Plant propagation... the basics

Hello to everyone and welcome:

I opened this because I feel that folks need a place to go to ask any question without feeling like its a dumb question. There are no dumb questions, only the ones we fail to ask. It was brought to my attention that some specific threads wont answer basic questions. why I can only speculate. I want anyone to feel like they can ask the question even if they can't put it into a simple question... so ask away.....Admin would like specific plant inquiries to open a thread like "boxwood". I will try to address any questions you might have and those who have an idea please jump in. I don't have all the answers but I will try to find one for you as much as I can.

We came from here:http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1188555/

Our fireside chat on the group we gathered along the way are now posting general chat stuff we started here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1211970/

and are now on the latest version here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1218706/

As with all of the threads I stat I like to welcome anyone new to our little corner of Daves Garden. Please take the time to read all the past threads. Most of them have some great information in them. There are no dumb questions except for the 1 thats never asked.

Anyone new I highly recomend reading the propagation how to 1/4 of the way down the first incarnation of this thread.we have evolved to a mix of good people having fun and discussing issues we are having at the moment. if you need individualhelp just dmail me I am always glad to help.

Here is the 1st post http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/892721/

I look forward to some spirited conversation but as mother nature has decided to be nasty this year any troubles can be discussed here to help solve your current plant issues.

The pic is of a crepe ginger.

thank you for the intrest and welcome
Dave

Hi:
I also condensed down a basic how to in word for anyone who would like a copy just ask me along with an email account as its a word doc and rather lengthy to post here again.

Dave

Hi Dave.... Nancy here....here is your first 'basic' question.... :) I just tried rooting a coleus... cut it below the 2nd set of leaves and left a small bit of stem... dipped in rooting hormone .... not sure what type coleus it is because I got it from a neighbor who had no idea... (attached is a pic of what I think it is). Anyway... it wilted almost immediately... I have done this with another variety and my 'start' is doing well... (it's a darker variety)... I'm wondering if the legnth of stem makes a difference or possibly the medium that I used to start the plant with? I am just utilizing a general 'potting' type soil. Could the varieties react differently to rooting? What are your thoughts? I'm puzzled as to why one took off and the other died almost instantly... they both were healthy ... only difference I can really speak to is the variety and the fact that one was grown in my garden and the other wasn't - potted them up and placed them side by side in the same location so they received similar sun (under a shadecloth)... same planting medium.... Hoping to try again...but wondered if you had any thoughts?

That is interesting Nancy as I have always found water to root Coleus easier. It is interesting that the one started in the soil.

Just looked back at what you wrote. Are you saying they were cuttings of 2 different Coleus? If so, that might be why. At first I thought they were off of the same plant.

I have tried to hold Coleus plants over in the house during the winter and not had very good luck with them. Then I read somewhere that it is better to start new cuttings in the fall and grow them over the winter in the house. So, last year I tried that and it worked much better and had a better plant for the summer.

I know this was not the case with yours, but just a general statement.

Will be interesting to hear what Dave thinks about your problem.

I just pinch off a section, take all but about 4 leaves off, take a screw driver, make a narrow hole and stuff the cutting in the hole and firm around it. I do not even use rooting solution. Sometimes the leaves wilt but the stem usually takes root. I have a holding garden that I use. I will take a photo tomorrow. I am making a bunch of rooted cutting for my daughter-in-law's mother. She is dropping by next week and she will grow them as house plants. My holding garden is in muted shade and the soil is closer to potting mix than potting soil with a lot of worm castings..

Our coleus here grow until our first freeze which is usually late December.

It appears I have a white fly infestation on several plants. I am going to try neam oil spray in the early am.

My variegated dwarf oleander is getting ready to bloom. When it does, I will take a photo.

I will return tomorrow. God willing and the creek don't rise. Sharon

Sharon, did you ever decide if the dwarf Oleander gets seeds? If so, I want some.

Our Coleus are houseplants 8 or so months out of the year. I have one that I really love. The rest are pretty common, but this one is pretty cool. I will take a picture tomorrow and post it. It is the one that I took cuttings from and grew last winter. It makes a pretty neat kinda drooping Coleus.

Jen

Edited to add that I am going to take the top out of my brug and root it in water and carry it over in the house as a houseplant also Dawn. I have the White Cypress Garden that is not so big that it is overbearing so will just bring it in for the winter and use it as a houseplant too.

