Plant Propagation

Seeds

The most typical approach of plant propagation is gathering seeds from plants you currently have in the garden. Some plants like lettuce and celery will only germinate if exposed to sunshine; others, like phlox and allium, just if they are completely covered.

A lot of plants will benefit from being started indoors 6 to eight weeks before the last frost. There are a couple of plants that either do not like being transplanted or are sturdy enough to take a light frost. Those plants are better off being planted directly outdoors. A few examples: peas, carrots, corn, beans, nasturtiums, morning splendor, cucumbers.

Most perennials will greatly benefit from being sown straight outdoors at the end of summertime. That will give the plants the possibility to experience their natural cold cycle and make them emerge more powerful and in their own time in spring.

Tough seeds like nasturtiums, morning-glory and 4 o'clocks will germinate simpler if taken in warm water for 12 hours prior to planting.

When: Plant annuals in spring, perennials and biennials at the end of summer season, when the heat waned a bit.

Department

A prolific way to increase your garden stock is the division of fully grown plants Many herbaceous perennials really need dividing in order to remain healthy and flowering. Amongst those, a couple of examples: heuchera, daylilies, pampas lawns.

Other plants, like daisies and bee balms will rapidly spread if delegated their own accord. Dividing them is a great way to manage their growth and fill up bare spots in your garden.

To divide the plant you can either dig it out entirely and break the root ball into smaller parts or dig out a part of the clump with a shovel. If you can do that, the advantage is that the staying plant roots will stay undisturbed.

When: Divide spring blooming plants in the fall and fall flowering plants in spring.

Rhizomatous plants.

Amongst these: bearded irises, peonies, lily-of-the-valley, mint.

For small roots, just pull out of the dirt and replant elsewhere. For bigger rhizomes, dig the plant out at the end of summertime after it ended up blooming and cut up the root in 2-4 inch areas with leaf growth at one end.

When: End of summer or fall, after they have completed their vegetative cycle.

Layering

This works great with ground covers, strawberries, raspberries, and spider plant. Take a runner and connect it down to the ground with a pin. After the plant establishes roots you can cut it loose from the mother plant and move it someplace else.

When: whenever they choose to grow runners.

Cuttings

Most woody plants can be propagated like that, specifically roses, for whom this is the basic approach of proliferation. Other plants to be propagated by cuttings: butterfly bush, weigela, pelargonium, fuchsia, delphinium, forsythia, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, African violets.

There are four standard kinds of cuttings: idea cuttings (soft, green), stem cuttings (woody), leaf cuttings (leaf and petiole) and root cuttings.

For stem and idea cuttings, a minimum 3 inch length will make sure the viability of the plant. Injuring the cutting (making a longitudinal cut or crushing the bottom) will promote the plant to grow new roots.

Many plants, like mint, will grow roots if put in water. Other plants, like African violets and hydrangeas, will more than happy to root if you stick a leaf with a long petiole in the dirt. For plants with big leaves, like hydrangea, it helps to cut up about half of the leaf to reduce the strain on the establishing root system to feed it.

If you have rooting hormone, I strongly suggest it.

When: For fall flowering perennials and annuals, start cuttings when the risk of frost has passed in spring. For spring blooming perennials, start the cuttings in the fall and safeguard them under cloches (a glass container would work simply great) over winter. It is extremely beneficial to the plant to go through a winter season in its natural surroundings, it makes for a much healthier root system. This is especially real for roses.

Bulbs, corms and roots

Some bulbs, like lilies, will start expanding in a scaly pattern. Each scale with roots can be separated and start a new plant.

Onions can be vertically chopped and divided. For hyacinths there is a method called scooping: cut up the roots off a bulb and dig the central part right beneath them to expose the bulb layers. Place the bulb upside down half buried in a tray full of wet sand. Place the tray in a dark warm location. In 12-14 weeks bulblets will start forming on the top of the big bulb. Plant the bulb upside down with the bulblets right below the surface. Let the plant go through its vegetative cycle. The bulbs can be raised and separated in the fall.

When dividing bulbs, make sure to have at least one viable "eye" on each area.

When: In the fall, after the plants went dormant.

Dropping and stooling

Dropping consists of pushing down and covering most of the plant stems with garden compost or good quality dirt, and wait for the plant stems to develop private roots. The plants can be separated and replanted. This works for heathers and rhododendrons.

For the stooling technique mound up dirt high around the bottom of the plant, to offer the stems a chance to grow roots. A couple of examples of plants for which this technique works: lilacs, willows and dogwoods.

When: Drop and stool in spring, divide and cut in the fall.

Please keep in mind that some plants will successfully propagate through several of these techniques.

Here are some good resources for discovering more about plant proliferation:

American Horticultural Society Plant Proliferation: The Completely Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques - Alan Toogood

Proliferation Essentials: Tools Techniques Timing - Steven Bradley

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