Plant Propagation

Seeds

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

The majority of plants will benefit from 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 hardy sufficient to take a light frost. Those plants are much better off being planted straight outdoors. A few examples: peas, carrots, corn, beans, nasturtiums, early morning magnificence, cucumbers.

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

Hard seeds like nasturtiums, morning-glory and four 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 waned a bit.

Division

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

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

To divide the plant you can either dig it out completely and break the root ball into smaller parts or remove 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 blooming plants in spring.

Rhizomatous plants.

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

For little roots, just pull out of the dirt and replant somewhere else. For bigger rhizomes, dig the plant out at the end of summertime after it completed blooming and cut up the root in 2-4 inch areas 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 tie it down to the ground with a pin. After the plant develops roots you can cut it loose from the mother plant and move it someplace else.

When: whenever they choose to grow runners.

Cuttings

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

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

For stem and tip cuttings, a minimum 3 inch length will guarantee the viability of the plant. Wounding 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 placed 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 minimize the strain on the establishing root system to feed it.

If you have rooting hormone, I strongly advise it.

When: For fall blooming perennials and annuals, start cuttings when the threat of frost has actually passed in spring. For spring flowering perennials, start the cuttings in the fall and secure them under cloches (a glass container would work simply fine) over winter season. It is very useful to the plant to go through a cold season in its natural environments, it produces a much healthier root system. This is specifically real for roses.

Bulbs, corms and roots

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 an approach called scooping: cut up the roots off a bulb and dig the main part best beneath them to expose the bulb layers. Place the bulb upside down half buried in a tray full of damp 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. 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 practical "eye" on each area.

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

Dropping and stooling

Dropping includes pushing down and covering most of the plant stems with compost or good quality dirt, and await the plant stems to develop private 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 offer the stems an opportunity 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 remember that some plants will successfully propagate through numerous of these techniques.

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

American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Handbook of Practical Techniques - Alan Toogood

Propagation Essentials: Tools Techniques Timing - Steven Bradley

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