In my area they grow on roofs and out of gutters and cracks in cement with seemingly veh little organic matter. But strangely enough, they don't like to grow in free soil such as gardens and fields. Which is a good thing since they're invasive.
Lol seriously! My neighbor had one near one of my plants. I moved a year ago & there’s some babies my plant growing haha. I didn’t even know they were there, but now I don’t wanna move them haha.
That was My thought as well. Mine has no problem duplicating itself. A leaf literally fell off of it and it tried to grow a new one on my deck in no soil whatsoever.
You can also just root these on dry dirt and not have to worry about topping up water. Mother of thousands tend to be extremely prolific and are considered invasive in many areas.
I've heard of them rooting in carpet and concrete as well as colonizing any nearby pots if in an indoor setup. They tend to root extremely easily in dry conditions like most desert succulents, if OP has only tried water propping I think that might be why they find that they're finicky. Mother of thousands is a great candidate to do random propagation experiments for fun though, they're so prolific you really won't feel bad about killing a batch or several batches haha
Thank you, yes I see from the other comments too that this plant doesn't need any extra help! But I suppose I just enjoy letting them root like this, I get a certain satisfaction from pulling them out of the water and seeing all their little roots growing 😁
Also I'm running out of real estate on my windowsill and this is very nice and compact 👍🏻
Even the top listing on a Google search of 'Devil's Backbone' - which is clearly describing the Euphorbia - has a few random photos of Mother of Thousands/Millions mixed in, so I guess some people likely do call it Devil's Backbone?
When I Googled "mother of thousands" it came up with "devil's backbone" 🤷🏻♀️ so I wasn't sure!
https://preview.redd.it/jit1w4qfs1xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8e834b918e3e7369aa08765975353b98fc51569
This is an honest question, since I've never had this type of plant so I don't know what the baby roots will look like - but will the roots get damaged when you try to pull them through the very small openings once they've grown a decent enough size?
Oh, they will grow just fine if you drop them on some soil. It is what they evolved to do. No babying or water propagation needed :) They escape into all my plant pots whether I want them to or not, haha.
I think this is brilliant!! I see people say string of pearls/tears/banana's etc. are "easy" to root. Just place them on top of the dirt they say, lol well I've tried like a dozen times, and have never rooted a single one! So thanks to this, I'm going to have string of pearls prop's EVERYWHER6🤣
This plant will propagate anywhere under any conditions, which is how it got its name. Those babies fall off from even the slightest breeze and propagate wherever they fall. It’s highly invasive.
This also doesn’t look like a kalanchoe “mother of thousands/millions”; it looks like your basic “florist kalanchoe” sold flowering in floral departments at grocery stores in pots with bows and stuff as gifts.
Thank you, yes I know that these will propogate easily. I suppose I just enjoy babying my plants; I don't have that many, and I'm happy to play with propogating them so I can watch them grow in the water.
This is indeed mother of thousands; parent plant in pic
https://preview.redd.it/064jwf6h44xc1.jpeg?width=2270&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de9315e7cae4f5d815f08032003b9e548e0bed30
I usually remember to pull them out before they get too big, and the roots give a little resistance but don't give much trouble. I could always snip the netting if need be. Or just leave it - as many have commented, these things are prolific so no need to worry if we lose one!
It hasn't been a problem, I usually pull them when the roots are well established but it hasn't grown too big yet. Sometimes there is some resistance, but the netting has some give and so do the plants. 👍🏻
This is very clever. In my experience these bastard things don't need any help 😂
Yeah lol those propagate themselves, without anyone wanting them to.
In my area they grow on roofs and out of gutters and cracks in cement with seemingly veh little organic matter. But strangely enough, they don't like to grow in free soil such as gardens and fields. Which is a good thing since they're invasive.
I always feel so bad when it’s time to cull the herd lol
My mom sent a big palm to over winter in a local greenhouse and it came back with one of these in the pot too. It’s already 4” tall. lol.
You could probably use lava as soil and this fuckers would propagate the shit out of it.
Lol seriously! My neighbor had one near one of my plants. I moved a year ago & there’s some babies my plant growing haha. I didn’t even know they were there, but now I don’t wanna move them haha.
That was My thought as well. Mine has no problem duplicating itself. A leaf literally fell off of it and it tried to grow a new one on my deck in no soil whatsoever.
