String of arrows is one of the easiest trailing plants to propagate, with stem cuttings alone succeeding around 90 to 95 percent of the time. You have three reliable options: rooting stem cuttings in water or soil, planting the small aerial tubers that grow along the vines, or using the butterfly method to maximize a single strand into a full pot. Spring through early summer is the best window, when the plant is actively growing and has the most energy for pushing out new roots.
Stem Cuttings in Water
Water propagation is the most popular method because you can watch roots develop in real time. Start by selecting a healthy vine that’s 4 to 6 inches long with several pairs of leaves. Using clean, sharp scissors, cut just below a leaf node, which is the small bump where a leaf pair meets the stem. Roots emerge from these nodes, so they’re the most important part of your cutting.
Strip the leaves from the bottom two or three nodes. These submerged leaves would rot in water anyway, and removing them gives the nodes direct contact with moisture. Place the cutting in a small jar of room-temperature filtered water, making sure at least two to three bare nodes sit below the waterline. Set the jar in bright, indirect light near a south- or west-facing window, and swap the water every few days to keep it fresh and oxygenated.
Roots typically appear within two to four weeks. Once they reach about 2 to 4 inches long, the cutting is ready to move into soil. That length gives the roots enough structure to anchor in a pot and start pulling moisture from the mix on their own.
Stem Cuttings Directly in Soil
If you’d rather skip the water stage, you can root cuttings straight into a well-draining potting mix. Use a blend designed for succulents, or combine regular potting soil with a generous amount of perlite and orchid bark so the mix drains quickly and doesn’t stay soggy around the stems.
Prepare your cuttings the same way: 4 to 6 inches long, cut below a node, lower leaves removed. Poke a small hole in moist soil, tuck the bare nodes in, and gently firm the mix around the stem. Keep the soil barely moist, not wet. Overwatering at this stage is the fastest path to rot, since the cutting has no roots yet to absorb excess moisture. Providing bottom heat (a seedling heat mat works well) can speed things along. You should see new growth emerging in about four to six weeks, which signals that roots have established below the surface.
The Butterfly Method
The butterfly method is ideal when you have limited plant material but want a full, bushy pot. Instead of one long cutting, you divide a vine into many tiny individual cuttings, each containing a single node with its pair of leaves.
To make your butterfly cuttings, find where each leaf pair meets the vine. Snip the vine roughly an eighth to a quarter inch on either side of that node. You’ll end up with a small piece that looks like a butterfly: two leaves spread out with a short nub of stem in the middle. Repeat this along the entire vine and you’ll have dozens of miniature cuttings from a single strand.
Fill a 4-inch nursery pot with a fast-draining succulent mix and lightly moisten it. Press each butterfly cutting into the surface so the node is buried just below the soil while the leaves sit on top. Five to seven cuttings per 4-inch pot is plenty, because every single cutting will eventually produce its own trailing vine. Keep the mix consistently moist (not soaked) and place the pot in bright, indirect light. This method takes a bit longer to show dramatic growth, but the payoff is a much fuller plant than you’d get from a single stem cutting.
Tuber Propagation
String of arrows produces small, round aerial tubers along its trailing stems. These bead-like growths are the plant’s built-in survival system: if a vine breaks or the main plant is damaged, each tuber can root and become an independent plant. That makes them a straightforward propagation tool with a success rate around 85 to 90 percent.
Look for tubers that are firm and plump. Gently detach one along with a short section of stem still attached. Plant the tuber just below the soil surface in a small pot of well-draining mix, leaving the stem portion above ground. Water lightly and keep the soil evenly moist while roots develop. Tubers already contain stored energy, so they tend to establish quickly without much fuss.
Transitioning Water Cuttings to Soil
Moving a water-rooted cutting into soil is a small adjustment period for the plant. Water roots are more fragile than soil-grown roots, so a gentle transition matters. Once roots are 2 to 4 inches long, fill a small pot with a fast-draining succulent mix, make a hole large enough for the root system, and settle the cutting in without bending or cramming the roots. Water thoroughly until liquid flows from the drainage hole, then let the top layer of soil dry slightly before watering again.
For the first couple of weeks, keep the soil a bit more moist than you normally would for a mature string of arrows. This gives the water roots time to adapt to pulling moisture from soil particles rather than sitting in liquid. After you notice new leaf growth, you can ease into a more typical watering routine where you let the soil dry out between drinks.
Light, Temperature, and Timing
Bright, indirect light is the sweet spot for all propagation methods. A south- or west-facing window provides enough energy for root development without scorching delicate new cuttings. Direct afternoon sun can dry out small pots quickly and stress unrooted stems.
Warmth matters more than most people realize. Bottom heat noticeably speeds up rooting. If you don’t have a heat mat, placing your cuttings on top of a refrigerator or in the warmest room of your house helps. Aim to keep temperatures above 65°F during the rooting period.
Timing your propagation for spring or early summer lines up with the plant’s natural growth cycle. Cuttings taken during this window root faster and push out new vines sooner than those taken in fall or winter, when the plant’s metabolism slows down considerably.
Avoiding Rot
Rot is the number-one reason propagation fails with string of arrows, and it almost always comes down to too much moisture around stems that can’t yet absorb it. A few simple precautions make a big difference. Always use clean, sharp scissors so the cut is smooth rather than crushed, since damaged tissue invites fungal problems. Let fresh-cut stems sit in open air for a few hours before planting in soil; this gives the wound time to callus over slightly.
Choose pots with drainage holes and a soil mix that doesn’t hold water. If you’re propagating in water, change it every two to three days rather than letting it turn cloudy. And keep the soil “barely moist” rather than wet during the rooting phase. If the surface still feels damp, hold off on watering. The tubers and semi-succulent leaves store enough moisture to keep the cutting alive between light waterings.