I am thrilled that your White BOP is getting more leaves JB. That is sooooo cool. I sure would love to see it bloom. I sent my variegated Clivia and a white variegated philodendron home with my daughter to see if she can grow them better. The Clivia just would not do much for me. It got new leaves but they wouldn't grow. Just kept getting new ones. They didn't die. Just didn't get big. That again, I would love to see it do something. Jen

This message was edited Sep 8, 2011 10:32 PM

Hi Nancy:
It might be a varietial difference. How hot out was it when you took your cuttings? was it a different time of day or temp difference? I use must and I see some wilt initially when doing cuttings but the mist helps them do better.
a suggestion for the basic in home application is to use a clear baggie pver the cuttings to increase humidity. It sounds like you did everything right and coleus is one of the easiest type plants to root. typically the square stemed plants are easy to root such as coleus and mints.
Did the wilted cutting die or stay the same did you leave it to see if it would take? did the plant have flower buds seed heads or any sign of end of cycle? typically this is the time of year they want to finish out and die off but they can be carried over for years as long as you dont allow them to go to flower/seed. it dies get challenging to keep the flowers off coleus towards the end of summer.
I hope this helps
Dave

I am working on bleeding heart, dwarf bottle brush and homestead verbena propagation. I am trying the method with vermiculite only and a small clay pot inside a larger pot that I keep filled with water. It is definitely making a difference with the bleeding heart.....didn't even wilt.

I too am collecting coleus to propagate for the winter. I have started most of them with water, but found others that recommend against starting in water. Oh well, a day late and a dollar short.

Anyone tried propagating verbena. I seem to have trouble getting it to root no matter what time of year I try it.

Peg verbena is easy like mint and coleus. it will airlayer easy also. it should be hardy for you. I know there is a demand for it everyyear but it sells cheap.
I am fine tuning my stuff to get more enjoyment out of it instead of the chase for the all mighty $$$$.
I am thinking of adding
silver king euonymus http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/55525/
purple smoke tree
to go along with my mix of spiraea, hydrangea, and other perrienials that are fun to do. the hydrangea are a challenge. I did loose a lot of things but the success is worth it. I managed to get a few oak leafs to root so now its hold them over for next year.
I really like the idea of shutting down for the winter and then picking back up come spring. anyway thats my story and I'm stickin to it

I propagate mostly perinnels and haven't dabbled much in trees and large shrubs.
Guess my verbena in Full Sun just won't root layering it there under a brick. Probably didn't water it enough.

Hi Dave.... I planted the starts in the early morning.... and I used a hand held mister to water them...just a little water bottle type with a mister setting... I was careful not to get the leaves wet... just misted the soil under the leaves....I left the plant in the pot and am continuing to water it... the leaves have all wilted, but I thought the stem might still be alive so I left it to see what would happen. The parent plant had not yet flowered... they sit on a bookshelf in my shaded garden area that is alongside my house... my husband put up a shade cloth... the kind they use in the nurseries....so the sun is there, but it's dappled... lots of light, but no direct hard sun.....I think my neighbor had just recently planted it so it didn't have time to go to seed yet. When you use the baggie method... do you mist the inside of the baggie?

Jeanette... yes ... two different varieties.....the chocolate coleus that I started for Evelyn is doing great... but the green and white one is the one I'm having difficulty with. Your plant sounds intriguing. I'd love to see the photo.

plantsforpeg.... I love bleeding heart... it's such a beautiful plant... sounds like you have figured out a great way to keep it stress free while it's sending out new roots... what a good idea! What color is it? the old fashioned reddish pink or the white one? I started an impatien in water recently - got a few roots and then just stuck it in an old pot I had in the house.... I misted it a few times and voila! It was amazingly easy to start a new plant... for some reason I expected impatiens to be fussy...but this one took off.. it's a pretty pink double... I'm enjoying it flowering in my window...

Thanks for the advice Sharon... I like the method... sounds simple and efficient.....I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's photos.

NF,
Yes, it's the red and white bleeding heart which blooms profusely with a little sun. Right now it has stopped blooming but the rains we had last week really perked it up. Dmail me if you'd like some. I use these for special trades only.

Well I tried to garden today in the rain. I do not know why we even have weathermen in Las Vegas. No rain, no clouds and hot. I made it about 1 hour and then I was done.