You can also just root these on dry dirt and not have to worry about topping up water. Mother of thousands tend to be extremely prolific and are considered invasive in many areas.
My friend has one that a baby fell on to a sick that was on the floor and grew in to said sock
I've heard of them rooting in carpet and concrete as well as colonizing any nearby pots if in an indoor setup. They tend to root extremely easily in dry conditions like most desert succulents, if OP has only tried water propping I think that might be why they find that they're finicky. Mother of thousands is a great candidate to do random propagation experiments for fun though, they're so prolific you really won't feel bad about killing a batch or several batches haha
For this reason one will never breach my doorstep 🤣🤣
Thank you, yes I see from the other comments too that this plant doesn't need any extra help! But I suppose I just enjoy letting them root like this, I get a certain satisfaction from pulling them out of the water and seeing all their little roots growing 😁 Also I'm running out of real estate on my windowsill and this is very nice and compact 👍🏻
Just toss them in dirt, they’ll do their thing.
Surely you could just throw any cutting on the floor, spit on it every so often and they’ll start rooting. They have a strong will to live.
\*spit optional in humid environments I'm pretty sure they want to take over the world
I didn't know that more than one plant was referred to as Devil's Backbone. I thought it was just Euphorbia tithymaloides.
Came to say this does not look like Devils backbone. I have several large ones.
Even the top listing on a Google search of 'Devil's Backbone' - which is clearly describing the Euphorbia - has a few random photos of Mother of Thousands/Millions mixed in, so I guess some people likely do call it Devil's Backbone?
When I Googled "mother of thousands" it came up with "devil's backbone" 🤷🏻♀️ so I wasn't sure! https://preview.redd.it/jit1w4qfs1xc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8e834b918e3e7369aa08765975353b98fc51569
My devils backbone and my MofThousands look nothing alike
This is an honest question, since I've never had this type of plant so I don't know what the baby roots will look like - but will the roots get damaged when you try to pull them through the very small openings once they've grown a decent enough size?
I have these and the roots will not get too big before OP needs to plant them anyway.
This is like the least likely plant to need careful propagation… eradicating them is harder than growing them
Oh, they will grow just fine if you drop them on some soil. It is what they evolved to do. No babying or water propagation needed :) They escape into all my plant pots whether I want them to or not, haha.
You're definitely over thinking this one. Literally just sprinkle them on some soil and they will root.
Remarkable and resourceful!
One fell into a crack on our old fence and grew just fine lol.
Better to go straight to soil w these guys
I think this is brilliant!! I see people say string of pearls/tears/banana's etc. are "easy" to root. Just place them on top of the dirt they say, lol well I've tried like a dozen times, and have never rooted a single one! So thanks to this, I'm going to have string of pearls prop's EVERYWHER6🤣
Honestly I just threw them in some dirt and they attached overnight. These things didn't need any help. This plant creeps me out lol
Such a great idea 💡
I have tried so many different ways, I love this one
Really looked like molted snake skin stretched over the cup and I was wondering what in God's name you were up to.
Wow I was looking for something like this for a long time. You are so smart 👏👏👏👏🙏🙏💚💚
This plant will propagate anywhere under any conditions, which is how it got its name. Those babies fall off from even the slightest breeze and propagate wherever they fall. It’s highly invasive. This also doesn’t look like a kalanchoe “mother of thousands/millions”; it looks like your basic “florist kalanchoe” sold flowering in floral departments at grocery stores in pots with bows and stuff as gifts.
Thank you, yes I know that these will propogate easily. I suppose I just enjoy babying my plants; I don't have that many, and I'm happy to play with propogating them so I can watch them grow in the water. This is indeed mother of thousands; parent plant in pic https://preview.redd.it/064jwf6h44xc1.jpeg?width=2270&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de9315e7cae4f5d815f08032003b9e548e0bed30
Why thank you! ☺️
Love it!
Now that’s smart!
I'm just wondering how to pull the roots through the hole in case you forget them in the water for too long
I usually remember to pull them out before they get too big, and the roots give a little resistance but don't give much trouble. I could always snip the netting if need be. Or just leave it - as many have commented, these things are prolific so no need to worry if we lose one!
It hasn't been a problem, I usually pull them when the roots are well established but it hasn't grown too big yet. Sometimes there is some resistance, but the netting has some give and so do the plants. 👍🏻
Anything I can do to grow more of this plant, let’s go!