If you have a desire for an abundance of plants on a limited budget, try taking cuttings from your existing plants, or with their permission, from your friends or neighbors plants, to make more for both indoors and out.
Stem cuttings
Many plants produce roots from the cut end of a stem when it is planted in the soil. Herbaceous perennials such as coneflowers, hardy geraniums and phlox, and woody plants such as azaleas and boxwood make good candidates. Softwood refers to woody plants that have soft bark in the spring, and hardwood being fully developed bark later in the year, even in winter. Hardwood cuttings root more slowly, but don’t dry out as much.
Cuttings are taken from a stem containing a growing tip and are cut just below a node - the swollen area on a stem where a leaf or smaller stem grows. Ideally the cutting should be about 4 to 5 inches with 4 or 5 nodes.
Strip the leaves from the cut end which will be inserted into the soil. The cutting will need some leaves for photosynthesis, so except for immature leaves, cut in half or remove most larger leaves to reduce water loss. Peel away a think layer of bark at the cut end of Hardwood cuttings. This helps the wounded area develop roots more easily. If the plant doesn’t root easily, you can use a rooting hormone powder which is sold at most nurseries. Read the directions well as too much powder can harm a plant.
The cut end of the cutting is now ready to be pushed into loose damp potting soil and enclosed with a plastic bag to retain moisture. Keep in a well lit place or under grow lights as you would with seedlings.
Root cuttings
Root cuttings are sections cut from the root of an existing (parent) plant and potted in loose, damp potting soil to grow new stems and leaves. Root cuttings can be taken any time of the year, selecting young vigorous sections about the size of your index finger. Iris, pulmonaria, sedum and many shrubs are examples of good choices for this method of propagation.
The root cuttings are placed horizontally just below the soil surface. They can also be place vertically with the end that was closest to the parent plant pointing up. Make a notch in that end when you cut if off to help you remember later which end that was.
For both stem and root cuttings, water lightly every week or two and keep room temperature between 65 to 75 degrees F for cool climate plants, and 90 degrees F for warm climate plants.
Keep in a well lit place or under grow lights as you would with seedlings. When there are signs of new growth, test for roots with a gentle tug on the stem. After they are well rooted and new growth is forming, gradually acclimatize the cuttings (harden off) to drier conditions by opening the bag, little by little.
Division
At one time or another most herbaceous, and even some woody perennials, send up side shoots to form a clump of plants. To separate the plants, dig up the whole plant and cut off or pull apart the side shoots, making sure each piece has some roots. It may seem brutal, but in most cases it actually helps the plant because crowded plants lose vitality. Generally, most plants are successfully divided in early spring or fall. For mild mannered root systems such as columbine and yarrow, a side shoot can be separated using a trowel. More tough roots systems will require the whole plant be completely unearthed and cut apart with a knife, or pried apart with two shovels positioned back to back. Some ornamental grasses such as pampas grass and bamboo required an ax or chain saw.
Layering
Layering is similar to stem cuttings except that the shoot is still attached to the parent plant until it’s ready to be separated. There are 4 techniques for layering all of which require burying part of the branch in the soil. Then when new roots develop on the buried portions, the branch is cut from the parent.
- Tip layering
This method is often used for brambles such as raspberries and blackberries. In spring when the canes or branches are flexible, simple remove the leaves from the tip and bend it down to bury it in the ground. To keep the end in the ground, pin it down.
- Simple layering
This method is similar to tip layering except the middle of the branch is buried instead of the tip leaving about 6 to 12 inches of the tip exposed. Woody stems need the bark to be slightly cut, and held open with toothpicks for roots to form near the cut.
- Serpentine layering
Serpentine layering works well for vines such as clematis and ivy and produces more plants at a time. In this method, multiple sections of the vine are buried.
- Mound layering
This method is suited for upright plants such as hydrangea. A year in advance, cut all the branches about 2 feet from the ground. This encourages new shoots to grow from the base. Then mound about a foot of new soil around the base of the plant and the new shoots will form roots. Next year you can remove the mound of soil from around the new shoots and separate them into new plants.
|
