By Barbara Ott, Butte County Master Gardener, March 4, 2016.
Humans have been observant students of nature for millennia. Over time we have selected grasses that produce heavy-headed grains and we've turned tiny bright flowers into large garden show-offs. The development of seeds by hybridization can be done by anyone willing to selectively move pollen by hand from plant to plant within a plant family. Learning how a plant grows, when it reproduces, and if it is an annual or perennial will aid anyone who wants to experiment with propagating seeds to make new plants.
Plants that form a mass (such as day lilies) can be divided, usually in the early spring, by using a sharp shovel to dig into the mass and separate it into parts to form new plants.
Plants that can be propagated via leaf cuttings (like African violets) can be started at any time by taking a leaf, setting it into soilless plant medium (such as perlite) and keeping it moist, but not wet.
Hydrangeas can be propagated in the spring by pruning off five- to six-inch sections of nonflowering shoots that have two to three pairs of leaves (take your cuttings from close to the bottom of the plant, as woodier cuttings generally produce more roots). Remove the leaves directly above a node (a leaf-growing bump on the stem). Clip the remaining leaves in half, to help increase root production. Fill five-inch pots with rooting medium; and press the cuttings into the medium, keeping the leaves above the soil surface. Water and place under plastic or glass to make a humid environment. Old cracked aquariums can serve as “greenhouses” for cuttings. Place the Hydrangea cuttings in bright filtered light. Once roots develop, a new hydrangea is ready.
To propagate salvia from basal stem cuttings (cuttings near the plant's base), clip in early- to mid-spring. Strip leaves from stems and snip off the shoot tip. Make sure you have a node near the bottom of the stem. Place the stem into a small pot filled with a 50/50 measure of sand and perlite, and keep it warm and moist. The resulting plant will bloom that summer. To make a soft stem tip cutting from salvia, make the cutting in early autumn following the procedure described above. Autumn cuttings need to be wintered over in a warm environment, and then planted in the spring.
Keep in mind that warmth from an electric seed pad will help cuttings root and grow readily.
If you want more plants but don't want to purchase them, make some of your own!
- Author: Molly Nakahara
Most of us have built our greenhouses to create warm places to start our seeds and grow our seedlings when the weather outside is cool. In a region that has seen snow on Memorial Day Weekend, the winter-time greenhouse is critical to establishing plants that are ready to go in the ground once the danger of frost has passed. But by July, these same structures can become oppressively hot in the heat of the day rendering them useless for plant propagation.
The vegetables and flowers that can over-winter in our region germinate, in general between 70 and 85° Fahrenheit. (There are a couple of exceptions, such as cabbage, which will germinate at temperatures as high as 95°F.) Starting these seeds in a hot greenhouse during August is a bad idea. Though some seeds may germinate, you will need to spend a lot of time watering and the risk of drying out your seedlings is very high. Check out the “Knotts Handbook for Vegetable Growers” for more information on germination temperatures and requirements (http://extension.missouri.edu/sare/documents/KnottsHandbook2012.pdf.)
A simple solution is to start your seeds outdoors. Yep, that's right- outdoors. Just move a few greenhouse benches outside (in a deer protected area) and start your seeds there. If temperatures remain in the high 90's, you may want to consider starting your fall starts in an area that receives afternoon shade. Seeds will readily germinate and seedlings will grow well adapted to the outdoor weather.
The larger the cell size, the slower the dry down. Try and use larger cells if you don't want to water multiple times a day. You will use more potting mix, but may be able to get away with one, well timed, thorough watering. If you are struggling to find time to water adequately, think about installing a simple, automated system. A battery operated, spigot timer can be purchased in most hardware stores and a “low-flow,” rotary sprinkler will emit small droplets that won't damage freshly seeded trays. Pound in a t-post and zip-tie the sprinkler to the top for a quick and dirty watering system. An online search will yield many options for a more advanced greenhouse watering system.
Another greenhouse cooling option is to place shade cloth over the plastic of your structure. Shade cloth is a knit polyethylene fabric that can be stretched over a greenhouse or hoop-house. It is reusable and available in densities from 30% shade up to 90% shade. A study by North Carolina State University showed that lower density shade cloth was as effective as higher density at keeping temperatures cooler (https://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/resources/HighTunnels.pdf.) This is useful information considering the cost of shade cloth increases along with its density.
