Do you know that even your houseplants have a Mother (a noteworthy thought on this Mother’s Day)? Many of the plants grown by Costa Farms come directly from plant cuttings that are taken from carefully selected and nurtured Mother plants.

Mother plants are exactly what they sound like—they are the actual mother of the plants that we grow for you.

Passing on Good Genes

Once we find the perfect plant with the perfect characteristics, it becomes the Mother of all the plants of that variety. Healthy mother plants produce superior cuttings. It’s simple: Taking cuttings from Mother plants is the cleanest way to produce new perfect plants. We know that superior genetics produce superior plants. By using our own cuttings, we control all our own genetics. Yep, we are control freaks (in a good way).

Like Mother, Like Child

Cuttings taken from Mother plants are genetically identical to their mother. That means that Mother plants with splashy variegation, bold color, or interesting fenestration (leaf cuts and holes) will pass on these gorgeous traits to their offspring.

The mother plant of Global Green Pothos will produce plants with the same striking variegation. The mother of Raven® ZZ Plant cuttings will pass on her unusual leaf color. And Baltic Blue Pothos’ leaf holes will appear in the mature plants of her cuttings.

All the coveted characteristics from a Mother plant are passed on to the child – because the cuttings are essentially clones of the Mother plant.

Written by Karen Weir-Jimerson