Plant Propagation: The Basics Spring 2016

I know that had nothing to do with propagation, but you were talking about your grinder etc. Also, wanted to cut it off before I lost it.

My sister just got back from Costa Rica and is all hot about gardening. She was looking at my seeds and just trying to decide what to plant this year. I should have told her not to bring me over any plants like she did last year. She didn't get hers done until after I was done with mine and then brought me all her leftovers. So, I was going around poking those in my planters. Pretty crowded. But, I can;t stand to see plants not used. They did look nice.

Hopefully I will get a lot of my stuff planted tomorrow. Jen

Jen )) Cut it off ??? hmmm lol )))) Why ? are you cutting off an arm for prosthetic one ?

Oh well I have to read that a couple more times LOL

I get the part about discussing anything we want , good luck with the plants ,

holy moly! it looks like a turbine LOL Jen, how are these doing for you>?

Nice looking cuttings and a pot plant ,,


Here's the happenings here
1 and 3 are my toy back together There is some detail work to do when I get turn the Bucket upside down all together Heavy bolt on left attaches to the drill .(already pre fit , it worked

2 How about saying some thing to Ma nature , Oh Man !!!,is that gal in a mood or what ? ,,

Ma Nature didnt want you to think you were forgotten for such a mild winter Ju! Green here, but people are poisoning meridians on the hwy so they wont have to mow, I guess. Too many flower pickin tourists down south...

Well Kitt one could say it is better than poisoning the Tourists , but ,,,, eventually that happens anyway?

My what happy conversations. Oh, take your old arm JU. Can't have any fun. And that was going to be the best of the class.

Deb, what is that one on the left? The first one? Very pretty leaf, don't recall it.

We traded you weather patterns JU. You got our snow, and we got your 70 degrees. Love it. Thanks. jen

Jnette ,,,, Smarty (Tongue Roll) lol

Someone cancelled spring here...good grief.

pocket freak cold air here tonight ,even with the wind , possible minus 27 wind chill

Robin until you posted that , all thought all the Females here had been conspiring with Mother Nature to complain at us guys ,,lol my mind ....

Are you kidding Ju, everyone wants you to get out there and grind stuff up. You and gears are a mulch made in heaven.

Jen that's some pretty advanced science for 3rd and 4th grade, holy smokes. But then again (I'll speak for myself), I'm old.

well spring is here and I am all worn out. will check in and upload some flower pics tomorrow

Packin it in for the night

Look forward to the flowers Gypsi ,,

Robin , some of the plants agree

I thought so too Robin, but gosh you know that age is probably when they pick that stuff up the fastest. Like computer stuff. Making a new app for the phone??? One thing tho, that is not the regular school. It is a charter school. Only certain kids can get in and, yes, they are more advanced than the others. Actually the state just went thru a big law suit about those schools. About them being selective in who can go to them, and yet they are supported out of the State school budget. So far they can do it. I am sure it will continue way beyond the school year. This one anyway.

So sorry your weather has turned. If it is any comfort tho, these 2 weeks we have so far a wonderful and on their way to you all. Think they take another couple of days to get there. jen

wow you guys with the snow I feel so bad for you. It is getting up to 80 here, and I already have brought up Momma EE and red poodle hibisicus to harden off out on the front porch. Jen, first pic is firespike. second pic is what I sent you?

In the greenhouse. Just bathed 5 dogs, need to de-stink the house while the sun shines.

Does anyone here propagate hibiscus? I've heard they are easy to propagate by cuttings, any advice?
Yesterday I scored some cuttings that had been laying around a few days. The leaves on them were all wilted. I recut the ends, removed all leaves but a few at the top, and struck them in water. Today most of them seem to have "unwilted" (for lack of a better term). What do I do now? Would they have a better chance of rooting if I put them in pots of soil, with maybe some rooting agent on the cut ends? Or should I just leave them in water? What say you, propagating experts?

Jen, I see why you've gotten mixed up as to which thread you were posting on, pretty much all the same people here as on the Back Porch Fireside thread. I will get back there before too long, I hope!

Vern (Rusty)

You can just leave them in water Vern, I have rooted Hibiscus both ways, in water and in vermiculite. Debra has a bubbler method that works really well for her. My vermiculite is using a large plastic pot with drainage holes, filled with vermiculite and a smaller clay pot without drainage holes.

Sink the clay pot into the center of the pre-moistened vermiculite. Using a stick, pencil or chopstick (my tool of choice) poke holes where your cutting will be placed around but not in the clay pot. Since you've already prepped the cuttings, dip them into rooting hormone and place them into the holes provided. Firm up the vermiculite around the cuttings and fill the center clay pot with water. Place the whole thing is shade until new growth appears and proceed to pot them up individually. Keep the newly potted cuttings in shade for a couple of days then introduce more sun gradually.

That is a neat technique Robin! What else will it work on besides hibiscus?

