Plant propagation... the basics

I have done that too Sharon. I tried the pellet tea but Bob about puked so I just add it to the soil now. Rabbit pellets. I wish I could get the ones with molasses but can never find them. My daughter uses the big ones for horses. She likes the texture it makes her soil.

Which do you use Sharon? BTW Sharon, I thought back to what you said about quitting earlier. Remember what your dad used to say? Well don't you do that now. You don't wait until you are tired. Yes, I know what he said. Nix that idea.

When does Todd leave? It's for 6 months? Are they pretty much settled in in Spokane now? Kids are in school? Except for baby Luke that is. Haven't seen any pictures of him lately. Bet he is getting big. He will be grown up in his next picture at the rate we see him.

Well, Bob is getting a movie ready to put in the machine. Hope it's a good one. I have about cleaned Netflix out. ttyl,

Todd leaves December 31st but clock does not start ticking until he arrives in Kuwait. He is in North Carolina for two weeks before he leaves. Last time he went to Kosovo.

They are all settled and I spoke with Heather, his wife, yesterday and they have made a lot of friends so they do not think it will be a problem. Luke is doing great. He will be 2 in November. He will start school next year. Heather is also taking college courses to finish her degree. The girls play soccer in two different places each weekend. I am sure her mother will come up there for a few weeks when it gets to be to much.

I am being really good but yesterday one minute I was fine and the next minute I was wiped. I was smart enough to quit. And yes, I threw out that rule with the heart problem. For some reason when my heart is very unhappy, I get cold. I was doing that when it was 105. So when I start to get cold, I also quit. The cardiologist explained why my body got cold but I do not remember what he said.

I agree with Bob on the alfalfa tea. I put some in with some compost and water and forgot it so it stewed about 2 days longer than it should have. When I poured it in the hole I had dug for it, I just about hurled into the hole right behind the bucket.

I use the horse alfalfa pellets because that is all I could find. I got it at a feed store. It is out by the airport and I will be going again before spring. I think I will call and make sure they have the rabbit in supply before I head there. What could be the difference besides size.

Well I am way behind on my bed time. I am heading there now. Have a great day tomorrow.

This is Luke about one week before I landed in the hospital so the end of August. Sharon

Last year I had a bag of alfalfa pellets with molasses, and it was covered in ants. Not sure it was such a good idea. The rain had washed it open and they were everywhere. After they left, I put it in my compost pile.

Boy Sharon that little guy looks more like Todd every picture I see. He is a doll.

Try to get the molasses Sharon.

Evelyn, which did you get with the molasses? The rabbit size, or horse size? Like I said Sharon, my daughter thinks the horse size adds texture to her soil. Can't imagine why. It would for a while, but once it is composted it wouldn't. I don't think. But the longer it takes to break down, the more apt it is to stink especially in your heat. I would think.

I have not been able to find it with the molasses around here. Dave said what the molasses does. Activates the something in it and probably makes it break down faster???? Is that right Dave?

I've never tried alfalfa pellets.

I have a bed that I put a load of bulk soil from the nursery (probably just sand and ground pine bark). My bed is already sandy. Now it's too sandy and won't hold water for my plants in full sun. I have been adding dried leaves and potash, but need something more. If DH finds out I am buying rabbit food or horse food to bury in the ground, he'll say I've got something wrong with me. Dave, I need help. Any suggestions from anyone.

I bought Molasses without sulfur, in two gallon size. I have two left. I just soak the pellets, molasses and water. I dig a shallow hole and bury it in long small planting indentations. That way you do not smell the rotting pellets.

Yes, Luke looks just like his father.

It has rained several times today and we hit a new low high. The high today was 65. Usually 85. But we will be right back there Saturday.

I am going to go and put together some seed packages. I will return later. Sharon

LOL Sharon on the alfalfa tea. :D

Peg - sorry, but you ARE crazy. That's why I like you. :D

Everybody else . . . I buy horse pellets (mare and foal) to feed to my neighbor's goat. More questions. I think maybe Peg's DH is/would be right. I can barely feed myself let alone the damned neighbor's goat. Blah.

