Propagation part IX based on my experience

I root Monarda by just ripping a branch off and sticking it directly in the garden. That's an easy one to get going.

ok I may give that a try too. thanks

Usually you can grab one of the Monarda stalks and rip it out of the ground. It will already have some roots on it. I've done this many times and it doesn't harm the original plant.

I tried some in water this year and they just rotted.

I am going to try and save some seed from them and get more started. I love watching the butterflies and bees going to town on them. I even have a hummingbird that will dart at them occassionally.

FF yes azalea and Rhododendron are in the same family. Azalea is in the genus Rhododendron. The one book says semi hardwwod cuttings. Acording to Dirr's manual of woody landscape plants cuttings are difficult and usually take 2 to 4 months to root. Wounding the cutting 1 - 1 1/2" of the cutting using a rooting hormone and cutting the leaf surface by at least 1/2 of the leaf. Usually cutting are taken in july or august so now and again in a few weeks should give you some reasonable ability to have new plants. There are over 900 species of rhododendron and the difference between azalea and a true rhododenron is the leaves are often scaley with small dots on the underside of the leaf and the flowers have 10 + stamens while azalea's have only 5. Just from my own observation the rhododendrons are a lot bigger overall both size of the plant as well as the leaf.
I hope this helps
Dave

I don't understand this part of it Dave. The cutting the leaf surface part. Can you explain?
Wounding the cutting 1 - 1 1/2" of the cutting using a rooting hormone and cutting the leaf surface by at least 1/2 of the leaf

Cut off 1/2 of each leaf will reduce the leaf surface thus reducing the cuttings work load in suport of the leaves. Wounding the cutting is something I do on most of my cutting just as a standard practice. A lot of times I will use my thumb nail and scrape the outer layer of the cutting away from the stem starting at the lowest node where you remived the leaf from the cutting. You want to give the cutting as much room as possible to root and take up nutrients and water while its trying to root. I also remove 2 to 3 sets of leaves from the cutting because its below the soil line anyway, they would just rot off and give an entry spot for disease to get into the cuttings.
Someone was worried about the bumble bees and such on plants where you sprayed them. I believe that unless the critter ingests the leaf or stem itself it should be ok for those who do not par-take of the salad (plant) they are wandering around. I try to use a systemic insecticide for this reason. Yes I amy kill a few benificial insects but it far outweighs the damage they can do. I have thought about buying some benaficial insects to release in the garden. I thought it might be neat.
Dave

that was me who was worried about bumble bees and the honey bees.

Boy we have a front coming in that will be bringing rain and thunderstorms. around 8 tonight there were no bees doing anything. Finally found one and he was like frozen on the underside of bloom. Guess he is using the plant as an umbrella....LOL

thank Dave

Janet

LOL I can see a tiny umbrella being held by a bee... Cute mental image. like I said I would guess it would not harm the bees as long as they are not out and about. Best time to spray is early am because the wind is usually not blowing and most of the bees are sleeping anyway.
I will be out of town untill late sunday pm and then out again monday through sometime in the weekend. I would have been a whole week but Kim has to come into town on monday to do a few things so I will get to play in the garden and get my weekly orders out. I was really concerned about being gone so long and having an order hanging out a week longer than it should have... All things have a way of working themselves out.
Dave

Yes, we had the thunder storms the other night and they were horrific. And then we had hail. Every time my brugs get new leaves we have a hail storm.

Bummer dude... Sorry to here that. I know its a pain in the butt. Have they bloomed? Do you have any pics?
Here is my new hosta bed in the back yard. The big blue hosta is Blue Angel. I just love that one. It grows and grows and really put on a show this year.
Dave

Hi everyone, Hope everyone's pain level has decreased. I am hoping to get out and transplant some daylily seedlings today and maybe a few other things too.
I was thinking it was too hot to plant much, but I have a lot of shade to work with.

FF, I don't know about pussywillow, but azaleas and rhodies are best rooted now. Take your cuttings and scrape the bark about a 1/2 inch from the bottom ( cutting at an angle also helps) and then dip in rootone and stick into sandy soil. ( or something with lots of drainage and low fertility). Then put them in the shade and make sure they get watered daily. They should root in 4 - 6 weeks.

Here now is the best time to take cuttings of everything. In fact, i should already be outside.

Has anyone heard from JBerger lately?


Have a great day, Linda

Thanks Linda, will give it a shot.

