I want to tell you about my first ever propagation attempt, because it was a disaster.

I chopped a stem off a Pothos, shoved the whole thing (leaves and all) into a jam jar of water, sat it on a dark windowsill that got about ten minutes of sun a day, and then just... left it. For weeks. Occasionally topping up the water with whatever was cold enough to grab from the tap.

It went mushy. Then it went brown. Then it started to smell like something had died in my kitchen, which, in fairness, it had.

I didn't know that leaves left sitting in water rot. I didn't know the cutting needed proper light to actually grow roots, not just survive. I didn't know that "somewhere on a windowsill" and "somewhere bright enough to propagate" are two very different things.

Nobody tells you this stuff when you start. You just get given a cutting from a mate, or you watch a fifteen second video online, and you assume the rest is common sense.

It isn't. Not because you're not capable, but because nobody's ever actually walked you through it properly.

Here's one thing that would've saved that first Pothos of mine: when you take a cutting, trim back some of the leaf surface if the leaves are large. The cutting doesn't have roots yet, so it can't replace the water it's losing through those leaves. Big leaves lose water fast, and a cutting with no roots and constant water loss is a cutting that's fighting a battle it can't win.

Small adjustment but a massive difference in your success rate.

That's the thing about propagation nobody really says out loud: it's not that you're bad at it, it's that you've probably never been shown the handful of small things that separate a cutting that thrives from one that quietly rots on your windowsill while you're not looking.

​I built the Plant Propagation Workshop so nobody else's first Pothos has to end up in the bin like mine did.

It walks you through the entire process, from choosing the right plant to potting up successfully rooted cuttings, using real cuttings and real results across two videos, no guesswork required.

It's 60% off until Sunday at midnight EST, and comes with three bonuses:

BONUS #1: Plant Care Card — a printable cheat sheet with watering and light instructions, plus a spot for your plant's name.

BONUS #2: Propagation Thank You Cards — five designs for gifting a propagated plant to someone you love.

BONUS #3: Propagation Tags — printable tags for labelling your freshly cut babies.

And it's backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee, so if it's not for you, you're not out of pocket.

Get the Workshop and bonuses here https://sheffieldmadeplantsacademy.com/p/jul-plant-propagation-workshop​

Rich

P.S. If you've ever had a cutting go the same way mine did, you're in very good company. Every single person who's ever propagated a plant has a rotten jam jar story. It's basically a rite of passage.