The first photo is some of the coleus rooting in the holding garden. The pine needles are from my neighbor's tree. I leave them there for protection and do not allow the landscapers to remove them. They remove plants at the same time.

Another group of coleus rooting. They are actually mostly rooted. I am taking some cutting next week and get some more started.

These are extra white rain lilies. They always bloom in September.

We think we have identified these as cantaloupe. Either that or the very small seedless watermelon. It came up in the compost pile. Vine is totally infested with yellow aphids and white flies. I am going out in a little while and spray.

Two more on top of fence separating back landscape and the air conditioners and pool and KOI pond equipment.

This photo is for Dave. I think you need to send me your columbine seed. I will sow, they will be up in a few weeks and then I can send the plants to you. There was no columbine in this area until a wind storm blew seed from the upper flowerbed to this bed. When it cools down I will transfer. They are all a light violet/blue. I have tried the different colors and have had no luck keeping them alive.

My sister-in-law has a yellow one she has had for over 20 years. Probably an Arizona wild columbine. I was suppose to get seeds but I am sure she forgot. They live in a very small Nevada mining town near the Utah border. Probably 700 people in the town. All 6 of their grand children live in town and they are very active in their grand children's sports activities. They drive to Las Vegas, 280 miles, like I drive to the grocery store.

Coleus plants I will be taking cuttings from. Zinnia's self sowed from last year. With the Zinnias, when I dead head, I just throw the seeds into the garden. This coleus is a trailing coleus. I have the names in my records. I ordered them from Rosy Dawn.

This is a coleus that not do well. I think the area has a big tree root in it. I will have my worker look in a few weeks. But it is a beauty. It is also a little faded because of the heat.

Another one in the area of to much sun and tree robbing moisture.

This one is a beauty. But it is faded due to heat. Once it cools off it will darken up.

I love this one. It just glows.

Another group that is faded. August was just to hot.

Last coleus. Another trailing. This is growing in total shade. Does not like it.

These are the cannas that were dug last year and totally mixed up by worker. They were replanted with no idea what was what. A root or two of trailing silver dicondra was intermingled with a few bulbs. You must realize this is on the side of the pool, next to the wall so very hot. The silver dicondra will have the whole area covered by next spring.

What is amazing to me is that the coleus are separated. I watched them plant them. They just grabbed and planted.

Sharon those are beautiful. I am amazed that Coleus do so well there in your heat. They really prefer the shade. I forgot to take a picture of the one that Nancy wanted to see. I really like that one that DOES glow. I have been picking all the blooms off of mine today. Don't yours do that? That shows that it is time for them to produce flowers and seeds to end the year. I will take that picture tomorrow Nancy.

Yes, those are cantaloupe. They do take a lot of heat to produce and have good flavor.

Last photo. Large pot with Louisiana Iris Black Gamecock. Notice anything missing. All the seed pods are gone. When I was in the hospital the gardeners were told by their supervisor to cut off the old blooms on the roses. I usually do that.

Well I went out there today to take a photo and the seed pods are gone. But there is plenty of BGC to go around. Also some nice day lilies in front. I am going to have the worker just tip it over next week onto the ground and then I will divide. Those seed pods were on there over 3 months. And I cleaned the bed a few weeks ago so there was not many dead stems except the nes with seed pods on them. AND, the seed pods were very large.

But life goes on. Sharon

Let me know if anyone wants rooted starts on the coleus. I am going to root some more and some for you will not be a big deal.

Evelyn, Did your Pink Elephant Hardy hibiscus bloom. The blooms are enormous. See photo.

Mine have been producing flowers and I just dead head them with a few nodes attached and strip all but a few leaves and plant.

Sharon, I never thought of that. Maybe that is why they root and grow so good for you. I will try it. I have a Stained Glass Coleus I think I got it from Rosy Dawn. I will start it I think. Have you ever bought any Coleus from Gephardt? Think his name is Bernie. I haven't gotten any from him for a few years. He has very nice plants and shipping is exceptional.

I looked at Rosy Dawn and Gephardt and I liked Rosy Dawn better. Rosy Dawn does a special price for DG members. Hard part is determining when to have them shipped. This year was perfect but the year before I got them to early. The nurseries here get them way to late.

I tried to over winter two years ago and the gnats were to hard to control.

Yeah, don't use soil in your houseplants unless you cover them with sand. That's where gnats come from. jen

I didn't. I used potting mix.

