Help! Is My House Plant A Plant Or TREE??

Ask The Plant Expert:

I received this plant a few years ago.  It’s now twice as tall as it is in the picture (hitting my ceiling).  Can you please tell me what kind of plant/tree it is and if I can get a new start from it?  Thanks! -Shannon

Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:

Shannon,

It looks like a type of Dieffenbachia, most likely a Dieffenbachia picta or Dieffenbachia seguine. These types of dieffenbachia can grow to a height of 10ft.

They can be propagated several different ways:

1. Root tip cuttings
2. Stem cuttings
3. Tip cuttings

I recommend stem cutting or tip cutting as your method of propagation. To do this you will need the following:

1. Sharp knife
2. Rooting hormone (I like the powder kind – you should be able to purchase it at your local garden center and nursery)
3. Potting soil (you can simply stick the cutting in your current pot, but I like to place my cutting in a new pot with fresh potting soil.)

To take a tip cutting, go about three or four inches from the tip end and cut the plant right below a joint. Dip the cut end into the rooting hormone and place in the potting soil about an inch deep. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Roots should appear in the next couple of weeks. New shoots should also appear on the parent plant where the tip was removed.

As for stems cuttings, you will cut the stems in section 4 to 5 inches long and dip the bottom- end that has been cut in rooting hormone and place in potting soil and care for it the same way as a tip cutting.

Hope this information was helpful. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.