Unlike their name suggests, the Rattlesnake Plant is a super easy to care for, non-toxic plant that adds a little something vibrant to your home.
You’ll be very pleased to hear that propagating a Rattlesnake Plant is actually quite an easy process, and it’s super quick too so you can create several new plants in minutes! In this post, we will go through the whole process of how to propagate a Rattlesnake Plant to make sure it’s a success.
What methods can I use to propagate my Rattlesnake Plant?
Although propagating Rattlesnake Plants is easy, this is because you can only propagate it through division. Whilst it’s possible to propagate through the cultivation of seeds, this is a very difficult and slow process and we don’t recommend trying it at home. The other downside to propagating Rattlesnake Plant is that as you are using division, you’ll need quite a mature plant and won’t work on baby plants.
How to propagate a Rattlesnake Plant through division
Remove your plant from its pot
Hold the plant firmly at the bottom of the stems and gently pull it out of the pot. You want to be careful not to damage the leaves at this stage as they are quite delicate.
Shake off the potting mix from the roots
Our top tip is to loosely run your fingers through the root system to shake off the soil. Do this gently so you don’t snap any of the large roots.
Untangle the various natural sections
To do this, you might need to slice through a few roots using pruning scissors. If your Rattlesnake Plant only has one central section, then you will need to slice your plant in half or slice off a section to create two individual plants.
Grow in water or straight into fresh potting mix
You need to decide if you want to grow your new plant in water first or plant it straight into potting mix. Either option can work but if your new plant has quite short and delicate roots, you might want to grow it in water for a few weeks.
Continue a normal Rattlesnake Plant care routine
If your new plant is now in fresh potting mix then you can care for it as you would your other Rattlesnake Plant. If you’ve decided to grow it in water for a while, make sure to refresh the water every few days to prevent it from stagnating. Once the roots have matured a little, pot into fresh soil.
Can I propagate my Rattlesnake Plant from a single leaf?
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to propagate a Rattlesnake Plant from a leaf cutting or a stem cutting. This is because it needs part of the central section for roots to grow out of.
What time of year should I propagate my Rattlesnake Plant?
As you can only propagate your Rattlesnake Plant through division, you can usually propagate it throughout the year. We recommend not doing it in the height of winter as this can lead to more problems but for the rest of the year, this should be absolutely fine.
Those are all the important things you need to know about how to propagate a Rattlesnake Plant. Each and every individual plant is different so the process won’t always follow the exact same timeline. Environmental factors also play a role in the speed and success of your propagation efforts so make sure your new plant is getting everything it needs.
To learn more about how to care for your new plants after propagation, check out our Rattlesnake Plant care guide.
