By Victoria Smith
September so soon? My garden has grown by leaps and bounds this year, and my little flower farm has tripled in size. I’m picking hundreds of flowers each week, filling vases and jars, starting next year’s seeds, and teaching flower arranging classes.
I recently read that the joy of gardening isn’t in getting it right, it’s in getting gloriously lost.
Gardeners dream about the future, making mental lists of what to add, what to change, and how to make our gardens better, whatever better may mean to us. The work is hard, but the reward is beauty that we can share with others.
Gardeners are generous with their time and knowledge. We want everyone to feel the magic we feel and to know the satisfaction of growing and giving, and that begins with plants. You can grow plants from seeds, buy baby plants at the nursery, order plants online, and trade plants with neighbors. You can also make plants from the ones you – or another gardener – already own.
Here are two ways to get more plants at little to no cost. The first is by taking stem cuttings from a plant, rooting them in soil or water, and then transplanting them into a pot or into the garden. This can be done with a wide variety of both annual plants and perennials, including flowers, shrubs, vines, houseplants, and succulents. The second way is by dividing a single plant into two or more plants. You can find videos of how to do this on YouTube and other websites.
Starting plants from cuttings
This method works for perennials as well as annuals like coleus, geraniums, and other frost-tender plants. I suggest practicing with an easy to root plant, such as lavender, mint, rosemary, or sage. You’ll need clean small pots (4-6 inches tall) with drainage holes, clean sharp garden shears or scissors, potting soil, and powdered rooting hormone (optional but recommended).
1. Fill your pots with lightly dampened potting soil. Use a pencil to make a deep hole in the soil.
2. Cut a 3-6 inch section of the upper stem from a healthy plant, right below a leaf node. Place the stem in a glass of water as soon as you cut it, to keep it hydrated.
3. Remove all but the upper two sets of leaves. Dip the lower stem into water, then into rooting hormone, and insert it into the soil.
4. Gently press the soil around the stem and add water. Place pot in a bright area away from direct sunlight. Keep soil damp until roots begin to grow out of bottom of pot, approximately two to six weeks.
5. When the plant has a good root system (tip it out of the pot to check), move the plant to a larger pot or place it directly into your garden.
A more advanced method of propagation by cuttings is used for shrubs, roses, and other woodier perennials, including hydrangeas, camellias, rhododendrons, fruiting shrubs like blueberries, and vining plants including clematis, raspberries and grapes. Information can be found on the internet about specific plants and species.
Starting plants by division
Many clump-forming perennial plants can be divided in autumn (mid-September through October) to create additional plants. This works well for daylilies, coneflowers, daisies, Siberian iris, phlox, and others. You’ll want to divide and replant them no later than six weeks before your first frost date, so they can settle in and develop a good root system to survive the winter.
1. Before dividing your plants, prepare the space you will be planting them: either a new hole in the garden or a new pot filled with potting soil. If digging a new hole, it should be several inches wider and deeper than the root ball of the plant.
2. Using a shovel or garden fork, carefully dig the old plant and remove from the soil. Carefully divide the roots or corms/tubers with your hands, with a shovel, or with a garden knife. Place the division into the new hole and backfill with the same soil it is planted in. Return the original plant to its hole. Water well and gently tamp down the soil.
Here are a few more perennials that can be propagated by division: agapanthus, anemone, aster, delphinium, echinacea, euphorbia, geranium, helianthus, hosta, iris, phlox, rudbeckia, salvia, and sedum.
If you don’t have plants of your own to propagate, ask your friends and neighbors if they have any to share. Or reach out to the garden club, post a “looking for” ad on NextDoor or Facebook, and visit the community garden to find out more about who’s gardening in your neighborhood. Gardeners are friendly people and, as the saying goes, a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet. I’m available to answer your gardening questions during Senior Lunch at the community center on Wednesdays and Fridays, from 12 – 1 p.m.
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