Propagate Easy Garden Plants from Cuttings: Increase Your Garden for Free as Summer Wanes!
Propagating Summer Plants: A Guide to Expanding Your Garden
Summer is an ideal time for gardeners to expand their gardens by propagating popular plants from cuttings. This process involves removing a portion of a growing plant, encouraging it to grow new roots, and transplanting it. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you successfully propagate a variety of summer plants.
Choosing the Right Stems
The first step is to select appropriate stems. For most plants, such as lavender, rosemary, coleus, salvia, boxwood, escallonia, firethorn, hydrangeas, lantana, and potentilla, semi-hardwood or softwood stems are ideal. Avoid flowering stems and choose healthy shoots that are firm but not yet completely woody.
Preparing the Cuttings
Cut 3-6 inch sections just below a leaf node. Remove the lower leaves to avoid rotting and allow space for rooting. For harder-to-root plants like lantana, consider dipping the cut end in rooting hormone powder to improve rooting success.
Planting the Cuttings
Use a well-draining, moist potting mix such as a sand/peat or seed and cutting soil mix. Plant the cuttings in the prepared medium and cover them with a clear plastic bag or a propagator lid to keep humidity high. Place the cuttings in a warm, bright spot but out of direct harsh sunlight to avoid drying out.
Rooting and Transplanting
Roots generally form within 2-6 weeks depending on the plant. Once roots are established, gradually acclimate cuttings to regular conditions and repot them to larger containers or the garden.
Special Cases
Geraniums can be propagated from cuttings taken in late summer or early fall and rooted indoors in a good potting medium. Coleus cuttings can be rooted and grown indoors over winter, allowing the plant to survive beyond the last frost of spring. Boxwood shrubs are best propagated in summer, with roots forming within several weeks to a few months. Escallonia shrubs are easiest to propagate via semi-hardwood cuttings taken in late summer or early fall, with roots developing within a month or two when rooted in a moist potting mix.
Tools and Timing
A clean and sharp pair of pruners, like the best-selling pair from Fiskars on Amazon, should be used when taking a cutting. Softwood cuttings are taken from new growth in spring and early summer, while semi-hardwood cuttings are best taken in summer.
Following these guidelines will help you successfully propagate many popular summer plants from cuttings, effectively expanding your garden with healthy new plants. Happy gardening!
[1] Gardening Know How. (2021). How to Propagate Plants from Cuttings. Retrieved from https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/how-to-propagate-plants-from-cuttings.htm
[2] The Spruce. (2021). How to Propagate Plants from Cuttings. Retrieved from https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-propagate-plants-from-cuttings-1440717
[3] Gardener's World. (2021). How to Propagate Plants from Cuttings. Retrieved from https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/planting/how-to-propagate-plants-from-cuttings/
[4] The Old Farmer's Almanac. (2021). How to Propagate Plants. Retrieved from https://www.almanac.com/plant/how-to-propagate-plants
[5] BBC Gardeners' World. (2021). How to Propagate Plants from Cuttings. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/gardenersworld/howto/propagate-plants-from-cuttings
Expand your home-and-garden lifestyle by propagating more summer plants:
- When choosing stems for propagation, select semi-hardwood or softwood stems from popular plants such as lavender, rosemary, coleus, salvia, boxwood, escallonia, firethorn, hydrangeas, lantana, and potentilla for best results.
- After cutting the stems, consider incorporating rooting hormone powder to improve rooting success, especially with harder-to-root plants like lantana.
