I think the leafless nodes put more resources into growing leaves at first because they wouldn’t be able to grow without some photosynthesis. The ones with leaves could put everything into growing roots, so by the time they got into soil they had more food than the leafless nodes.
Exactly, the leafless nodes' ''priority'' is to grow at least a single leaf before anything else while the ones which kept their leaves were ready to push out roots already. Removing leaves from a cutting is giving your plant a serious handicap and I've seen cases where it killed the plant. The new growth on the nodes that kept their leaves is also larger because the plants have a better photosynthesizing capacity and even if the old leaf dies, the plant re-allocates the old leaf's energy and resources into new growth.
Man, I wouldn't have thought you could propagate essentially just sticks! I've thrown away so many long pothos vines because they fell into a dark place. I'm going to propagate those bad boys next time! Bread makers use a tool called a lame to hold double-sided razors for slicing bread tops. I wonder if such a thing could be useful for those afraid of the double-sided razors.
Glad you made this video. I've often wondered about this myself. As you are well aware, plants take a good bit of time to really start growing so the longer timed experiment was perfect!!!
I’m not surprised by the result. My hypothesis is the leaf nodes had a leaf and therefore didn’t need to focus any energy on creating one, hence the quicker root development. Once it had enough root to support the leaf it already had, it would focus on more leaf growth. The leafless ones first needed to produce a leaf to assist with energy production and that meant less focus on roots which in the end made the difference.
i know its not that amazing, but i do enjoy how reactive plants can be, the fact that they arent some static machine that just does the same thing regardless of conditions is cool
I have a Philodendron "Birkin" which has grown tall and shed its bottom leaves. This ended up as a tall and unstable potted plant which I have supported with a pole for a few months. After all that time I was not satisfied with the way it looks. I cut the plant into sections as you did with the Pothos. I decided to keep the wooden stump at the base, which turned out to be a good idea. While the single nodes (with their leaves on) were barely sprouting thier first leaf, still unopen, the stump has grown two branches which are filling the pot.
Love your passion for plants that peaks your curiosity and drives you to experiment and learn more about them and share with others. This is what makes your channel so interesting to watch (your sense of humor is a bonus 😂) Keep up the good work! 👍
Great experiment! My guess in why things happen the way it did is the leafed ones needed to establish more roots to sustain the leaf AND begin new leaf growth, so it took longer to produce leaves. The leafless ones just need to sprout enough roots to produce the initial small leaf. And then produce more roots and the subsequent leaves are sized in proportion to the size of the root network. However, once the initial leafed ones established the roots, the larger root network will allow larger leaves to grow. And the effect is exponential. I also notice the ones with leaves began to yellow and that allows the leafed ones to cannibalize the older leaf to convert it into nutrients for subsequent leaves. Hence the subsequent leaves will size up dramatically. I’m just taking a stab. It your experiment is great because it yields unequivocal results.
Leafless nodes lost at the end, but I would 100% but that plant over the other. Looks fresher, more symmetrical growth, just overall a nice looking plant!
Good experiment. You can see that the ones with leaves prefer to put their energy in getting proper roots. While the leafless ones need to put the leaf production first to get more photosynthesis going
Maybe would have been easier to prop the leafless nodes in that little vessel you used for space filler. They are hard to do in water, but I've had success in spag moss in plastic cups. Makes so much sense, the results!
I agree with the razor. In fact, I was turned on to in by your videos. My recommendation is to use a tiny rectangle of tape (I used Gorilla brand) to make a little grippy handle. Have a blessed day 🙏
Happy to see so the end results with so many leaves. How much time it takes to see the first leaf? I am also experimenting with pothos from last 3 weeks, but so far can only see roots. Doing water propagation. Zone 9b.
I think by the first month most had a new leaf. Mine are sitting under grow lights. sometimes i leave them on for days too so i think it accelerates my results
thanks for the experiment :p I was debating whether to water propogate with just the leaves + nodes or just the stems/nodes. glad I went with the leaf option :)
Since you're committed to those exps I would love to see some fertilizer tests. Specifically silica supplementation. It's supposed to make plants stronger (thicker cell walls plus better Ca utilization) but so far I've been too lazy to bother as there are multi steps in preparation on fertilizer if adding silica. Oh an myco! I know it helps plants but I wonder if it actually makes a difference or is it an induced placebo effect.
I wonder if a dip in some rooting hormone for the leafless nodes when going into the soil could have levelled the playing field a little? Give the roots a nice boost as they establish themselves in fresh soil?
