How come many houseplants will rot if their roots sit in waterlogged soil but when you propagate plants you let the roots sit in water to grow?

Question

How come many houseplants will rot if their roots sit in waterlogged soil but when you propagate plants you let the roots sit in water to grow?

In: Biology

Answer 1

You are supposed to change the water every few days when growing roots. Also, water by itself is less of a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria as there’s less nutrients and more gas exchange.

If there’s water sitting in your soil, there’s basically zero gas exchange, so oxygen will deplete and anaerobic bacteria will thrive.