It's as simple as cutting off a piece of plant and sticking it in water.  The cutting should be taken just below a leaf joint as this is the optimum area for root production. If you take the cutting in between leaf joints die back and rot will occur up to the leaf joint.  Remove all buds and blooms. 

Plants that root well in water include: Basil, begonias, impatiens, philodendron, Pothos, Plectranthus, Peperomia, Coleus, ivies (grape, English, Boston, etc.), wandering Jew and mint (pineapple, chocolate). 

This first grader is painstakingly pinching off flower buds from an impatiens cutting in preparation for rooting it.  It is especially hard to do this with impatients with their vibrant healthy looking blooms.  However, if you do not, they will fall off and make a mess all over the windowsill. New buds from quickly and within a few days they will show their cheery colors again.  Explain to the children that we remove the flowers and buds so the plants can put their energy into forming new roots.

A few weeks later the cuttings have produced new roots are planted in a container where they will spend the rest of the winter on a window sill in the classroom.  In the spring we will plant then into the school gardens once again.  Mrs. Wind assisting her first grade students with planting the cuttings for their classroom.

Ask Granny for the location of these and other plants in the gardens that are good for taking cuttings.

Chocolate Mint and pineapple mint  are growing in the herb garden.	Click on phot to enlarge Purple Heart (setcreasea) is growing in the planter in front of the primary school, the gray triangular planters in the front courtyard by the primary gym in a pot by the corral.
Arrowhead will live in water  indefinitely.	Begonia will continue to bloom while rooting in water. We have small amount in a pot along the driveway to the front courtyard.