Propagating Plants

Do you have a favorite houseplant or perennial and want more just like it? Try propagating your favorite plants. Not only will you create an inexpensive supply of plants for your home and garden, but you'll also be able to share your favorite plants with friends and neighbors.

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Choosing Rooting Media
Working with Cuttings
Using Leaf-Stem & Leaf Cuttings
Propagating Root Cuttings
Building a Cold Frame
Layering
Dividing
Dividing Naturally
Dividing Houseplants and Perennials

Choosing Rooting Media

Good idea: Don't use soil or homemade compost as a medium to start cuttings because they harbor disease.

Some plants, such as African violets and wandering Jews, start well in jars of water. Be sure to keep the water at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and don't change it during the rooting process. To stimulate root production, remove the cutting every few days and stir the water to oxygenate it. Once roots have formed, remove the plant and pot it immediately. If the plant is left in water too long, the roots will rot.

The most effective choice for rooting plants is to use a medium that keeps them moist, but drains well to prevent rotting. A good medium should also be loose to encourage fast root development. Mixtures of sand, peat moss, sphagnum, perlite and vermiculite work best. Perlite and vermiculite provide aeration and drainage. They retain substantial amounts of water and release it as needed. Perlite and vermiculite are also sterile and have a fairly neutral pH.

Common rooting media combinations include:

• 1/2 sand and 1/2 peat moss
• 1/2 sand and 1/2 vermiculite
• 1/2 perlite and 1/2 peat moss
• 1/2 perlite and 1/2 vermiculite
• 1/3 sand, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 either vermiculite or peat moss

Working with Cuttings

Plants produced from cuttings are identical to the parent plant and allow you to have an exact replica of your favorite plant. A cutting is a piece of branch, root, or leaf that's separated from a plant and used to create a new plant. Providing the right conditions for a cutting to root well can be tricky. Warm temperatures and high humidity are essential. To grow a plant from a cutting:

1. Start the cutting in a firmly-packed rooting medium.
2. Cover it with a plastic freezer bag, close the top and place in a shady, warm area (at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Be sure to keep it watered and drained.
3. To check for root growth, gently pull on the cutting every few days. When the cutting resists coming out of the rooting medium, the roots have formed, and it can be transplanted to potting soil.

Using Leaf-Stem & Leaf Cuttings

Cut the stem just below the joint.

A leaf-stem cutting is a piece of the plant's stem that's cut just below a joint or growing point and has at least three leaves. All you have to do is remove the lower leaves and insert the stem halfway up in a damp rooting medium. Root azaleas, lavender, and gardenias in a rooting medium, and be sure to include some of the woody stem with these cuttings. However, leaf stem cuttings from geraniums, impatiens, coleus, ivy, and philodendron can be rooted in water only.

Leaf cuttings differ from leaf-stem cuttings. A leaf cutting is a single leaf or a portion of a leaf that you can use to propagate a plant. The stem is not necessary for rooting. African violets, kalanchoes, jade plants, snake plants, and prayer plants are perfect candidates for leaf cuttings. Cut an inch section and insert it upright in a rooting medium to start the rooting process.

Propagating Root Cuttings

Root cuttings are made by dividing the root clumps of a specific plant with a knife. Divide root cuttings when the plant is dormant, usually during the cooler months of the year. This method works well for African violets and most ferns, particularly Boston ferns. Make root cuttings from ferns by cutting inch sections just below root nodes. Bury the fern cuttings in the same soil as the parent plant.

Building a Propagation Box or Cold Frame

If you have several cuttings, consider constructing a cold frame. A cold frame acts as a mini-greenhouse constructed of four walls and a movable transparent or semitransparent lid. The walls provide shelter from wind and cold, and the transparent lid lets sunlight in. With a cold frame, simply add your rooting medium and then insert the cutting to the proper depth.

When planning your cold frame, remember that it should be 12-24 inches high in front and 36-48 inches high in the back. The slope makes it possible for sunshine and heat to enter.

