Plant propagation... the basics

Nancy, I am so sorry to hear of your co-worker. Life is so short. More for some than others.

Dave, and anyone else interested here is the link to the seed site. I have others as well if any are interested.

http://theseedsite.co.uk/germination.html

Evelyn

Thank you Evelyn. Its a great site. I just found it and then decided to check here and you had it posted. Its the best site I have ever seen. great for seed starting a wealth of knowledge.

Just a handy hint to those who need it. to knick the hard coated seeds I use a pill spliter and just lightly slice into the seed to give water or soak concoction I use a fighting chance.

Cool idea Dave, and Evelyn, I love that site. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Linda

Hello everyone,

I am hoping I can get some other opinions on some information that I read, from an article written by a professor at some college (brain freeze can't remember where he was from) anywayHe was talking about propagation and different mediums to use.He discussed water,plain potting soil etc... He said the best thing to use for a lot of plants is 3 parts perlite to 1 part sphagnum peat.

The problem is I just read another article on the same subject.Only this person said to use plain peat or 3 peat to 1 perlite.

Has anyone used anything close to these recipes for rooting mediums or if you just have an opinion,I would like to hear it.I have been given a good many cuttings of different types and don't want to rot any of them or whatever else may happen.

Feel free to let your opinion be known !!! PLEASE


Have a nice weekend everyone

I have a book that the writers say they use 1/3 perlite, 1/3 peat, and 1/3 vermiculite. They have written a book on seed-starting.

Jojoe, I have found that there are as many different methods as there are gardeners. I have always used a plain potting mix, or fafard 3b professional mix. Basically it is a trial and error thing and when you find something that works for you keep it up.

Thank you for your thoughts!! I am going to see what happens and hopefully I'll be successful.I think sometimes you can read to much, there is so much information on the web you can get lost in it.
I'm going to root in a light, well draining soil and hope for the best.

Thank you for your answers!!

Have a good week!!

Jo

JoJoe, what I said, and it disappeared somewhere, is that Al Tapla has a couple recipes on the Container Forum in here. DG. I like to use them when I can get the ingredients. But he has one real good instruction, and that is to use wicks in the larger containers. Read it. His stuff is right at the beginning of the forum.

Hope this one stays here long enough for you to read it. Jen

Thank you,

Jen, I have read some of Al's stuff.I always put my pots on paper towels if they become saturated quickly after being allowed to drain I know they are holding to much water.I use my hubby's old sock's inside out to set the pot on and it work well for helping get the extra moisture out of the pot.

I do want to try the wick idea.I looked but either over looked or he didn't add what's good to use as the wick.If anyone has an idea or uses this method,please let me know what to use as the wick.

thank you all and have a nice holiday week!!!!

Jo, I think he said cotton. Not hard to find it now. Seems that is all you can buy now is 100% cotton.

Jo - I love the vision of your hubby's socks wicking your plants. I laughed out loud. :)

A.

In my zone if I cut a piece of lady Banks Rose and put it in wet sand in a pot in a sunny spot with protection, it stands a good chance at rooting if I start it in late Sept. or Oct. by Spring I usually have leaves.

Morning Everyone,
It looks gorgeous here today. I finally got the rest of my epi cuttings potted yesterday and even managed to make some jewelry last night. Today, I am planning to water in the greenhouse and then maybe go to Mom's. Not too much going on here.

Dawn, I started some LadyBanks roses in October in a forsythe pot. Maybe we will both have plantlings by spring.

See ya,
Linda

The forsythe pot method works for me when rooting plants. All you need is vermiculte and a clay pot that sits inside a larger pot.

Well, My houseplants were looking rather sad the last couple weeks so I mixed up some new soil with some of the Volcanite in with the potting soil, potting them into larger pots and then I am watering them with some of the kelp blend and water soluble Mychorrizae. I guess I will have to ask Dave in an email or dmail when to use the Tarantula.

So, hopefully that will hold them until spring.

What is volcanite and Tarantula????

Peg, so sorry I took so long to answer. I started it yesterday and then didn't have the stuff in with me so slacked off.

Ok, Volcanite is a lava granular type stuff. 0.7% Soluble Potash and 7.0% Iron. The Tarantula is one of Dave's favorites. Very expensive. 1% Soluble Potash, 2.2% Calcium, and .78% Iron. It is $32 for 1.7 oz. But, I don't use that one right. If you have ever seen the roots on Dave's plants he sells, the little ones, you would be amazed. But, the Mychorrizae probably does close to the same thing and isn't as expensive. It is expensive also, but not as like the Tarantula.

I bought a blend of Kelp, Humic Acid, and Fulvic Acid (I don't remember if there was anything else in it or not) off ebay. But, I put some of it, like maybe 1/4 tsp. in a watering can full of water, which is about 5 quarts I think, where I fill it to, and my fern has gone crazy. That was a week ago. I used the blend and also put 1/8 tsp of the Mychorrizae in because I had just divided the fern not too long ago. I guess my plants were lacking iron. They love anything like kelp, seaweed. The Mychorrizae is for feeder roots. Jen

P.S. I hope I spelled everything right in case you try to look them up. Jen

Thank you Nette. I'll have to mark this to try later next year.

