Lazy Rooting

One of my favorite GardenWeb threads is "I'm Lazy-- What can you root in plain old water???". Did you know that pricey bunch of Italian basil rotting in your fridge roots easily in water? No? Well, plunk some of those stems in water and shout, "Pesto!"

Here's what else lazy rooters are rooting in plain old agua:

euonymus
rosemary
geranium
impatiens
willow
coleus
mint
mock orange
african violets
passion vine
tomato suckers
oleander
hydrangea
forsythia
snowball bush
gardenia
weigela
ficus
bay laurel
persicaria
lamium
oregano
sweet potato vine
pineapple tops
christmas cactus
hardy mums
philodendron
pothos
flowering quince
petunia
snapdragon
salvia
sedum
lemon grass
begonia
butterfly bush
mandevilla
fuchsia
abutilon
tropical hibiscus
wandering jew
spider plant
angel's trumpet
diascia
pineapple
aucuba

There's some discussion about "water roots" making it in soil, and one suggestion was to transplant when the roots are "an inch to and inch and a quarter long" and haven't yet differentiated into water roots and can still become soil roots. Bears experimentation, I'd say! If I have a chance, I'll check my plant propagation books and see what they say. I've had great luck rooting Persian Shield in water and growing it in the garden and I paid absolutely no attention to root length. Still, I'd like to explore further.