Cinta, sorry that happened! (If it's the same kind, I have replacements, if necessary, anytime.)
I know your feelings about futzing with inside plants for winter, but wonder if maybe a kitchen sink or bathroom window you are near every day might offer a spot for trying a leaf in water? Not that you'd have to do anything to it on a daily basis, but just be able to see if it's running out of water.
I've done a couple that way before, and it sure went faster than this, and so much more fun to watch than glancing at leaf stumps buried in soil occasionally and observing, "Nope, nothing's changed whatsoever at all in any way..." What's it doing? No idea... Never had either way fail, but still, in soil's a total snooze. I don't propagate plants to do it in the most politically correct way, but to amuse myself. The pic I just showed was amusing, but so much time elapsed between burial and excavation. Without x-ray vision, the exciting developments were not visible. End result = same, but level of amusement, vastly different.
For soil or water, let callous at least overnight, up to a few days.
In water, not enough experience to say what's ideal, but I chose to keep a steady 1/2-3/4 inch of water. That worked. Since it was a clear container, I could see the tiny pup as soon as it started forming, and it turned green from the start. Definitely amusing ;)
