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SIUC professor and horticulturist John Preece demonstrates how to create a forsythe pot for rooting houseplant cuttings. First, get a clean plastic pot about 6-7 inches in diameter, line the bottom with a paper towel, and add vermiculite, a natural mineral (mica) that expands with the application of heat. You’ll need to fill the plastic pot nearly to the top, and then set it aside. After corking a hole in the bottom of a small clay pot, place the clay pot in the vermiculite and press it down until the top of the pot is at the same level as the top of the vermiculite. Saturate the vermiculite with water, fill the clay pot with water, and place your plant cuttings in the clay pot. Preece says plants that root well are coleus, English ivy, spider plants, pothos, philodendron, and Swedish ivy. Be sure to keep the cuttings out of direct sunlight to prevent them from drying out.

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