I have been trying to get my BF to bring me a truckload of mulch from the municipal landfill, but he won't budge. It costs only $20 for a truckload if you load it yourself. We got a load of compost that way last year and the year before. Is that something that anyone else has available to them? The city collects all the yard waste and composts it into different sizes/fines. I could go out there with my buckets and load 'em up for free, but they're all holding these spindly tomato plants.

I do have a plant question - I have a Cassia alata (senna/candlestick bush) that is an annual in my zone, and I think I am going to dig it up and pot it to bring it in overwinter. Has anyone grown this species? I can't help but think that despite its size it probably has a very small root system. I grew it from seed started in April and it has not yet bloomed. So that's why I think I am going to dig it up. I could propagate cuttings probably, but it would take forever to grow to any size in this zone.

Any thoughts would be appreciated! It's going to be quite the project because it is a large enough plant.

A.

Sharon, to benefit the soil you are suppose to mix it in all around, not just in one hole.

I have seeds for those Amanda, unless I gave them all to my daughter. If they are an annual, why aren't they blooming?

I can see why your BF won't go get them if he has to load the truck shovel by shovel.

Look who is calling who crazy. Someone who BUYS pellets for the neighbor's goat which will eat anything and everything.

Amanda....
The city of Los Angeles does that here also... you bring your truck... dig yourself and bring home the compost. The problem we found with it is this.... the compost doesn't get hot enough to kill all the weed seeds and is full of rocks and debris etc. Our neighbor brought home a huge truckload and spread it all over his lawn only to have hundreds of weeds the following spring.... boy was he upset. You really should try a small quantity first and see how it stands the weed test. Nancy

O thanks Nancy, that's terrible. :/

Our compost was really beautiful. Black gold.

Jen I can't remember - actually it's FREE if you load it yourself. $20 for them to load.

UGh. well people, someone with experience with the Cassia alata told me to "tell her how that goes" when I told her I was going to dig up the plant and bring it in. She said (and I suspected) they have a very handsome root system that has to go down to the water table when drought hits. I expect I will be starting cuttings. I don't have any clue.

Anyone here? She said I had to cut it from a branch where the plant had already bloomed, but it hasn't bloomed at all! That's the problem!!!

I will just go after the new growth tips and see what I can salvage. She also recommended heavily mulching the roots. Maybe I could put a hothouse over it and leave it for spring?

Thoughts on propagating the Cassia alata/senna/candlestick bush?

Thanks

A.

My thought is that I will see if I have any seeds and if so, I will send you some. Is it a pretty plant? If so, and if I didn't give all my seeds to my daughter, I will try it too.

Ok, I need D-mails with addresses from

Corey
Dave
Nancy

I think those are the only ones I have lilacs for.

Jen

edited: I know I have yours somewhere Dave, but it is easier for you to send it than me to go looking. Oh nevermind I will look. Can't be too far away. Will let you know if I need it.

This message was edited Oct 7, 2011 12:49 PM

Here they will load your trailer for 25 dollars. It is pretty good compost, but in my sand, it just filters through to the bottom. I keep trying tho. One year I could shredded cypress mulch and put it everywhere, then I got those stinky orange fungi in my yard and it definitely wasn't worth it. LOL It took me a while to get rid of those.

I have never had cassia alata bloom for me, but I love birds foot trefoil. I may have to try the cassia again.

Gotta run, Linda

LOL, Linda, did you ever find the bottom? Mine did the same thing and I never could find where it went from the year before. Every year I added more and more compost, manures, etc. Nothing in the spring. Could not find any. Jen

I typed a message here 3 times and every time it has disappeared. I give up. Now it will probably show. :0)

No Jnette, I was beginning to believe there is no bottom. I will say that someone in "china" has some great soil with lots of amendments. LOL

Well my worker was here today and he was moving the 42" x 36" pots because the roots had invaded the pots. He just removed the roots from underneath the pots and then he removed the plants in the pots, I transplanted them somewhere else. Then he removed all the roots in the pots. Some were completely full of roots. I have got to determine how to keep the roots out of the pots. I have a total of 11 of those pots.

I had added a whole entire layer of leaves last year in each pot about half way down. The leaves were gone, the soil was black and beautiful and the worms in the pots were very large. I put in another layer of plant cuttings for my buddies to eat today.

