How to Grow Fatsia Japonica with Keiki Paste

This tutorial shows how to grow new shoots and leaves on your Fatsia Japonica with Keiki paste.

The Fatsia Japonica is a plant native to East Asia. It is unfussy and fast-growing, both indoors and outdoors. Because it can grow outdoors, it will prefer draughty, colder spaces in the home. The shiny splendor of its lobed leaves is its main attraction. 

Step 1: Finding nodes

First, select ‘nodes’ to apply the Keiki paste to. Nodes are parts of the plant where new leaves emerge from. Keiki paste contains growth hormones that give the dormant buds a boost.

Fatsia Japonica leaves have very long petioles that extend from the main stems. A petiole is the stalk that attaches the leaf to the stem. There won’t be nodes along the petiole. Nodes on smaller, younger Fatsia tend to be on the lower reaches of the plant, along the main stems. Follow the petioles down to the stem and you will find them.

Here is a closeup of a Fatsia Japonica node. You can see younger leaves emerging outwards from the node:

Step two: Applying Keiki paste to nodes

Dip a cotton bud in the Keiki paste and dab the paste onto the nodes. It might help to score the node lightly with a needle to expose the plant to the hormones contained in the paste.

Step 3: Wait

The Keiki paste can take up to a month to work. During this time, place the plant in optimal light conditions. The Fatsia prefers cool temperatures between 60-70 degrees. Add a dose of fertilizer right after you use the paste to help the plant push out new growth. The plant likes soil that is slightly damp at all times.

Soon, you will see new shoots and leaves emerging from the nodes you applied the paste to. In Fatsia, new shoots will be fuzzy and slightly paler than the rest of the plant.