Plant Propagation For The Backyard Gardener

Get your own free plants from your own garden. Here’s how…

• How To Start Your Own Trees And Shrubs From Hardwood Cuttings
  Starting to propagate plants using hardwood cuttings brings the beginning gardener into the realm of “real” gardening. This technique, while extremely effective, is not often used by home gardeners. And I don’t understand why not, because it is relatively simple to succeed if a few simple rules are followed.You propagate woody plants — trees, shrubs, roses and ...
• A Simple Propagation Schedule
  The When and How Of Making Your Own Free Plants One of the things to understand is that this propagation schedule isn’t “carved in stone” but rather is a general guideline to the “when” of things. It is also generally aimed at a USDA zone 4–5 target timing rather than a warmer zone. If you are warmer than this, ...
• Saving Tomato Seeds? Tomato Seed Fermentation Guidelines
  Saving Tomato Seeds? Tomato Seed Fermentation Guidelines
• Germinating Annual Seeds
  First Step It’s simple. Sprinkle the seeds over the top of the pot. This is the first time you can make a small mistake so do this task carefully. Space the seeds out. Do not lump them into a single area of your soil area. Try to leave at least one half inch between each seed. Now I know the ...
• How To Prevent Damping Off and Dead Seedlings
  Damping off is a stem rot problem where a seedling will suddenly keel over and die or the seed will germinate and never develop. It occurs in most soils – both in the garden and in the greenhouse if the right conditions exist. Cool Wet In general, cool wet soils support the development of the damping off fungus ...
• How To Get More Roses From Cuttings
  There is a small trick to growing roses from cuttings above the normal routine of growing a good cutting. The trick is in when to take the cutting. With your thumb, gently push sideways against the green thorns on the shoot you are considering cutting. If the thorn bends over and doesn’t easily come away from the shoot, ...
• Plant Selection Isn’t Only For Pros. Here’s How You Can Improve Your Garden Plants Yourself
  I wanted to make a few points about plant selection in your own gardens. This is not only for those few advanced gardeners but rather, it’s for every gardener out there. Better Perennials I want you to imagine you have Aquilegia in your garden. This is a self-sowing sweetheart that … well, let’s just say it’s promiscuous ...
• How To Successfully Take Root Cuttings for Free Perennials
  Taking root cuttings is a perennial propagation technique that is all too seldom used by home gardeners. Generally speaking, it is fast and reliable and requires only a small amount of equipment. Many perennial plants will send new shoots from nodes in their roots. Phlox paniculata (tall garden phlox) and Papaver oriental (oriental poppies) are two easy ...
• 6 Common Problems Solved For Tomato Seed Starting
  6 Common Problems Solved For Tomato Seed Starting
• Three Critical Tips For Successfully Starting Seeds Indoors
  Three Critical Tips For Successfully Starting Seeds Indoors
• Ventilation For Tomato Seedlings
  Ventilation For Tomato Seedlings
• Handling Vegetable Transplants Before Planting
  Handling Vegetable Transplants Before Planting
• When To Plant Vegetable Seeds: A Basic Schedule
  When To Plant Vegetable Seeds: A Basic Schedule
• Three Water Temperatures For Best Tomato Seedlings Growth
  Three Water Temperatures For Best Tomato Seedlings Growth
• Two Tips To Ensure Your Vegetable Seeds Thrive
  Two Tips To Ensure Your Vegetable Seeds Thrive
• Introduction To Starting Tomato Seeds
  Introduction To Starting Tomato Seeds
• How To Feed Tomato Seedlings For Great Growth
  How To Feed Tomato Seedlings For Great Growth
• What Soils To Use For Starting Tomato Seeds
  What Soils To Use For Starting Tomato Seeds
• Hydrogen peroxide in plant propagation?
  I’ve been reading about hydrogen peroxide on some grower boards lately and there’s increasing interest in this for algae control and some seed germination experiments going on. It’s one of those topics that’s always been on the fringe of gardening and a ton of bad info is out there. I always get a little antsy when ...
• Propagating the Sweet Potato Vine
  A question about Propagating Sweet Potato Vine: it’s growing like stink in my container garden and I’d like to start my own Next year I would like to start my own sweet potato vine— how do Igo about this? Some of the ones you buy are lime green, while others are a reddish color. Can you tell ...
• Seven Practical Steps To Easy Layering of Plants
  Layering is a useful method of plant propagation for those without fancy equipment or the space to set up a propagation system. You use your garden and garden plants (perennials, vines, some shrubs, annuals) to produce more plants for you. All you need is the mother plant, a little patience and the following gardening tips. Equipment Needed A ...
