Hairpins are not just for keeping that bun in place, but they can also be used to make your plants bushy! Read on to know the secret!
The secret to make your plants appear fuller lies in your makeup box. Yes! I’m not kidding! I’ll tell you how to use hairpins to make the plants super bushy.
How to Use a Hairpin to Make Plants Bushy?
Well, before I move ahead with the trick, do note that it is not going to work with every plant out there. If you have Pothos, Tradescantia, Philodendron, or Monsteras in your collection—this will surely come handy!
I have always promoted growing more cuttings in the same pot to make the plant appear fuller, as it works on the simple principle—more stems in a single container=more foliage and denser appearance.
Well, the hairpin trick works in the similar fashion, but, here, you don’t actually snip a cutting off the plant and grow it in the same pot. Instead, you simply bend the stems (with no foliage attached to the bend part) having nodes in the container, making sure it goes completely inside the growing medium—then you secure it in the soil using these pins.
Now, you have a node ready to root inside the soil and those hairpins keeps it and the attached stem in its place securely. In a few weeks, the node will form a roots, and you will have a new plant growing in the same pot from a new stem!
You can also use these hairpins to keep the cuttings in place (this will prevent them from getting disturbed, especially at the time of watering), if you are snipping them from the plant, and rooting them in a different pot.
Some Important Factors to Consider
- Get stainless steel hairpins, as they won’t rust in the moist growing medium. Rusting can cause diseases or other issues in plants, causing death.
- As these hairpins are stretchable, do make sure to open them a bit, so they don’t grab the stem too tight. This might prevent the oxygen and nutrient flow within the stem. Remember, you just need a gentle tug to keep the stem in place. Ensure it has a few mm of space, both up and down.
- Remove the hairpins when the nodes gets successfully rooted, and you spot a new growth. This will give it the space it needs to expand.
