How To Use A Pool Noodle To Keep Stagnant Plant Water Fresh For Days

To propagate a plant, a cutting is typically placed inside a skinny glass jar that's filled with clean water with the leaves sticking out the top. This allows roots to grow out of the bottom of the cutting so that you can plant it in its own pot. However, when doing this, one problem may arise: the stagnant water could get dirty fast and become filled with bacteria. This could be harmful to your cutting and may even stunt its growth. Luckily, there's an easy fix to this issue, and it involves an inexpensive item: a pool noodle. 

As described by anti.antropology on TikTok, all you need to do is cut a 1 to 2-inch slice out of the pool noodle, which you can do with a knife on a flat surface. Then, make a slit in the disk so that you can place the clipping inside it. Once the plant is surrounded by the pool noodle, place it in the top of the glass jar with the bottom facing downward into the water. 

In another TikTok, anti.antropology compares clippings grown with a pool noodle to those without. They found that the one with the pool noodle had significantly more roots and didn't have any bacteria growth, even after sitting in stagnant water for about three weeks, while the one without the pool noodle had cloudy water after just 10 days. Perhaps you're wondering why this is the case. Well, in the comments of that video, one person explains, "The pool noodle closes off the top so less air gets in." Therefore, any bacteria in the air cannot get into the water and affect the plant's growth.

At the same time, the pool noodle does still allow for some airflow, which keeps the lower leaves on the cutting from rotting. One commenter on anti.antropology's TikTok asks, "How long have you been doing this method for? Just curious, [I'm] wondering if it makes the plant rot at all where it wraps around the plant." To this, the creator replies, "I've been doing it for over a year and the answer is no, as there's enough space for air to go through. And I've never had rotten leaves." Therefore, you can have peace of mind that this hack won't harm your cutting but will only benefit its growth.

Besides keeping stagnant plant water fresh, there are a couple of other benefits of surrounding your cutting in a pool noodle before placing it in a glass jar. First off, this hack will keep your plants from floating too high in the jar and not getting enough water, which could dry them out. TikToker anti.antropology says, "I also always have trouble getting clippings to stay underwater. This is an easy fix." This can also help those who struggle to keep their plants from receiving too much water, which could kill them. In the comments of the TikTok video, one person writes, "This is gold! I lost so many plant cuttings because they fell too far in the water."

One more benefit of surrounding your cuttings in pool noodles, as shown in another TikTok by anti.antropology, is that it will allow you to use larger glass containers like a rectangular bin and place multiple plants inside. To do so, simply wrap the cuttings in pool noodle slices, then place them side by side in the container. The pool noodles will allow the plants to float in the water and will keep all the separate cuttings together.