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 just sprout if exposed to sunshine; others, like phlox and allium, only if they are entirely covered.

Many plants will gain from being started inside your home 6 to eight weeks before the last frost. There are a few 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, early morning splendor, cucumbers.

A lot of perennials will considerably gain from being sown straight outdoors at the end of summer. That will provide the plants the possibility to experience their natural cold cycle and make them emerge stronger and in their own time in spring.

Tough seeds like nasturtiums, morning-glory and 4 o'clocks will sprout much easier if taken 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 died down a bit.

Division

A respected way to increase your garden stock is the division of fully grown plants The majority of herbaceous perennials really need dividing in order to stay 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 control their development 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 remove a part of the clump with a shovel. If you can do that, the benefit is that the remaining plant roots will remain 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 rhizomes, simply pull out of the dirt and replant elsewhere. For bigger rhizomes, dig the plant out at the end of summer season after it completed flowering and cut up the root in 2-4 inch sections with leaf growth at one end.

When: End of summertime or fall, after they have finished 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 suffice loose from the mom plant and move it someplace else.

When: whenever they choose to grow runners.

Cuttings

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

There are 4 standard kinds of cuttings: suggestion cuttings (soft, green), stem cuttings (woody), leaf cuttings (leaf and petiole) and root cuttings.

For stem and suggestion 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 be happy to root if you stick a leaf with a long petiole in the dirt. For plants with large leaves, like hydrangea, it helps to cut up about half of the leaf to decrease the strain on the establishing root system to feed it.

If you have rooting hormone, I strongly advise it.

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

Bulbs, corms and bulbs

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 sliced and divided. For hyacinths there is a technique called scooping: cut up the roots off a bulb and dig the central part ideal below them to expose the bulb layers. Place the bulb upside down half buried in a tray filled with wet sand. Place the tray in a dark warm place. 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. Let the plant go through its vegetative cycle. The bulbs can be raised and separated in the fall.

When dividing tubers, ensure to have at least one viable "eye" on each area.

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

Dropping and stooling

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

For the stooling method mound up dirt high around the bottom of the plant, to give the stems an opportunity to grow roots. A couple of examples of plants for which this method works: lilacs, willows and dogwoods.

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

Please remember that some plants will effectively propagate through several of these approaches.

Here are some excellent resources for finding out more about plant proliferation:

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

Propagation Essentials: Tools Techniques Timing - Steven Bradley

Learn how to plant flowers in the ground