Your compost goes down to God only knows where and here the rocks keep coming up. I will clear out all the rock in a garden area and when I dig there the next year to plant, the rocks are back. But my compost stays put but the level of the soil goes down every year. But I think some of it blows away.

I cut back some coleus today and put some in the holding garden to root.

Have a great Sunday and I will check in tomorrow afternoon. Be healthy and safe. Sharon

Morning:
Hi: I have limited experience with cassia. its a native in south florida. I believe they will do well as long as you get most of the roots. if you dead head it it will bet bushy and last longer.
Being an annual it will want tio die after it produces seeds so as long as you dont allow it to make seeds it should continue to grow. Now a disclaimer on that some plants have an internal clock in that they will wither and die if they are grown too long.

Its pretty easy to grow from seed and its easy to find.

My email is Pughbear7@hotmail.com... please put something in the title line so I will read it. Please no forwarded jokes or cutesy pics. I am sure they are cute but I never get around to them and I tend to skip them. I do this to my own mom so no offense...
Dave

Dave ~ I am the same way with forwarded jokes and stories. There isn't enough time in the day to get everthing done as it is, and to have to go through those would be a burden. I have asked everyone to not send me forwards.

Ok, here's one for you all, and I want all of your ideas.

This is the first year that I have had real nice Ivy Geraniums and also regular geraniums. Knowing my situation on how cold it is here and my long winters, do any of you have good ideas on how I can save them for next year? I don't want to just keep them alive, I want them in fairly good condition or I won't bother.

My house is too dry and too warm to bring them in here. I have heard people say to hang the regular ones up side down in garages etc. Don't know. I don't have a garage either by the way. But, even if I did it would be too cold for that.

Sorry, I don't know. I bring all of mine in and they bloom all winter. Good luck with 'em!

A.

If I had room somewhere I would try taking cuttings and just starting new ones like I do the coleuses. The only place I can think of would be maybe to put a shelf in the bathroom? LOL. Maybe a corner shelf over the toilet? It would be by a window so should be light for them.

Might make people uncomfortable worrying about them falling on them tho. LOL

My Ivy Geraniums this year has been absolutely unbelievable. They have bloomed for months and are still blooming. I dead headed them just about daily because they are in high pots just off the garage doors. My regular geraniums were great in the spring and cooler part of the summer but the August heat was just to much for them. And they were in the large pots and the pots got invaded by the tree roots and that is probably what did them in instead of the heat.

My mother grew geraniums in the house during the Winter. Their home was heated by a wood stove and the plants did wonderful.

Here in Las Vegas Geraniums are planted this time of year outside.

I know I did not answer your question but that is the way life goes. Sharon

This is the best both of mine have done Sharon. I deadhead constantly, can't keep up with it and they still are covered with blossoms. Crazy year for gardening.

How is Vern doing? And you?

I'm great and Vern just about fell down again this afternoon. Said he got up to fast. I am beside myself trying to determine what to do with him.

It is my bedtime and I am off to bed. Later friends. Sharon.

Jnette, I would suggest taking them inside and letting them go dormant. Then before it begins to warm in the spring, I would begin feeding them heavily to get them ready to go back outside. I didn't have any geraniums this year, but I have kept many over the winter this way.
Hope it helps.

Sharon, hope you and Vern are both feeling better.

We had nights in the 50's for about a week and now we are back up to the 70's. We have heavy rains all weekend ( I am not complaining, I love it), so it has been really good for all of the plants. I am still watching the buds on the orchid cacti. I will let you know when they all bloom.

Sea Ya,
Linda

Morning everyone, look who is back. Fat Cat came out between the barns this morning and there is not a mark on him. He is a bit skiddish so Lord knows where he was all this time or what he was doing. He is still fat as you can see and very tired.

I had a $400 dollar bird seed delivery today and so now I need to repack it into freezer bags and that will keep it for another six months or more. Everything has gone up so much it is scary. This order is about $100 more than it was in Sept. That is no exaggeration.

I also have a beautiful yellow iris blooming this morning. Oct. 11th and they are still getting buds. I may never get them cut back before winter comes.