• What Is Hardwood Stooling And Can You Use It In The Home Garden
  Hardwood Stooling is the name given to a specific technique that is quite easy and can be used by home gardeners looking to propagate plants such as rhododendrons and fruit trees. There are two important points to understand however. First – Stoolling does NOT work on mature trees and shrubs of the size you buy from garden ...
• A Quick Cure For Yellow Leaves on Pansy Seedlings
  If you’ve been growing or starting your own pansy seedlings, you may have noticed a yellowing of the tips and edges of the new growth. This generally happens because the new growing plant is in a too-alkaline soil and the plant and is starved for iron. The solution to this is to acidify the soil so ...
• How To Air Layer Shrubs, Trees and Perennials
  Air layering is a technique that can be used by home gardeners on a wide variety of fruit trees and broadleaf plants. You can experiment with all manner of trees in your yard (some evergreens too) Steps to Air Layer a Plant In the “good old days” peat moss would be soaked until it couldn’t hold more ...
• Plants You Can Grow From Cuttings
  This is a basic list – it doesn’t (obviously) 😉 include every plant in our gardens but it should give you a rough idea of what kinds of plants you can propagate I’ve tried to list the common garden plants here but this is by no means an exhaustive list of plants that can be done ...
• The Basics Of Taking Plant Cuttings
  Here are some of the things you need to know before you start The first thing is to make sure you’re using the sharpest tool you can find. Clean cuts are easier on the gardener’s hands and easier on the plant. Most plant cuttings are taken when the shoots are tender and pliable, i.e. new soft growth. ...
• Two Organic Rooting Hormones That Work
  There is a great deal of information about organic rooting hormones running on the Net but a research report has just been released describing the use of honey and willow as rooting aids. Three Different Solutions Tested 1) Two tablespoons of honey per pint of water was brought to a boil, then cooled for the rooting trial. 2) ...
• Plants That Propagate from Top Cuttings
  I’ve tried to list the common garden plants from top cuttings here but this is by no means an exhaustive list of plants And just because a plant is on this list doesn’t mean it’s “easy” to do this way. Some will be easy – some tricky – but they will root if you – the gardener ...
• Growing On Temperatures For Common Plants
  If you’re growing your own plants by starting your own seeds, you may find this of interest. This is the “growing on” temperature after germination or propagation and not the propagation temperature which is going to be mostly a steady 70F soil temperature. So the air temperature is what we’re talking about and this also assumes ...
• Two Methods To Germinate Perennial Seeds
  There are two basic perennial seed germination techniques– you can do it indoors or you can do it outdoors. That’s pretty simple isn’t it. Here are the outdoor systems that work for most gardeners. Here are the outdoor systems that work for most gardeners. Outdoor Sowing Seeds sown outdoors get to experience the natural ups and downs ...
• How To Start Your Own Perennial Seeds
  Perennial seed propagation isn’t overly tricky. You just have to follow a few simple guidelines. The first is to understand that the fancy modern hybrids you see in gardens (like yellow coneflower) do not come true from seed. Plants of individual species (the wild  versions)  are different – seed will work but generally speaking, the modern (heavily advertised) ...
• Seed Germination Heat Systems and Temperatures
  Now that the seed is sown, covered and marked, we have to ensure adequate soil heat. Unlike perennials that often germinate in cool soil temperatures, annuals and vegetables want a warm soil temperature to ensure germination. Soil temperatures of 72F will give you the best results. Note that soil temperatures are usually 10 degrees cooler than air temperatures. ...
• How Much To Cover Germinating Seeds
  One of the interesting little bits of lore about germinating seeds I’ve picked up over the years is that most annual and vegetable seeds (perennials too come to think of it) germinate quite nicely without being buried or restricting light. While some (pansies come to mind) absolutely require darkness, most others don’t. What they need however is ...
• Conditions For Seed Germination
  To germinate, a seed must begin a series of internal hormone changes and our job as plant propagators is to provide the conditions the seed requires. Most of these conditions have to happen simultaneously. For example, with annual flowers both the moisture and temperature requirements have to be met before germination will occur. Let’s take a look ...
• Seed Starting: The First Things To Know
  There are several things you have to understand about seeds. They germinate based on a change in hormones within the seed. For the most part, annual seeds germinate when the soils warm up in the spring. So home gardeners need to be able to create warm soils. They germinate when adequate moisture is available so we have ...