Does anyone know whether it is better to sow seeds in winter or spring? Or the pros and cons of each method? I posted this questions by itself here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1232773/

However, maybe this is a basic question and should have been on this thread? I need to sow in muddy soil (shady bog) and I'm probably going to sow sedge grass. I am interested in anyone's experience sowing seeds, especially if you're from a cold climate where the ground freezes in winter.

DoGooder

This message was edited Dec 6, 2011 4:53 PM

Have you ever tried wintersowing? That is interesting, and you can do it any time from now until spring. There is a good forum on that if you were interested. As far as sowing directly in the ground, I am not sure. I sow everything in the spring in the house.

Ok, just looked at your post. You are talking about a fairly large area like a lawn, or flower garden? Time of year etc. I would think would depend on the seed you are using. Maybe a landscaping forum? Or am I straying far from what you are thinking?

Jnette, yes I am sowing a large area. I did a word search for wintersowing but didn't find the thread you had mentioned. Does anyone have a link to that thread?

DoGooder

DoGooder.... I did a search under 'Communites>forums>winter sowing and came up with several... or if that doesn't work for you...give this a try:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/search.php?q=winter+sowing&submit=+Search+forums+

Nancy

Did you look in the forums in the communities? Wintersowing is one of the forums.

NF2932, thanks! I found the Wintersowing thread.

DoGooder

Jnette, I hadn't checked the Communities section. I'm new here and I don't know much about this site. I had typed wintersowing in the search field on the top right of this page.

DoGooder

As long as you found it. You are trying, that is good. It will all come to you. Just takes time. Welcome to DG.

Dogooder, look thru the communities and all of the forums in there. Just about something for every occasion. You will spend a lot of time tho so be prepared. LOL, Jeanette

Jeanette, it's great that there are so many communities so that members can find a niche. Right now I spend most of my time at Plant Identification because I'm a beginner gardener (about 15 months of gardening).

DoGooder

Well, it takes time. There are so many different plants and you have to learn by trial and error what will work for you. We all went through it. Or are. I see you are in MA, must be about a zone 6? A bit warmer than I am. But, every year the weather seems to be different. So, as long as you don't get things that can't take your coldest weather you will be fine.

Good luck and have fun. Jeanette

DoGooder... glad you found it... I agree with Jeanette... you can spend a lot of time in the communities... there is so much to be a part of... D'sG is a wonderful site and the folks here are all great... welcome! Nancy

Jnette, yes I'm in zone 6. I'm not sure how they figure out the zones whether it's just temperature or other factors, but it is much colder here than in Oregon where I grew up. We often have three feet of snow, always have at least 30 days of ice, and the weather feels much colder. Yet when I looked at a map today of the Northwest I see the range is zone 5-7 so it's hard to imagine because I always thought of the Northwest as having mild weather.

DoGooder

This message was edited Dec 9, 2011 8:15 PM

NF2932, thanks for the welcome! Everyone here has been nice. Dave's Garden is a much more congenial place than most political web sites that I've visited. I don't know why but maybe it's because most people like nature so talking about it and working with nature makes people happier.

DoGooder

Hi Everyone,
I thought I would pop in while I can. I will go back to the crazy life again in the am.

Hi Dogooder, glad you found us. You will like it here.

Does anyone know if you can root duranta this time of year. It is supposed to frost tomorrow and rather than watch mine wilt back to nubs, I thought I would try it. Any hints?

Thanks,
Linda

Hi ibartoo! Nice to meet you.

DoGooder

Dogooder I am in the high desert we have been having record lows for this time of year. It was 16 one night and we have about 2 1/2 months where night temps are in the low 20's normally. I usually have better luck sowing in the beginning of Feb. here. I sow the seeds in water bottles most of the time. If I start too early I have a problem keeping the right amount of moisture in the bottles and they often get algae and don't do as well. Feb. seems a bit brighter so they seem to respond well to the sun coming out.

Linda I brought my datura in the house after an early freeze. I left one outside and actually have two inside in the same pot. The new variety of LB rose that is red, keeps blooming and is a bright red. Love it. It was purchased from Lowes and did not have a proper name for the variety. I need to get a heat mat, to see if I have better luck germinating seeds outside earlier. Is it water proof?

hellnzn11, thanks for the advice about sowing seeds in water bottles! I had been considering growing seeds in plastic cookie and donut containers, but there's not much room for the plants to grow upwards in those containers. A water bottle would solve that problem. Also, I'm not sure if I should add holes for ventilation on the container top.

DoGooder

Just take the cap off.

When I was wintersowing, I found those water bottles they use for making wine the best. Think they are either half or whole gallons. But they are clear so you can see thru them real easy. However, gallon milk jugs work real well too. Just cut it so you have a hinge on it and put drain holes in them. Take the cap off and use a piece of duck tape to hold the lid shut.

The milk jugs would be probably best in a lot of sun.

Jnette, thanks for the advice! I didn't consider putting holes in the bottom for drainage, but that is best.

DoGooder