Rannunclus Ficaria I thought were wood violets , yeah ,, the thought thing , But it is a bloom ,
Last nights freak freeze encouraged this and the Alfalfa to bloom
I am waiting on seedlings to show true leaves and
It made 60 degrees here today and was nice for a few hours ,
I covered the lettuce with chicken wire , removed about three jugs destroyed by small animals ,,
Cleaned up the bed a little ,

My grinder gear card fell through last night when I attached the drill , so re seal and reset some screws to to hold it solid . One good thing all the moving parts and gears stayed balanced ,,
My red coneflower plant is back , and most were not bothered last night at all , Some Daylily tips on younger plants burned some , ,

I am waiting on being close enough to the house to see my sprouts! Bronze leaf mustard appears to be feeding the bees right now along with a salvia...marigolds of many persuasions are doing better than I expected- still trying to figure out what I gave her to plant... these things grew in 5 wks mostly.

Debra, did you attach some pictures? Guess from what you said, I thought so. Really would have liked to see the Firespike.

Debra, Robin said you use an aerator to root your cuttings? Just a snall aquarium pump and a tubing? I haven't done that in years. Maybe I will try it again. My cuttings are just sitting there doing nothing. Maybe thinking about it.

Candy just raised a racket so Bob looked out the slider and there were 2 big elk out here grazing. Both cows. That is unless they were bucks, stags or whatever you call male elk, who just shed their antlers. Bob said they do that like the deer do, and this is April. Maybe. . . . .

He said there is that aquarium pump down in the basement so I guess I will try that again. I finally decided to start my seeds this morning. I needed some of my stuff, trays etc and guess what? Nobody can seem to remember where they were put last fall. Most of them were new, bought last year, and had never been used. Darn, had to order a few other things. But, we really don't have enough room to lose stuff, so don't know what could have happened to them. The trays I like went way up in price with all the vendors last year so we didn't buy any. Well, all of a sudden I happened to notice those same trays with a vendor I use a lot dropped back down $3. Probably all of them ended up with those trays sitting in their storage all winter. Good. I hope so. Anyway, I ordered a half a dozen from them.

I use chop sticks too! LOL I have quite the collection :P I Have a Tomato Patch! I love Joe, he busted his back digging the clay up for me. *sigh*
I take my hibiscus cuttings from the ends that have bloomed out, stick them in a styro foam cup full of moistened vermiculte, as far as it will go, and set the cup down in a tall plastic bag, and twist tie it and let it sit for awhile then I untwist it to hraden off and then I move it to a pot when it is hard to come out when I tug gently on it. That is all I do with those. My bubbler holds passion vines, mexcian ruella, and firespike until root nubs, then they get potted up. I have done the hibiscus method for three years and do it with jasmine and lantana as well.

Thanks for the info! I guess they will have to stay in just water for a coupe of days, until I have time to find some vermiculite and a clay pot without drainage holes. Or at least some vermiculite, to try Debra's method. There are plenty of cuttings to experiment with. About half and half, soft end cuttings and woody cuttings. We'll see what happens.
Vern (Rusty)

TA DA!!!! Doing a happy dance before bed. we are both so tired. I cleaned out the north flower bed, dug up some trees and vines, whew.
Kitt, are you so lucky to have all that or what? Exciting! Bet you are glad to be home..or almost there anyway.
Jen, I did n't attach photos about those cuttings, but I have in the past.
Robin, between my long knife and my chopsticks, and my poor old worn out scizzors, I am always ready to poke around LOL
Wow Ju, a bloom! I am so excited to see you guys might be warming up soon..
I got a little bitty bump from my desert rose seed.. so cute! Now I know they are viable.Moved a bunch of tropicals to the east facing porch out front, and got all the tubs filled up, took cuttings from the shrub trim Joe did.. I have cuttings from the white Rose of Sharon and the pink with red center rooting now, and can't wait to see my double pink bloom this year. The last Pic is of the firespike last fall,Jen.

This sun has become strong enough to burn! My knee turned red while driving! My thoughts are that you guys farther into cooler weather are about to start wearing sunbonnets and oil to go outdoors its so strong! I love your garden Mipii!! It would be ez to get carried away and overplant - from personal experience...ulp, time for work awhile...

Thanks Kitt, I love the photos of your garden too. I'm an overplant kind of girl. If you were planting strictly for esthetic purposes, you'd make sure to have plenty of negative space. The garden space I have has been allotted to me slowly, that's my excuse for packing it all in.

The shrubs in my backyard space are all only a few years old, I like to start things small and affordable.

Bring on the sunbonnets!

Vern, I found mine at regular superstores. Once you've got the pot in pot set up, you've got it for good (well for a long time anyway), it's reusable. I've got about a 3" space between the two pots for cuttings.

Debra, doing a happy dance for you! It's going to be fun for us to follow along while you re-arrange and make new beds.

Debra as you know weather is strange here (and many places , ) I have fun reading your going's on , also ,

Robin agree ,,Let's all get together and imitate Snoopy doing a Happy Dance ,,

Jen ,, Yeah , youngin's are are a quick time with the doings anymore , faster than ever . From fake limbs to growing them with Genetic Engineering ,,, From GM to GMO People ,??? lol VARoooooom !!!!