Hello everyone, here I am. This has been another one of those weeks. I have had carpenters and painters here most of the week and they will be back next week. I am having our little bunk house painted outside because I use it during the Christmas Tree Sales as a workshop. It was not painted for three years and then it was a lousy job just to cover the bad spots. I am also having the three decks painted grey instead of the natural color. The sun is making a mess out of them and it is time. So, moving stuff around, etc. is a pain in the butt. Had to have new doors made for my little storage shed and then cleaned it out and that helped me have more room in the greenhouse.
The Dog ran away Monday Morning. Chased a critter and got lost. Ended up on the next farm and they brought him home. I could have killed him. I just spent nearly $1000 to save his life and he runs away. @#$%^&* dog.
Someone is asking about starting cuttings from Pussy Willow at this time. I have never started them any time other than in the Spring before the leaves form. Then I just stick them in water, although they will grow in a sandy mix as well. I think they growin anything.
They do like lots of water and sun to start. I cut some late April for someone on in DG that was interested in the black ones and it took longer for them to root. I lost a few but still have about three that are still o.k. They are not growing as fast as the ones that were started earlier. The ones I started early in the Spring are outside in the field and loving it. One was eaten twice by baby bunnies and it still survived. LOL
Thanks for asking about me Linda. I have been thinking about you wondering how all of you have been feeling. Have you seen the weather prediction for the winter. It Ain't pretty. LOL Hugs to you all. JB

greetings from little rock. Just had to pop on and say hi. Grand babies are great. Have a great weekend
Dave

I know you will have fun with those kiddies Dave.

I think also on the rhodies that you cut the leaves in half. Crosswise don't you Linda? To save the strength or something? The large leaves of the rhodies suck up too much moisture. I think that is it.

Jeanette

Have fun Dave. Stay well and enjoy those babies. God Bless.

Hi: I am having a blast. Took a nap and the babies are watching fox & Hound. The little mercy is so cute.
Yes you cut 1/2 of the leaf surface off. I sometimes do more because you want the cutting working on roots not leaves. A cool shady spot is best also. Do you have any rooting hormone?

Yes I do. I am going out tomorrow and take a few new cuttings and try what you and Linda have told me and see what happens. Thanks guys.

JBerger, it is good to see you here. It sounds like your life is crazy busy right now. LOL. I hope it is all going well.

Dave, I Know you are enjoying your grandchildren. I hope you have a great vacation.

Jnette, you are right. I forgot to add cutting the leaves in 1/2. You do want to leave some of the leaf in tact, because the stem needs to have a reason to put out more roots and if all of the leaves are removed it won't do as well. I Generally cut all but about 4 leaves off completely and then cut the others in 1/2.

This week, I am having a landscape crew come in and clean under all of my azaleas and camellias. I am so excited. I haven't been able to do the heavy work and my shrubs are full of honeysuckle and jasmine vines and there is so much undergrowth that it just looks jungle-y. LOL. I like the natural look, but now the grapevines and honeysuckle are causing problems. I will post before and after pics if I can.
They are also going to do the natural area in the back yard.

FF I hope your cuttings do wonderfully.


Echinaceamaniac, I have had lots of success with monarda in water, but it helps if I put in some willow twigs or pothos stems. I have found that having something in the water that roots really fast in water tends to help the other things root really fast too. Even the hard to root things.


I have to work in the aviary again and get them ready for sale. I hate having to give them up, but I can't see any other way.
Maybe i can take cuttings later today.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.
Linda

Howdy:
I know the azalea's will look great. I know from cleaning the undergrowth on other plants its worth the effort. And the plus of having a crew do it. I am sure they will find a snake or 2 brrrrr I hate most snakes. Its rest time and then off to the lake
Dave

Linda, I can relate to your feelings about selling your birds. When I stopped breeding, I had so many breeding pairs that I did not want to split up because they were worth more as proven pairs, that is was hard to find them homes. I was lucky to have a friend to decided it would be cheaper for her to buy breeders and breed her own stock for her two bird shops. So, I unloaded several dozen pairs on her, cages and all and it was a God send. The others went too, and a tear went with each one of them. I sold about 100 over a period of four months. I think I cried every day. Good luck with your downsizing. IT SUCKS. Hugs. JB

Thanks JB, The guys are the only ones happy about the downsizing. I am still struggling with it. Lately DH is even stressed about the dogs. I know he wants to be free to take off on a whim, but they are like my children. I won't give up the dogs or the cat.