Mornin JB, boy that cat looks exhausted. That is what toms do. They disappear and bet every female cat for miles around has babies in the near future. Hope he brings them all home to show you JB. ;0)

Jeanette: My one question is about your garage. Is your heater unit and hotwater heater in the garage? If so it would be a perfect place to hange them upside down or lay them out on a shelf. I have never stored geraniums but have read many articles about it.
My reason saying the heater and hot water unit in the garage is that they are fed with gas pilot or some other type of heat that does keep the garage warmer than outside. I wintered over a lot of plants in the garage and now with the new doors the low in the garage is always above freezing and actually pretty good for storage the humidity is the only questions that will need to be fixed.
Hope this helps
Dave

Nope, no garage Dave. My furnace and hot water heater are in the basement. That is why my basement is so warm. If they were outside in a garage that would keep them from heating up as much as they do. Thanks for thinking about it tho.

Ok, back to the geraniums. I ended up taking a lot of cuttings and planted them using both Dip n grow and a powder rootone. I didn't mark them so I won't know if one works better than the other. I took the cuttings from both the regular geraniums and also the Ivy. Just have them in the house.

Sounds like you will have plenty of geraniums next year. both should work fine

Hope so. They sure look good so far.

Amanda and JB, I sent your cuttings of Mock Orange plants out yesterday and don't throw them away. They are really trying to go dormant. I had them in the kitchen where it is warm and under a Metal Halide light with my other plants so the poor little things couldn't go to sleep.

Put them in little pots and in a cool place so they can do just that. I know they are little but you know, I have never started cuttings from shrubs before. I took them from the new growth at the end of the branches. They are little, but they have a lot of roots.

Dave, could I have taken bigger ones in the old wood? If so, how?

I feel you can always take a bigger cutting the thing that effects root growth is the number of nodes below the soil. I am sure they will be ok as long as they dont dry out over the winter. I have to watch that because our weather warms up during the winter and we get growth during those times as well as while in the deep freeze. I dont know what amount the plants grow in frozen stasis but I know if they dry out its a bad thing. I frequently water when its warm outside.
I have cuttings I too k in march of hydrangea that are about 6" long. I like to have a couple of nodes above and below the soil line to produce more growth from. I potted up those cuttings today 2 - 3 per gallon pot.
I hope this make sense and helps
Dave

Well, I am sure these will grow because they have so many roots. But they were pretty small. Next spring I will try bigger ones. Once the sap starts moving in them again?? Is that right Dave?

Yes it is correct. I am trying hard wood cuttings this year. There are a few schools of thought on how to do them. I will post them later on either tomorrow if not definately by friday. Its a bit different but they say it works wonders.

Good evening...well ok its morning technically. Just a heads up to see if anyone is interested in any flowering vines this spring. I will be ordering for delivery in march. Clematis, Campis (trumpet vine yellow and/or orange) and maybe a couple of different honeysucckle plants. Please let me know so I can figuire it out. As you all know I offer things like this from time to time. I just like to pass along the savings to my friends. I am building some additional cutting stock to sell from.
I tossed around the idea of just buying in Unrooted cuttings and propagating from them. I may still do that. But I like to also buy in a few older plants to cut on myself. I will post this on the prop thread as well.
Dave

Jeanette:

Thank you so much dearie. I will look for them. If they have roots well then they just need to nap. I will send you a dmail when they arrive and exchange ideas about where they might best like to nap.

I have been trying to root the cassia alata. I think this last one had some roots, but it collapsed for some reason - I think once the roots developed they needed more water than the clay pot was absorbing. We haven't had a hard frost yet (fingers crossed!). I have been deliberating about digging this plant and bringing it in to overwinter. I grew it from seed early enough in the season. There are flower buds forming but I doubt it will bloom before I either dig it up or the temps knock it down. I have a post on this in the hummingbird and butterfly gardening forum. Folks are interested to see what the root structure is so I will post photos there if/when I transplant the thing.

It's between 4'-5' tall and 2'-3' wide. Any thoughts? It's an annual in this zone (7b) but the main stem looks rather woody at the base.

Thanks for any ideas to help.

A.

Dave, please let me know when you post on the hardwood cuttings. I have so many things i would like to root and I know i should have done it this summer, but I hate to just cut them down and compost them because it is winter. Any ideas for hardwood cuttings would be greatly appreciated.

I love the cassia plants Amanda, but I can never get one to bloom either.

Any thoughts on rooting orchid trees? bauhinia variegata or purpurea?

Thanks, Linda