Plant Propagation

Seeds

The most typical approach of plant proliferation 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, only if they are totally covered.

Most plants will take advantage of being started indoors six to 8 weeks before the last frost. There are a few plants that either do not like being transplanted or are durable enough to take a light frost. Those plants are better off being planted straight outdoors. A few examples: peas, carrots, corn, beans, nasturtiums, early morning splendor, cucumbers.

A lot of perennials will considerably gain from being sown directly outdoors at the end of summer season. 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 sprout simpler if soaked in warm water for 12 hours prior to planting.

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

Division

A prolific way to increase your garden stock is the department of mature plants Many herbaceous perennials really need dividing in order to stay healthy and blooming. Amongst those, a few examples: heuchera, daylilies, pampas turfs.

Other plants, like daisies and bee balms will quickly spread out if delegated their own accord. Dividing them is a good way to control their development and fill bare areas in your garden.

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

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

Rhizomatous plants.

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

For small rhizomes, simply pull out of the dirt and replant elsewhere. For bigger rhizomes, dig the plant out at the end of summer after it finished blooming and cut up the root in 2-4 inch sections with leaf development at one end.

When: End of summertime 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 develops roots you can suffice loose from the mother plant and move it someplace else.

When: whenever they decide to grow runners.

Cuttings

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

There are four standard types 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 ensure the viability of the plant. Wounding the cutting (making a longitudinal cut or crushing the bottom) will stimulate the plant to grow new roots.

Many plants, like mint, will grow roots if positioned in water. Other plants, like African violets and hydrangeas, will enjoy 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 pressure on the developing root system to feed it.

If you have rooting hormonal agent, I strongly suggest it.

When: For fall blooming perennials and annuals, start cuttings when the danger of frost has passed in spring. For spring blooming perennials, start the cuttings in the fall and protect them under cloches (a glass jar would work just fine) over winter. It is very advantageous to the plant to go through a cold season in its natural surroundings, it produces a much healthier root system. This is especially real for roses.

Bulbs, corms and tubers

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

Onions can be vertically sliced and divided. For hyacinths there is a technique called scooping: cut up the roots off a bulb and scoop out the main part best below them to expose the bulb layers. Place the bulb upside down half buried in a tray loaded with 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 listed below the surface area. Let the plant go through its vegetative cycle. The bulbs can be lifted and separated in the fall.

When dividing roots, make certain to have at least one viable "eye" on each section.

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

Dropping and stooling

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

For the stooling approach mound up dirt high around the bottom of the plant, to offer the stems an opportunity to grow roots. A few examples of plants for which this approach 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 approaches.

Here are some excellent resources for learning more about plant proliferation:

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

Propagation Essentials: Tools Techniques Timing - Steven Bradley

Click here