Seems to me if it has been sitting in water for 3 months you should have some roots by now. If you do not have a node or areial root it will not root. I have propagated this plant and it has not taken 3 months for roots to form. In the third pic, I cannot tell but is it smooth along the stem or is there indentation along the stem? If there is it will not root. i will try to post a pic of what I am talking about. I don’t know how to draw arrows or lines To point out, so hopefully you can see what I am writing about. Please forgive if this post twice this is my second time trying to send a reply. Ellen

Thank you for responding. There is a little indentation along the stem. Is that little brown thing at the bottom not a root?? Also it

’s really thick at the bottom, it kind of looks like a new leaf coming in?? I guess I’m being really hopeful since I paid a lot for it. I should probably look for a new cutting then :/

nicole, you need to post the pic of the stem all the way at the end. to see if you have a node.

I was thinking the same as Petrushka, the key here is whether you have a node or not. You'll need at least one node to propagate it. A leaf alone is not enough, sorry.

Added more pics with my actual camera not my iPhone

i see a little thickening closer to bottom, but i am not sure if it's a node..

i agree, that after 3 months in water it should've developed roots.

But if the leaf hasn’t turned yellow and died then I think you have a very small node somewhere in there. Have you tried spag moss? Wrap it in moist spag moss & see if that ups to humidity to promote root growth.

I’ve ordered some spag moss & will try it when it comes. Praying this works!!

Sorry, I don't see any node there at all. Sphag moss is unlikely to help w/out a node. While It doesn't hurt to try, I hate to see you get your hopes up.

So sorry, but I think you were ripped off & I'd contact the Seller for a refund.

I contacted the seller but they said there was a node there and refused. When I contacted my bank, they said since It is a “plant” they can’t do anything :/ I’m going to try anyway because I don’t have anything to lose from it.

I have read only a couple of instances of people successfully propagating from a single leaf. I have one in water to see if that works. I would leave it in water. Either it rots or it roots, howsoever long that may take. Taking it out of the water and into moss might be the end of it.

From what I've read a cutting should be taken from the plant stem cutting below a node. The node is where the roots will grow. Apparently, they're easy to propagate and should grow roots within a month. It appears your cutting is from a leaf stem, and I don't see a node. I did see where someone rooted from a leaf and said you should change the water every week.

I think you should ask the seller for a new cutting or a refund.

Since most of us agree there doesn't seem to be a node there, seems pretty clear.

I'd send the pix to the Seller, showing the bottom every single leaf & ask them to SHOW YOU WHERE THE NODE IS.

I found a pic of mine of a Syngonium I was rooting. It's another Aroid, showing a node, so you can see what we can expect it to look like.

That last little bump all way around, joint or knuckle at the very bottom of the stem is a node.

When potted below the soil, nodes will produce roots, above ground it'll produce leaves. This was water rooting; you can see roots at bottom & on the 2 nodes higher UP the stem you can see aerial roots, which the plants uses to attach to something to help it climb.

Here is the thing--the differentiation between the youngest leaf petioles and the stem holding it is not that prominent (tip of the stem where the youngest leaf is. Below arw pictures of the tips of two stems of my (regular) monstera deliciosa. There is only a light line across a part of the stem that differentiates stem from the leaf petioles (node) . It might get even more obscured in a variegated plant. Admittedly, the young stem tip may not propagate as quickly as the stem nodes that already have an aerial root nub etc. Don't give up on it. Leave it in the water.

Many plants can be propagated from leaf cuttings. The pivotal point is whether or not the propagule is capable of forming adventitious buds. Some plants have groups of cells that descend directly from embryonic cells engaged in meristematic activity. These cell groups can differentiate into buds/shoots from foliar embryos that formed as the leaf was forming. More commonly though, wound-induced secondary meristems can form when existing tissues already acting as part of an organ dedifferentiate into NEW meristematic regions (de novo regeneration), then redifferentiate into new organs (buds).

If you want to be fairly certain that you'll be successful in your cloning attempts, make sure you include a latent or actively growing axillary bud, which would be located just distal to (above) where the leaf is attached to the stem. The downside to propagating from stem cuttings with a singular leaf in water is that often the bud is destroyed by rot, and/or, the type of root tissue that forms in water is physiologically very different from root tissue that
forms in a solid, well-aerated medium. This difference is made manifest in the water-formed roots being very poor at taking up water from a solid medium, along with the fact that water roots are very delicate, almost brittle. As such, they handle the transition from water to soil poorly.

Many leaf cuttings will readily produce roots to form 'blind cuttings', which means they are incapable of forming the adventitious buds which are prerequisite to shoot formation. I don't know if your plant is one such, but if it lives on and on w/o forming a stem, you'll at least know the reason.

To reiterate, it's best to bring an existing bud along for the ride or be ready for a disappointment. Blind cuttings can live for years, but eventually they collapse for no conspicuous reason.

Al

Hi! Just came across this thread as I am having some issues with propagating a top cutting as well. Has your cutting finally grown roots?

Her cutting probably already developed roots and many more leaves. Nicol's cutting was a top cutting but with no aerial root. It did have a node and the bud was swollen so the comments above was wrong by saying it doesnt have a node. A top cutting without an aerial root takes longer to root but it eventually will once the new leaf emerges. :)

Haroldine, you misread my comment. I said "...it doesn't NEED a side node to grow".

Regarding the side node, some are flat and hard to see, others are "born" slightly raised. I think I see the node in the top pic of the two Nicole took with her camera, a white area just above that dark dot. That said, and again, this cutting will grow from the tip, not a side node. It would be highly unusual for a side node next to the growing tip to become swollen and produce another lead, especially in monsteras which are not prone to branch spontaneously like some philodendrons and other aroids.

I agree with you that a cutting without aerials takes much longer to root than one without them. In my experience they usually produce roots, then leaves, but not always if the cutting is vigorous and in ideal humidity, temp, etc. This cutting already has a leaf that will make energy.

Leaves of some plants readily root and produce plants, within aroids, the tuberous types come to mind. Other genera are highly reluctant but might produce a plant in only 1 out of 50 or even 100+ separate attempts, this is my experience with hoya leaves. While science says it's in the realm of remote possibility, in my opinion monsteras, philodendrons, epipremnums and the like don't fall into either of these categories.

Just came across this thread. Curious about what has happened with the cutting

My cutting was struggling for a while because I cut it while a new leaf was emerging. It had not had time to develop a solid root node yet. Once I cut it, the leaf stopped emerging. I had it propagating in water for a month or so before I finally cut off the emerging leaf. maybe another month later, the stem of the cut off new leaf started angling out of the sheath and I saw that it had developed a root node. It started shooting out a new root within a couple weeks and then a couple weeks after that, I potted it into a nursery pot and it is doing well!

Your success is great news Cristen, this goes a long way toward your experience level and knowledge about propagating. Pass it on.

Russ

There is a node forming. For the ones saying there isn't one.. there actually is....its very tiny. She should of let it form more than selling so fast. Just keep it in water or moss. Over time that tiny dot at the end will form an aerial root then root. Please keep us posted.

That was a node! And yes it was growing a new leaf I think. The problem is that you never cut into new nodes to propagate... you sound cut one node below. This way is extremely hard to propagate. 😞

FolFollowing

I got another one for you all, wish it lots of luck!