woody plant like a camellia would involve a few more steps, so do some additional research.

For the Philodendron melanochrysum, I selected a node that I wanted the roots to grow from and centered it in the propagation pod. The plant’s stem slots into the cut-outs in the top and bottom of the pod.

I filled the propagation pod with damp sphagnum moss, packing it in firmly, on both halves of the orb. I closed the pod. The pods usually have a latch to keep it sealed together. Binder clips and clothes pins can clamp it tighter.

I had to use a binder clip to secure the pod to my plant support. Otherwise, the pod is too heavy for the plant’s stem to hold upright.

I watered the pod once every 1.5 weeks to keep the sphagnum moss moist.

Two Months Later…

After two months, I decided to open the pod and take a look inside. The propagation pods make it easy to peek inside without disturbing any potential roots.

As you can see, there is a robust and healthy root system already established in the sphagnum moss. Success!

Since the roots looked great, I separated my cloned plant from my parent plant.

I potted up my cloned plant into my aroid potting mix. A week later, it has already started pushing out a new cataphyll (juvenile leaf)!

Final Thoughts

Overall, using a propagation pod was simple and extremely easy. Being able to reuse the pods helps cut back on the amount of plastic waste and tape generated from traditional air-layering techniques. The only drawback is that the propagation pods can only encompass up to a certain diameter. If the branch or stem you want to air-layer is too thick, it may not fit inside.

Regardless, I will be keeping these handy pods ready in my plant propagation toolbox. There are many more plants I would like to propagate in the future and these pods will be the first thing that I reach for.