Question: Why did you leave a long bit of stem above the node when you cut? Typically that's not advised in pruning so I've always figured the principle would be the same when doing props. So shorter stem above node and longer below node is what I've been ensuring that I do when doing propagations. Does it make a difference? If you've done a video on this already I may come across it after this comment but please respond with your thoughts.
I have done some experiments in the past and i have one going now. the old one i did total nodal length and all the cuttings with the longest internode did best. but it was equal on both sides so it doesnt tell us if one side is better than other just that longer is better. I do have one going now that i test each side and both equal and it seems like the double ended ones are doing best. I will make a video about it soon.
also, many times i get diff results than others so dont let my results directly sway what you do. I always suggest people to try out the experiment themselves cuz different factors can make the results very diff
It seems like the cuttings with leaves prioritize root growth and the ones without leaves leaf growth. But what if you would cut just half of the leaves off?
Lmao I find this very funny upon reading it but you bring up a very interesting idea. I do recall now that people will do this and now I'm dying to test it. Thank you for this fantastic idea
Hey this is what I wanted to know, but couldn't find answers. I cut up my monstera albo and cut it up into 5 pieces with a leaf. I now wonder if I should cut the leaf off or not. I'm airlayering my other monstera albo, since it has flowered, and I want to cut it up aswell.
Even tho we saw a faster new growth happen when ripping off the leaf I think you should leave the leaf I think it makes for a more resilient propagation. Since you have 5 and as long as it's not a financial risk for you it might he worth trying no leaf on one or two of the five
Yea it scares me when you use the razor blade. 😂 nice experiment. I always wonder if dark or brown glass props, prop faster in the dark glass. IMO they do root faster but an experiment would be good. 💚
i think it depends on the plants. I did do an experiment with pothos where one was a clear jar and the other i blocked the light with tin foil. The ones in a clear jar grew faster and i believe its because the new growth could get light much sooner as it was forming
plant makes food by photosynthesis with leaf... makes sense a leafless plant stem has to struggle managing energy reserves to grow both leaf and root...
Damn, cut up my Pothos a month ago and threw away like 2 metres of leafless vine... 🥲 Thought they wouldn't have the strength to root... Thank you for posting your experiments for all of us to see, it's a great way to lern
I wasn't expecting to see such a drastic difference between the two when rooting....and then at the end....the come back! Great experiment
I think the leafless nodes put more resources into growing leaves at first because they wouldn’t be able to grow without some photosynthesis. The ones with leaves could put everything into growing roots, so by the time they got into soil they had more food than the leafless nodes.
yeap makes sense! Cool to see it actually happen!
Exactly, the leafless nodes' ''priority'' is to grow at least a single leaf before anything else while the ones which kept their leaves were ready to push out roots already. Removing leaves from a cutting is giving your plant a serious handicap and I've seen cases where it killed the plant. The new growth on the nodes that kept their leaves is also larger because the plants have a better photosynthesizing capacity and even if the old leaf dies, the plant re-allocates the old leaf's energy and resources into new growth.
Those plants are smart for sure 😊
Whoa that was a really cool experiment! I think you handled the setup super well, and the end result was shocking!
Man, I wouldn't have thought you could propagate essentially just sticks! I've thrown away so many long pothos vines because they fell into a dark place. I'm going to propagate those bad boys next time!
Bread makers use a tool called a lame to hold double-sided razors for slicing bread tops. I wonder if such a thing could be useful for those afraid of the double-sided razors.
Love these experimental side by side growing comparisons!
More to come!
I use double sided razors and it work like a dream. Less rot and more clean cuts lead to a faster growth
Paper cutters also work great and are safer
I recommend exacto (craft) knife. As sharp as a razor but you get a better control with the handle which helps if cutting something with tight nodes.
I've had luck with scalpels
@@horace6851nobody asked you
Glad you made this video. I've often wondered about this myself. As you are well aware, plants take a good bit of time to really start growing so the longer timed experiment was perfect!!!
Thanks! Yeah I'm glad I left it go
This is a great experiment!!!!! Great job!
Thank you!
now that's what you call a plot twist! thanks for another great one 👍🏾
Thanks! yeah it was really cool to see.
Very interesting at the end of the I didn’t expect the results to switch as they did.
