Cutting the eucomis

Called pineapple lily because of the peculiar shape of the inflorescence which looks a bit like this fruit, eucomis is a bulbous plant that can be propagated easily by cuttings from the large lanceolate leaves.

Material:
grafting
box
gravel
sand
potting soil
sieve
wooden plank
watering can

Advice:
To speed up the recovery of the cuttings, add a little heat and humidity by covering the box with a transparent plastic cover (mini-greenhouse) or placing it outside, under a frame.

Good to know:
The cuttings of the leaves make it possible to multiply a plant in greater number than by simple separation of the bulbils, often few.

Choosing the right plant

The eucomis usually multiplies by separating the bulbils that arise around the main bulb. But leaf cuttings also give excellent results. Choose a healthy plant with no visible signs of disease or insect attack.

Select and cut leaves

With a grafter, select the best formed leaves. You can prepare your cuttings in two ways either by cutting pieces of leaf of about ten centimeters, or by cutting the leaf along the vein in the longitudinal direction.

Prepare the box

In a box, pierced for the flow of the overflow of irrigation water, place a layer of gravel for drainage. Cover with a mixture of finely sifted potting soil and sand, in equal parts. Tamp with a wooden board.

Wait for the bulbils

Then, gently, push in your cuttings about 1 cm, pressing down with your fingers to hold them. Water in fine rain. After a few weeks, bulbils will appear at the cut part of the leaf buried in the ground.