Plant propagation is the most fascinating thing about gardening indoors. All the numerous methods for plant multiplication can be divided into two groups-vegetative and seed. Vegetative, or asexual, propagation includes the use of cuttings, stolons, offsets, divisions, air-layers, and grafts. Seed, or sexual, propagation utilizes seeds and spores, and gives the indoor gardener an opportunity to enter the exciting world of plant breeding.

   By Cuttings. A cutting can be a single leaf from an African violet, or a terminal shoot or "slip" taken from a stem or branch of a begonia, fuchsia, geranium, or similar leafy plant. Professional gardeners often root cuttings in a sieved mixture of rich soil and sand. Beginners often root them in water. For the house plant hobbyist, I recommend rooting plant parts in a nonorganic medium such as vermiculite or Perlite, or in sphagnum moss, peat moss, or sand.

   Cuttings root faster when given a close, humid atmosphere. This need not entail an elaborate setup. A single cutting may be covered with a drinking glass or a transparent plastic bag to create a greenhouse-like atmosphere. Similarly, to root a tray filled with cuttings, invert a large plastic bag over the entire planting to heighten humidity and promote rapid rooting. If cuttings are short, set a pane of glass over the propagator. There are numerous seed starters and miniature greenhouses on the market which work well for all kinds of plant propagation.

   Plastic bread boxes with transparent covers make excellent containers for cuttings. Use a heated ice pick to force a few ventilation holes in the top. This simple kind of propagator is large enough to accommodate twelve or more leaf cuttings, and at least eight terminal cuttings from geraniums or wax begonias.

   Another favored propagator is an 8- or 10-inch clay or plastic bulb pan (a shallow pot) with a 3-inch clay pot placed in the center, its drainage hole closed with a cork. The pan is filled with a rooting medium and the small center pot with water. Moisture seeping through the clay walls of the center pot will furnish dampness for the cuttings.

   Large transparent plastic boxes, about 8 inches deep, and 12x16 inches in dimension, are sold by house plant supply houses as propagators. This kind of box can be used to propagate an amazing quantity of material. I keep a box like this on hand to preserve my supply of plants. Whenever I obtain a new plant, I make a cutting from it as quickly as possible and insert it in this propagator. If the parent plant should die, I always have a rooted replacement.