Same it was cool to see
I’m not surprised by the result. My hypothesis is the leaf nodes had a leaf and therefore didn’t need to focus any energy on creating one, hence the quicker root development. Once it had enough root to support the leaf it already had, it would focus on more leaf growth. The leafless ones first needed to produce a leaf to assist with energy production and that meant less focus on roots which in the end made the difference.
i know its not that amazing, but i do enjoy how reactive plants can be, the fact that they arent some static machine that just does the same thing regardless of conditions is cool
I have a Philodendron "Birkin" which has grown tall and shed its bottom leaves. This ended up as a tall and unstable potted plant which I have supported with a pole for a few months. After all that time I was not satisfied with the way it looks. I cut the plant into sections as you did with the Pothos. I decided to keep the wooden stump at the base, which turned out to be a good idea. While the single nodes (with their leaves on) were barely sprouting thier first leaf, still unopen, the stump has grown two branches which are filling the pot.
Love how it doubled in size. I figured the wet sticks would've been bigger. Love the experiments. ❤
Love your passion for plants that peaks your curiosity and drives you to experiment and learn more about them and share with others. This is what makes your channel so interesting to watch (your sense of humor is a bonus 😂) Keep up the good work! 👍
I love that you did the long-term experiment! I definitely learned a couple of things here! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I do like the longer time period for the experiment. Very interesting, Matt. Thanks for putting in all the work. A plus on your science project! 😂❤
Lmao thank you!
Great experiment!
My guess in why things happen the way it did is the leafed ones needed to establish more roots to sustain the leaf AND begin new leaf growth, so it took longer to produce leaves.
The leafless ones just need to sprout enough roots to produce the initial small leaf. And then produce more roots and the subsequent leaves are sized in proportion to the size of the root network.
However, once the initial leafed ones established the roots, the larger root network will allow larger leaves to grow. And the effect is exponential. I also notice the ones with leaves began to yellow and that allows the leafed ones to cannibalize the older leaf to convert it into nutrients for subsequent leaves. Hence the subsequent leaves will size up dramatically.
I’m just taking a stab. It your experiment is great because it yields unequivocal results.
yeah i think you are on the right track!
Good stuff! Seems like the nodes push out the initial leaves in order to then help with the root growth. So they are rushing just to catch up.
I'm thinking that's thr case as well
Super thankful for longer-term experiments like that! ✨😃🙏
Leafless nodes lost at the end, but I would 100% but that plant over the other. Looks fresher, more symmetrical growth, just overall a nice looking plant!
yeah you have a point it does have a nicer more uniform look.
Thank you for uploading this experiment, if I ever decide to propagate, I will do it with leaves.
Good experiment. You can see that the ones with leaves prefer to put their energy in getting proper roots. While the leafless ones need to put the leaf production first to get more photosynthesis going
I really thought that the leafless nodes were going to win, Wow was not expecting that. 😮
Same! I'm glad I let it continue
I love learning new things! If i want mini pothos i can do that, and if i want nice full big pothos i can do that!
Maybe would have been easier to prop the leafless nodes in that little vessel you used for space filler. They are hard to do in water, but I've had success in spag moss in plastic cups. Makes so much sense, the results!
I just wanted to keep the container and water amount the same bur yeah a smaller jar would be way better
@@TechplantChannel yeah, equivalent inputs!
I have a pothos that needs cutting down like this. I may do a leafless planting bc I really like the variety.
Nice! Good luck
I agree with the razor. In fact, I was turned on to in by your videos.
My recommendation is to use a tiny rectangle of tape (I used Gorilla brand) to make a little grippy handle.
Have a blessed day 🙏
Hey that's a great idea! I'm glad others agree. The cut is so clean it seems to be rot resistant
Great to see the growth over time 😀🇨🇦
Thanks for watching!
Looks great! What happens when the roots fill the grooves but more roots develop, where do they go?
Happy to see so the end results with so many leaves.
How much time it takes to see the first leaf? I am also experimenting with pothos from last 3 weeks, but so far can only see roots. Doing water propagation. Zone 9b.
I think by the first month most had a new leaf. Mine are sitting under grow lights. sometimes i leave them on for days too so i think it accelerates my results
Loving the longer term thing
thanks for the experiment :p I was debating whether to water propogate with just the leaves + nodes or just the stems/nodes. glad I went with the leaf option :)
Great job! I noticed the same here with Scindapsus!
Good to know! I actually haven't had one in such a long time but I wanna pick one up now
Interesting results so far. Half way through. Before you pit them up.
I like the live commenting cool to see your reaction thanks for watching. I see you in the comments often and really appreciate it
Great experiment! as a data scientist I recommend doing a coin flip to assign cuttings to each group instead of picking comparable cuttings.
Another great experiment! 🎉
Great experiment, thank you for doing this. Very interesting and surprising
Thank you! Cheers!