• When Can You Transplant Plants In The Fall Garden
  Here’s what you need to know to successfully transplant plants in the fall garden. First though, you have to appreciate the fall. September is a glorious gardening month for me. Love it. Kids go back to school, Doug goes back into the garden because of cooler working temperatures and the need to work off some of ...
• How To Control Fungus Gnats In Seedling Or Cutting Trays
  One of the things many folks don’t understand is that if they see small fungus gnats flying around their plants, these insects do have larval forms (really, really small worms) that can burrow into the roots and below-ground stems (in cuttings) of plants. To make matters worse, it turns out these small larvae also carry Botrytis, ...
• Everything You Need To Know About Perennial Plant Division
  To begin with, when it comes to perennial plant division, most perennials need renovating (plant division) every 3-5 years. Some such as garden mums need it every year while the really hardy ones like peonies, hosta, and daylilies rarely require renovating. You can tell if your perennials need renovation by looking for the following symptoms. There are ...
• When To Divide Perennials
  There are two times that dividing perennials works the best. The Very Early Spring The Very Early Fall. Early Spring The very early spring when plants are “just” breaking through the ground is the absolute best time to divide a perennial.  If in doubt, do it in the spring.  The video below (even with its poor quality) shows you ...
• How To Handle Plants After Seeds Germinate Or Cuttings Root
  For twenty-odd springs, the months of April and May would see me working away on the last minute seeding, plant care and helping out with the transplanting in the propagation greenhouse. And while I don’t miss the rush of spring in the nursery business, I do miss the greenhouse with its earthy, humid smells and warm ...
• Equipment I Use In My Plant Propagation Area
  There’s no reason why you should have to spend a great deal of money on your seed starting equipment. You can usually get most of it at second hand stores or garage sales. But you do require a few things if you want to succeed. Let’s Start With Light If you remember from the introduction, seeds don’t need ...
• How To Get More Roses From Cuttings
  There is a small trick to growing roses from cuttings above the normal routine of growing a good cutting. The trick is in when to take the cutting. With your thumb, gently push sideways against the green thorns on the shoot you are considering cutting. If the thorn bends over and doesn’t easily come away from the shoot, ...
• Two Systems Professionals Use for Propagating Trees
  Propagating trees for your own garden follows most of the guidelines we’ve already looked at in the plant propagation section. Tree Seed Getting your own trees from seed is the easiest method you can use. All trees start from seed and you can get this and start your very own forest. The trick – if there is one – ...
• How to Handle Seedlings After You’ve Started Seeds
  For a gardener, there’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of starting seeds. Even after 20 years of germinating thousands of seeds every spring, I still enjoy the feeling of seeing life spring forth. I confess to checking each pot like an anxious father and to feeling like spring is really coming when I see each pot ...
• When To Plant Your Own Garden Seeds
  How do I figure out when to plant my own garden seeds? Well, I confess I read the back of the seed packages when I have a new variety. Most of the good seed houses will give you a planting date range in the instructions Otherwise, try this rough planting schedule. Perennials get planted in January. Most flowers get planted ...
• Get Free Plants: Use An Antidesiccant To Avoid Failure
  One of the best tips I can pass along to improve your plant transplanting and your propagation is to use an antidesiccant. These products (Wilt-pruf is one name and I have used it for years) (Amazon) are essentially organic oils that are sprayed onto a plant.  When the material dries, it creates a thin layer that ...
• Secrets For Starting Your Own Water Lily Seeds
  You can start water lily seeds! There are two responses a water lily flower has after it has finished blooming. The first is for the stem to collapse and the flower floats downward in the water with the stem staying straight. No pollination has occurred and you don’t have seeds. The second is for the flower to lower ...
• Solving These Three Problems Will Cure Spindly Plants
  If you want plants that grow well in your area – or heirlooms or anything other than the generic plants sold by the big box stores and most garden centers, you’re going to have to start them yourself. Here are the basics related to tomato care. The easiest thing for home gardeners to do is sow ...
• Two Ways of Propagating Evergreens
  Propagating evergreens from your own garden is one of the more advanced things you’ll do in the garden. These can be tricky but here are a few hints. Evergreen Seed Treat evergreen seed exactly as shrub seed or big perennial seed. indoors. You’ll often find seeds in cones or falling off your evergreen plants and there is absolutely no ...
• Secrets of Taking Plant Cuttings
  Taking plant cuttings is a basic technique in getting more plants from old ones. It really doesn’t matter whether they are your old plants or the neighbor’s (ask before taking cuttings – it’s proper “plant-iquette”). Taking Plant Cuttings Take plant cuttings when they are tender and green with some flexibility to the stem. For most plants this rule of ...