Propagating Plants Is Easy

Propagating Plants Is Easy

When propagating garden plants, shelling out money to buy multiple plants is no longer necessary. Growing plants at home can be easy, fun, and a great way to save some money. Experts recommend that gardeners begin this process at the end of August. To propagate garden plants, the gardener must first obtain cuttings from the plants already in their garden. That is a cost-effective way to replace affordable garden plants that died due to winter weather.

To begin propagating, the gardener needs the following materials:

  • small pots
  • perlite
  • potting compost
  • sharpened knife
  • rooting powder

Starting at the stem's base, the gardener must cut between four and six inches of the plant's stem. Then the flowers must be removed and leaves that are not at the top of the stem. The next step is to make compost and perlite, mix them, and put them in either a small pot or a seed tray. The mixture should consist of equal parts of both the perlite and the compost.

You must insert the freshly cut part of the stem into rooting powder. Then it is put in the pot or seed tray holding the compost. A small pot can keep as many as one dozen cuttings. The garden plants must be watered and covered with a cling film. Within two weeks, the new cuttings should be able to root.

Propagating garden plants is an easy and efficient way for anyone to have a beautiful garden without investing as much money as they would be purchasing a plant from a nursery. Affordable garden plants can be a part of every gardener's backyard.

Propagating Roses

When it comes to propagating roses, experts recommend first taking a cutting from a young rose stem. That can be determined by noting which stems have lots of pedals or have fading flowers on them. When the plant is the type that repeatedly blooms, the only stems that should be used are losing pedals or the ones with the fading flowers on them. When the plant blooms once, the stems that need to be used are the ones that have a flower fading in color.

The best results come from a plant that still has leaves attached to the stem. These plants are most likely to become firmly rooted in the ground. While working with the cuttings, the gardener should spray a mist of water on the cuttings while they prepared. That is important because if the plant becomes wilted, it is less likely to root successfully.

Propagating roses also involves keeping the cuttings moist. The dirt the rose is planted in, the air around it need to be kept moist at all times. Once the cuttings have been completed, the gardener should put them in a pot with either wet soil or sand. The plant should then be covered by a bag made of plastic. If using a plastic bag is not an option, the gardener can also include the plant with a soft drink bottle. The bottle must be upside down and have the top removed. That results in a makeshift greenhouse in which the plant can grow.