Since you're committed to those exps I would love to see some fertilizer tests. Specifically silica supplementation. It's supposed to make plants stronger (thicker cell walls plus better Ca utilization) but so far I've been too lazy to bother as there are multi steps in preparation on fertilizer if adding silica. Oh an myco! I know it helps plants but I wonder if it actually makes a difference or is it an induced placebo effect.
I will put this on the backlog thank you
Love these experiments!
Thank you! Cheers! I like these a lot too, very fun to see
What a twist!
I know it was cool and surprising to see
This is a fun experiment. Nice video!
I have done this myself also with pothos and I got the same result only the ones with leaves were ahead the whole time
Nice! Cool to hear about variations taking place
Excellent vidéo, always something I wondered, thanks
Love this subject so much! Thank you!
I wonder if a dip in some rooting hormone for the leafless nodes when going into the soil could have levelled the playing field a little? Give the roots a nice boost as they establish themselves in fresh soil?
Question: Why did you leave a long bit of stem above the node when you cut? Typically that's not advised in pruning so I've always figured the principle would be the same when doing props. So shorter stem above node and longer below node is what I've been ensuring that I do when doing propagations. Does it make a difference? If you've done a video on this already I may come across it after this comment but please respond with your thoughts.
I have done some experiments in the past and i have one going now. the old one i did total nodal length and all the cuttings with the longest internode did best. but it was equal on both sides so it doesnt tell us if one side is better than other just that longer is better.
I do have one going now that i test each side and both equal and it seems like the double ended ones are doing best. I will make a video about it soon.
also, many times i get diff results than others so dont let my results directly sway what you do. I always suggest people to try out the experiment themselves cuz different factors can make the results very diff
I wonder if being crowded in one glass had a negative effect? Maybe a control of one in their own glass could have been added for each as well?
true I could set that up for future experiments
Great experiment. Thank you.
Another great one man 👊🤘
Thank you!
Thanks from Italy😊
It seems like the cuttings with leaves prioritize root growth and the ones without leaves leaf growth. But what if you would cut just half of the leaves off?
Lmao I find this very funny upon reading it but you bring up a very interesting idea. I do recall now that people will do this and now I'm dying to test it. Thank you for this fantastic idea
Awesome experiment!
nice thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
Hey this is what I wanted to know, but couldn't find answers. I cut up my monstera albo and cut it up into 5 pieces with a leaf. I now wonder if I should cut the leaf off or not. I'm airlayering my other monstera albo, since it has flowered, and I want to cut it up aswell.
Even tho we saw a faster new growth happen when ripping off the leaf I think you should leave the leaf I think it makes for a more resilient propagation. Since you have 5 and as long as it's not a financial risk for you it might he worth trying no leaf on one or two of the five
Where do you buy those basic black square growers pots? I can't find them anywhere!
Thanks for sharing!!
This was Dope.... thank you
Awesome video great info
Does this month have a pothos race video? 👀
This Saturday
Great video!
This was very interesting
Love it!
Thanks!!
Why does The Leafless Nodes sound like a band?
😂
lmaooo
Yea it scares me when you use the razor blade. 😂 nice experiment. I always wonder if dark or brown glass props, prop faster in the dark glass. IMO they do root faster but an experiment would be good. 💚
i think it depends on the plants. I did do an experiment with pothos where one was a clear jar and the other i blocked the light with tin foil. The ones in a clear jar grew faster and i believe its because the new growth could get light much sooner as it was forming
plant makes food by photosynthesis with leaf... makes sense a leafless plant stem has to struggle managing energy reserves to grow both leaf and root...
Would this work with Roses?
Now I'm going to buy a pothos from nursery. Cute all through the length and go mad with the nodes, then I'll have pothos Extreme
I would be curious even after a year
they are still in their pots growing out so maybe ill do more updates!
why don't just tie them together with twines, elastic bands or any material to hold them together
This is why I like when people comment. Very smart! Next time I'll remember this
👍👍👍
Thanks!
Ahh, the sacrificial golden pothos. 😅
Lol
😮
thanks for watching
Can you get a cut proof glove or something lol I just would hate to see you lose a finger
I think they make them so maybe!
In my own experiments I find leaf nodes better. But we'll see
No surprises here, the folks expecting the leafless nodes to win the race clearly do not have a good understanding of plant biology.
Damn, cut up my Pothos a month ago and threw away like 2 metres of leafless vine... 🥲 Thought they wouldn't have the strength to root... Thank you for posting your experiments for all of us to see, it's a great way to lern
Yeap I've done it too. But now you know for the future!
Amazing video!
This was very interesting