Unless you have fruit in the house that is the only other reason I can think why you would have gnats.

No fruit but i am very sweet. And with that, I am off to bed. I have the drive tomorrow to Boulder City, where Hoover Dam is, for my friends 100th birthday party. Sharon.

Hou take it easy and drive careful lady. nite. Jen

I have finally figured out the clerodendrum rooting, just cut a stick and stick it in a big pot that gets watered everyday and put it under a tree. It roots so quickly. I didn't even use rootone.

the Lady Banks Rose cuttings are not so easy, I am finding that they aren't happy about being cut.

Any ideas?

Sharon: thats a shame the workers cut off the seed pods. as you say life goes on. I know I would be bummed out if that happened to me but what can you do??? Last spring my niece was helping me and ended up dumping several of my jap. maple seedlings in the compost pile. It was kind of humorous in that she felt as bad as I was upset. I managed to salvage a few, I am just glad she is helping me and does not complain.
I would love a couple of cuttings of the coleus that glows if you have some to spare.

I just harvested a bunch of chocholate mint seed if anyone wants any, just let me know. I also have sibierian wall flower and of course the hardy hibiscus seedlings. I think they might be best to transplant and go through winter before shipping them, so please remind me if anyone would like a few of those as well.

I did cuttings today along with more cleaning. I am trying to do a bit each day so the nursery is back in order. I did silver king artemesia, fujino spiraea, purple leaf norway maple. I am hopeing to get somegold mound spiraea done tomorrow.
Oh yea the creeping phlox are looking great nice little cells and pots I am looking forward to the show this spring.

well thats about it on my propagation.

Nancy. did you remove any leaves from the coleus cuttings??? I tend to remove all but a couple of leaves and on things like coleus I tend to trim the leaves bac also. this allows the cuttings to concentrate on rooting and not the stress its dealing with trying to suport all that foliage.
I hope this helps
Dave

Sharon I totally agree with Jeanette... the coleus that you said 'glows'.... is gorgeous!! And it does almost glow... isn't great how much joy you can derive from a beautiful plant? I love all the pictures... thanks so much for sharing them with us.

Dave... I stripped all but the top two leaves off my stems because the stem I had wasn't terribly long, I'd say about 2 1/2 to 3"? I thought it would be best to remove most of the leaves so the start could use it's energy putting out roots... just as you said. It's still there today... wilted but not completely gone.... I wonder if the stem is still alive? Got my fingers crossed... we had a short rain shower today (yippee! for us here in dry Winnetka at least!) only about 20 minutes of drizzle..... so I put the cutting out in the rain... something about rain that makes all the plants perk up. I haven't given up on it yet. Dave... I would love some seeds from the siberian wall flower... are the flowers orange? I tried to grow a plant this year... and was looking forward to the flowers...but my husband moved it out into the direct hot, hot sunlight about 3 weeks ago when he was working and by the time I found it... it was shriveled up to nothing... I couldn't revive it... made me sick to see it... he's not a gardener so he didn't realize what he'd done ... but I'd love to try again from seed.

Today I have new bloom on my buddleia... lots of it.....and it's so pretty. The plant was really getting stressed from the heat, so I was keeping it watered and deadheading... seems to have helped. I think the nice drink of rainwater will do it some good also.

I've been watching 4 hummingbirds at the feeder and they are having a little disagreement with one another.... several fly back and forth between the feeder and the salvia.... waiting for their turns at each location...feisty little guys... the golden retriever is laying on her side watching them ... I've had my eye on the pups today because I added some rose food to my potted roses in anticipation of the rain and they are just dying to dig up the pots... rascals! I think the dogs are happy about the rain as it seems to have cooled down the ambient temps a bit....although the thunder did spook them a bit...they aren't used to it. Nancy

We took a drive over to North Idaho today it was so nice out, very relaxing day. Along the way I saw what I am sure was a Rose of Sharon. A lavender one. Now, are they the same as Hibiscus, or not? How are they different? I would love a couple of seedlings of the Siberians if you can dave.

I didn't even get out today and take a picture of that coleus Nancy and now I don't think the light is right. It doesn't seem to be quite enough light now. Will do it in the morning. Sorry.

Linda, I think rj is pretty good at rooting and starting the Clerodendrum. If I remember it right. I think it is yours and his climates.

Well, guys gotta fill my pill box. ttyl,