Beginner Gardening: What am I managing to not kill?, 1 by babi_blu06

babi_blu06 wrote:
I have two plants, both of which (I thought) were non-flowering. I was wrong. The plant on the left is (quite obviously) flowering, the plant on the right is not. I have absolutely no idea what I am keeping alive (as I tend to have a black thumb). Not only am I keeping them alive, I have actually managed to resurrect them...something I am quite proud of :) My first question is: what am I keeping alive?

Second question: I had a plant identical to the one on the right a few years ago. The only difference is that the one I had years ago was a solid green colour. With that particular plant, my cat managed to break off a couple of stems. I placed them into water (not being able to bear them dying since I'd managed to keep the whole plant alive) and after some time they developed roots and I replanted them back into the same pot. I managed to fill out the plant quite nicely by occasionally cutting off stems, placing them into water and planting them once they'd developed roots. Now to the actual question...can I do the same with this plant? If so, how long does it take for the stem to start to develop roots, and how long should I wait once roots have started to develop before I plant it in soil?