Dave, I hope they don't find any snakes. My son will want to set up more aquariums. LOL His dad let him have an albino corn snake ( as a pet) and a bearded dragon! I think it was to keep me out of his room. LOL. Maybe he will sleep through the guys being here. ( yeah right).

I have begun collecting seeds from some of my daylily crosses. I am so excited, I want to plant them all now. I have way too much to do though and many other things to start working on. They will have to dry and then go into the fridge.

I hope everyone has a great day, I will post pictures later on.
Linda

That reminds me. I put those knee high socks on my peonies and they are still there. How long go i Leave them on the bush? Nothing is turning brown yet. Do I wait until the stem turns brown and they drop off or do I cut them and bring them inside. HELP, if you guys want some peonies you had better walk me thru this. JB

JB, I would think the longer on the plant the better as long as it doesn't rain and they rot. If it starts raining and gets pretty humid I would watch them. But I would think they really need to dry on the plant if you can.

Just my opinion.

Jeanette

Oh that is just great. It rained something like 23 days since I put them on. Oh Crap. I am being good today or I would have said something else. JB

Look at them to see if they look ok. Just be cause it rained doesn't mean they went bad. jeanette

I'm new to this forum. I have a seed question, do you plant perennial seeds differently than other ones? Are they treated differently when they germinate? I know that's 2 questions, I just got some trollius seeds and would like to know where to start.

jumper, boy that name troilius sounds so familiar but I cannot remember what they look like. Can you add a picture? Now, first of all, plant them according to the package. I have never treated annuals and perennials any different other than after they become seedlings that need to be placed in a permanent home.

Most annuals I put in containers. Perennials in the ground. Then perennials need to be treated according to their special needs. i.e. shade vs sun, soil ph, type of fertilizer maybe.

Annuals are obviously easier. They only last a season and since mine are in containers I can move them in or out of the sun, fertilize with what they need.

All of this is obviously according to my experiences with gardening.

Jeanette

Thanks,Jeanette. Troilious are also known as globe flower. They are yellow and I think very beautiful. This will help be a start. Thanks again.

Hi Jumper, Glad you are joining us. I think you will like it here. I would treat the trollius seed just like any other. I have heard that they like cooler temperatures, so maybe if you winter sowed them it might help. Have fun.
Linda

Thanks Linda.

Greetings:
Welcome jumper... Linda is correct about most seeds being similar in growth needs. If you are dealing with a coller plant then late fall or early winter would be best. I had a whole flat bite the dust and I just found out they like cold temps... I am sure upper 90's is not part of the coller temps plan.
I am hopeing to order supplies soon so anyone needing supplies please let me know.
http://www.growersupply.com/index.html
I know I am buying 1020 trays and past that I don't know
Dave

And do NOT do as I just did today. Just getting around to planting my Cherry Red Rudbeckias I started from seed in May and they were in 3 inch pots and had big buds on them. It is suppose to be 96 degrees today. Hope they will be ok.

Jeanette

Jeanette: they should be ok. just keep pouring the water on.
Dave

Thanks Dave. Jeanette

Thanks for all the info. I'll let you all know how it goes.

This message was edited Jul 20, 2009 3:38 PM

Hi Everyone, we took off this past weekend for a getaway to Williamsburg, Va. It was great, we really enjoyed colonial williamsburg, ( I was surprised that my teenager liked it too) and the surrounding area. My son was enthralled with William and Mary college. He really just loved Va. It was a quickie vacation, with all of the animals we have, we can't stay gone for long at the time. Now It is back to normal for me. I have lots of watering and feeding to catch up on and some mailing to do. Hopefully, I will get back to normal by friday. Hope everyone has had a great week,
Linda

Ps. Dave, I am sending you an email.

Linda, that sounds wonderful. Was the weather nice for your trip? Are you thinking about W&M college for your teenager? How soon is he going to be ready for college?

You never said, did your husband go back to work? That is always a worry.

Glad you had a nice time and glad everything was good when you got back.

Jeanette

Good afternoon:
I am guessing the quiet is from everyone outside tending to plants and trying to keep everyone alive. I did some transplanting today of seedlings. I am curious as to how fast they will grow. I did some gailardia a few weeksago and they are huge now, so I am hopeful the rest will jump up as well.
Planted some muhly grass and sunray correiopsis seeds so I will be watching them as well.
Linda I am glad you were able to get away. I know it can be a depressing thing when all you do is the daily routeen and no fun. Here is a pic of one of the fancy gailardia's I had bloom this week. Freenzy is his name.
Dave