The piece is laid horizontally under the soil surface with the dormant eye facing upward. This eye eventually will sprout and form a new plant. Moist sphagnum moss is bound in a ball around the cut and covered with plastic. The plastic is bound tightly to the stem with rubber friction tape to make an air-tight ball the size of an orange. Because the stem is not completely severed, the top continues to get nutrients and moisture from the original roots.
New roots form in the ball of moss.
When they are visible through the plastic, the plant is severed just below the new root zone and potted. The remaining leggy stalk may be cut back to reduce the height, and new shoots will develop to form another plant. These clumps can be separated into several smaller plants as pots become crowded. The root ball must be broken apart, but as much soil as possible should be left on the root masses to prevent injury to the root hairs. The peat moss holds moisture and prevents rapid drying.