Make the transparent lid out of old salvaged windows, translucent fiberglass, Plexiglas or plastic sheeting. The size will depend on your individual needs and available space. (Note: If you plan to use an old window for the top, its size will dictate the size of your cold frame, so measure and build accordingly). Be sure to use treated lumber or plywood to resist moisture. To build a 24" x 48" cold frame with a Plexiglas lid:

1. Use the 2 x 4s for the frames. Cut two pieces to 46 3/4" long and two pieces to 19 1/2" long. Screw the pieces together so the ends of the 19 1/2" pieces are between the 46 3/4" pieces.
2. Cut two pieces of 3/4" plywood 22 1/2" wide. Mark the plywood 12" tall on one end and 24" tall on the other. Cut the plywood diagonally between the marks. The cut should run at approximately a 45° angle. Position the 22 1/2" edge flush with the bottom of the frame and screw the plywood to the frame. Repeat this step on the other end of the frame.
3. Cut one piece of 3/4" plywood 48"x 24". Position the plywood so its bottom edge is flush with the bottom of the frame and its outside edges overlap the plywood end panels.
4. Cut another piece of 3/4" plywood 48"x 12" and screw it to the front of the frame the same way you did the back panel.
5. Screw L-brackets into each corner of the cold frame 1" to 2" down from the top to hold the corners together.
6. Cut a 2x4 to 48" long and secure it to the outside of the back panel flush with the top.
7. Secure hinges to the ends and center of a piece of 48"x 29" Plexiglas. Screw the hinges to the 2x4 at the top of the back panel.
8. Place the box in a shady, well-drained area, fill it with rooting media and add your cuttings.

Using a Propagation Box or Cold Frame

Follow the guidelines below when using your propagation box.

• Face the frame south if possible to get the most benefit from winter sunlight.
• Fill with potting mix and plant seeds directly in the cold frame. If you live in a colder climate, you may prefer to start the seeds indoors and transfer the seedlings. Follow the planting instructions on the seed pack.
• Raise and lower the lid to different levels as temperatures increase and decrease to "harden off" the seedlings. Remember, although it's called a cold frame, cold may be of less concern than heat. Too much heat from the sun will "cook" the seedlings (even in February), so make sure you do not leave the cover closed too long during the day. If you are really serious, buy a thermometer for your cold frame to monitor high and low temperatures.
• Cover the frame with a blanket at night to insulate from extreme cold.
• Smaller cold frames can be moved or disassembled at season's end.
• Plants in a cold frame require extra attention and can be time consuming, but if you value early flowers, vegetables (and bragging rights), give it a try.

Layering

Layering uses vine-like growths (or runners) to produce new plants. Layering runners is simple. Peg the runner to the soil by pushing it down at intervals, an inch or two into the soil. Make sure it's well covered. When roots have formed, lift and plant the root cluster. Be sure to cut off any excess runners.

Dividing

The best reason to divide plants is to prevent overcrowding. Many potted plants and perennials need occasional thinning to prevent crowding of the root systems.

Dividing Naturally

Good idea: Don't divide vines or other plants that grow from a single stem.

Natural division makes flowers produced from bulbs (tulips, lilies, etc.) the simplest to propagate. They form tiny bulbs on the sides of the original bulb after a year of growth. When the plant is dormant (after it flowers), lift it out of the ground, remove the tiny bulbs by hand, and plant them individually. Replant the original bulb. The new bulbs require at least one year to fully mature.

Another example of natural division is offsets or offshoots, which are stems coming from the base of a plant just under the ground. They often have roots of their own and can be removed from the parent plant and grown into new plants. Plants such as pandanus, sansevieria, and aloe are good examples.

Snake plants, Boston ferns, cast-iron plants, African violets, philodendrons, and asparagus ferns are also good plants to divide. Each of these plants produces a cluster of stems at the base of the plant, making them easy to split up.

Dividing Houseplants & Perennials

Divide houseplants in the spring while they're beginning an active growth period. Before you begin the division or cutting, give the plant less water than usual to firm up the top growth. When you're ready to divide a houseplant, remove it carefully from the pot and cut the various sections apart with a sharp, sterile knife. Avoid using clippers because they crush fragile stems. Make sure there is a good root and top on each section. Work as quickly as possible to prevent the plants from drying out. Repot all divisions in fresh soil, and water immediately.

Divide perennials the same way after they finish flowering. For example, plants that bloom in spring should be divided in early summer, and plants that bloom in summer should be divided in early fall.

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