DIY Propagation Wall Step By Step (With Test Tubes!)

How to make a DIY propagation wall step by step – bonus points as these don’t need nails, so they’re completely renter friendly! Affiliate links in post.

Hello, beautiful people, and welcome back to my corner of the web! Today we’re combining three of my favourite things: DIYs, plants and home decor. Get excited.

If you’re a fellow plant lover (or Pinterest addict!), there is no way you’ve missed one of the latest trends floating around: propagation walls! You know the one – loads of test tubes with exotic plant cuttings hung to the wall.

They’re a stunning way to decorate a room . . . Plus, you get free baby plants while you’re at it. The downside, however?

Well, they aren’t the most renter-friendly. I don’t know about you guys, but our landlord really wouldn’t take kindly to us nailing a bunch of stuff to our walls. (My boyfriend’s security deposit is cringing at the thought.)

In my cottagecore DIYs post, I shared some of my DIY gallery wall additions. However, what I hadn’t added at that point were these adorable propagation test tubes.

(Yes, I know. Cottagecore, thy name is Mia.)

If you want to learn how to make the DIY trellis and indoor artwork, feel free to have a watch of my cottagecore DIYs video below.

Anyways – adding these test tubes to my office made me realise two things: 1. Propagation walls are cute. and 2. They’re really easy to make with command strips. So naturally, I had to share the love with you guys . . .

And make myself a massive propagation wall!

FIRSTLY… WHAT IS PROPAGATION?

(Any horticulturists in the room please exit while I butcher this definition.) Propagation is when you breed baby plants from an existing mother, ie by taking cuttings.

You need a medium to put cuttings in until they develop roots and can be planted. This is usually sphagnum moss, but it can be done in water.

Certain plants you can just snip the stem off, but others (mostly aroids like Monsteras) need a node cutting to successfully propagate.

For this DIY, we’ll be propagating plant cuttings in test tubes filled with water.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• Test tubes with cork lids
• Small square command strips (you’ll need one of these per test tube)
• Photo frame command strips (one packet of these will be fine as we’re going to cut each strip up)
• Scissors
• Plants!

STEP BY STEP HOW TO MAKE A DIY PROPAGATION WALL

As always, I would love it if you watched this tutorial in video format and subscribed to me over on Youtube too!

1. Stick a square command strip to wider base of the cork lid and press down for a minute. Make sure to leave the wall side covered.
2. Now, take two of the photo frame command strips and connect them along on the fuzzy plastic side. Cut these down to a size that will fit the cork top and the test tube.
3. Split the command strips, then stick one to the cork top and one on the side of the test tube. Press each down for a minute.
4. Remove the wall side covering on your cork and position it on your wall. Press down for a few minutes.
5. Leave to adhere for an hour.
6. Fill up your test tube with water, then place a plant cutting inside.
7. Connect the fuzzy plastic sticker on the test tube to the sticker on top of the cork.
8. Every week, disconnect the test tube to change the water.

These take a bit of time to set up, but the payoff is so worth it. I created a mini headboard above our bed, while it is very “Pinterest threw up“, I love it.

Plus, the supplies for this craft are crazy cheap – and you can buy in bulk! So it’s DIY test tube propagation walls everywhere.

WHAT PLANTS CAN YOU USE IN A PROPAGATION WALL?

I’ve planned a post all about my favourite plants to propagate in water, but here are the ones I used:

• Wandering Jew Tricolour (Tradescantia tricolour)
• Tradescantia zebrina
• Devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
• Snake plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
• ZZ plant (Zanzibar Gem)
• Mini monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma)
• Silver pothos (Scindapsus pictus)
• Monstera Adansonii
• Monstera Laniata

Honestly, guys, as I’ve been decorating our new place I’ve gotten increasingly more excited to share it with you. One day! (There are just so many more things to make before I can share the house in its final form.)

We’re planning on moving out when our lease ends in January . . . so your girl is going to have to hurry up.

Alright, my loves, let’s end at the end! I hope you all enjoyed this little craft. Would you try a DIY propagation wall yourself? What plants would you use? Let me know your thoughts down below!

Peace,

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