Propagation at work. Raspberry Crazy Ants LOVED the heat mat I had pots on, all of the refrigerated stevia seeds and the other refrigerated seeds that I put in pots on heat mat were a total fail, but when I lifted up a plant on that shelf to move it out front to be easier to water, it became obvious I had ants coming from somewhere. So I had to clear the greenhouse. On the propagation front the small hive I thought was a dead out has been colonized by a nice swarm, I am now going through about 8 pounds of sugar a day feeding a total of 6 hives, lol. Also on the propagation front my Mexican flame vine dropped into a water tray on the pond in the greenhouse and put on some real nice roots in several spots, I did leave them in the greenhouse on a water tray. I cleared all of the other plants out and poured boiling water on the shelf full of crazy ant nests. (those ants eat electrical wire insulation and cause fires, and my exterminator says they are still figuring out how to kill them. I have found boiling water highly effective.) So a few photos and bed.

Gypsi , Sounds like a bunch of hassle ,,, On the bright side , maybe you could get a grant and have college Entomologists open a study class , about Ants and what they do in Texas ,?
I could use a cat poop regenerator myself (always something)

Only unfortunate to hear Gypsi , But I am sure you will be at it taking with Texas resolve and fortitude ,, only another thing to work through ?

Well, this has been a most interesting read. For some reason I was expecting some tips about how to propagate plants from cuttings, or what have you.

Since I was just kinda skimming after awhile, I don't know who asked or mentioned some of the following but here are some comments in no particular order.

1. Asparagus: I first grew it when I lived in CO. The last time I grew it was when I lived in Austin, TX. Definitely different climates, elevations, etc. So I guess you just never know.

2. Hellebores: Love 'em. They don't need snow (or whatever whoever mentioned) to bloom. But they are wonderful to see them as an early sign of late winter with spring nearby. I bought my 1st 2 at an 'ugly duckling' sale for $3. They have grown and grown. Bought another one a few months ago but it's not in the ground yet. And it was way more than $3. Maybe it's b/c they are popular here in Dallas, dunno, but they are super expensive. Have a neighbor a few blocks down and her Hellebores are spreading and making babies. Maybe I can beg, borrow or steal.

3. Lilacs: When I was a child (ok, the 1st time) we lived in IL and had lilacs galore. Used to take them to my teachers. I think Wisteria is Texas' answer to lilacs.

4. Squash or was it zucchini: Whoever said it doesn't do well in TX I must have misunderstood you. It wouldn't stop growing in Austin but haven't tried it here in Dallas.

5. And there was something else but I've already forgotten says Ms. Smarty Plants.

Question: Is there a good or preferably easy way to propagate cedar sage? I'd like to just cut mine in half and move it but that's not a good idea. Can it grow from a cutting and if so, how?

Thanks, Ms. Buttinski.

Hello tx, we stray a lot here ,, I would not know about Texas Cedar sage ,
and come on in any ol time you get the notion ,,

Zucchini is a type of squash and I've successively grown it here and many DGs in the Dallas Fort Worth area grown it too. The only issue is the Squash Vine Borer but that is problem anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains.

I have grown Aspargus here also...it died from neglect.

I have a lilac bush but it has never flowered, we don't get enough chill hours....

squash borers are pretty awful out here, but my butternut and buttercup squashes don't seem to get them, yellow squash and zucchini I haven't even started a seed this year, anyone have a cure for borers?

I dont grow cedar sage- the limestone down here doesnt exist like the caprock in Dallas. Pines and sweetgum, no juniper and cedar. Salvia greggii. It throws seeds all season and volunteers. Salvia and the lite sages are less grateful than mint for propating, slower, but as long as you are patient, as long as they have the nutrients they need in the soil they will be planting in, you shouldnt have any probs with cuttings. I like the double pot method above, lots of potential there, but that african blue basil was a water rooted kitchen window piece til I stuck it in ground mid Feb. SharonluvsWorms is temp mia, and she gardens in Las Vegas challenges.

Gypsi, you have a lot of greenery. Looks like some nice shade trees. What is the big leaved plant? Looks like a Datura. Probably not.

Gosh Debra, bet you guys are beat. So much work. But your yard is taking shape. Are you not going to have a patio there again? Do you have a hori hori knife? They are such great tools for what you are doing. My favorite. You can cut, saw, dig, measure just anything with them.
TX Child,
I noticed your handle and in this thread it won't last long if you stick around. As you probably noticed they get shortened and yours is a prime candidate. The one I was surprised at is the asparagus growing in Tx. I never would have believed it. Always thought that was a plant that needed the cold stratification even as a big plant. Same with Lilac. One of my favorites. They grow a lot up here. But, almost everyone from your area that mentions them will get them to grow, but not that great if they don't bloom. But, another one you all have proven me wrong about that very thing is the Heleborus. They grow up thru the snow and ice here. But, people on here all have them and most of you are from that area. Sooooo, you never know. Jen