Check in the houseplant book of your choice (other than one I’ve written) or just about anywhere on the Internet and you will see that, to take a cutting of an umbrella palm, also called umbrella papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius), a popular houseplant, you have cut off the top of a stem and place it upside down in glass of water. And it really works!
The odd thing though is that the cutting doesn’t have to be upside down. Whether you place it upright, on its side, upside down or at any angle that pleases you, as long as it is in a very humid environment, the cutting will take root and begin to produce new stems. I’m not arguing that the information is false exactly, but it is curious that so many authorities insist the cutting must be upside down when in fact the angle is of no importance.
No matter at what angle you place your cutting, when roots and new stems appear, it’s time to plant the baby in a pot of soil… with its new stems pointing upwards, of course!
Always keep the soil of this plant not only moist, but out and out soggy, since the papyrus is semi-aquatic. My suggestion: place the pot in a cache-pot up to twice as wide as the pot… and keep the cache-pot filled with water to about ¾ of its height at all times. This is one plant you simply can’t overwater!
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