Whether you start your seeds in a well-ventilated, shaded greenhouse or outdoors, the main thing is to to keep temperatures and moisture levels optimal for seed germination. In the foothills, you'll want to have over-wintering plants in the ground by the end of September so if you haven't started your seeds yet, now is the time to do it!
- Author: Betsy Buxton
I keep back issues of my favorite gardening magazines as do a lot of gardeners. We justify this magazine “hoarding” by telling ourselves that they are needed “in case I want to refer back”; but rarely do we look at anything in the stack again! Well, I’m here to suggest that we need to periodically check out those not outdated articles, and this blog serves as a good reason!
Years ago I subscribed to Flower & Garden, which was published back in the 1990’s – I know since my subscription ended with the January, 1996 issue. In the 1990’s, it seems that most people thought of succulents as exotic plants. These were meant to be carefully tended, shaded from the direct sun, kept from harsh temperatures, and planted in sandy, rocky soil.
Interesting, but since a lot of succulents come from either desert-like climates or cold, windy alpine mountains, it does seem that the coddling “required” was a bit much. Where are the succulents growing in your yard? In the full sun, away from winds (try that in Suisun or Fairfield!), in crumbly semi-moist soil? Mine are growing like weeds in pots outside in regular potting soil; they get water when “everyone else” does and they don’t get sheltered from the elements! Nope, mine thrive where they are, thanks!
The article continues on about picking out the right size pots: for a barrel type cactus, use a pot 1 to 2 inches wider than the plant; for vertical type plants such as aloes use a pot ½ the height of the plant.
I don’t have many specimen succulents here. I have creepers mixed with verticals and here and there they are interspersed plants that grow wider than tall. Everything spills, and tumbles out of the pots so that one succulent looks like it belong with the plants in the next pot over. One of my succulents is rangy, with leaves spaced a good 4 inches apart and a rather strange shade of pale green; not an attractive plant BUT when it blooms – wow! – pale yellow bell-shaped flowers abound in a semi-panicle form. It’s just beautiful! And then the flowers are through and it becomes its rather nondescript self.
Aloes, Agaves, Crassulas, Echeverias, and Sempervivums are plant groups that fall into the succulent category. Come to the plant exchange on October 12, and see the variety there. Thanks to Elizabeth who came to my house and harvested cuttings, there should be a goodly bunch for you to select from. Come and take the free plantlets and stay to listen to the various mini-talks by the Master Gardeners of Solano County.
Hope to see you there!
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
On Saturday, March 10th, the Master Gardeners held a class on Plant Propagation in the Horticultural Building at Solano College. The class was divided into four sections: layering, dividing, cuttings and seeds. This presentation was open to the public and 25 people signed up and about 45 showed up. The morning went extremely well as the Master Gardeners came loaded with garden plants and cuttings to support and supply each of the four “stations”. The participants divided into 9 or 10 at each section and we began demonstrating and planting. Every 20 minutes or so, the group then rotated to the next section to learn specific techniques. It did not take long before everyone was engaged, planting, asking questions and just having a grand time.
My Master Gardener partner Kris Moore, and I hosted the seed table. We talked about the benefits of planting with seeds, starting seeds, saving seeds, seed catalogs, seed tapes, reading seed packets, seed varieties, different ways to start hard outer-shell seeds and how a seed germinates. We demonstrated planting a plastic flat (lined with newspaper) with vegetable seeds, placed in rows and marked with plastic labels (name and harvest date from the seed packet). We provided peat pots, soil, seeds and water for those who wanted to plant seeds to take home.
During our presentation, we mentioned how much fun it is to collect seeds from friends and family to plant in your garden. It is an economical way to grow plants and seeing the results will remind you of the person who shared. My yard contains many plants that have come from other gardens. The photo with this article is a double hollyhock discovered close to our house, that we collected seeds from then planted in our backyard.
The Master Gardeners taught 45 people the joy of creating plants by layering, cuttings, dividing roots, and rhizomes and sharing seeds. It will be a busy spring for all who participated.
- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
If you love to garden, and I know you do if you are reading this blog, then you might be interested in this...the Master Gardener Plant Propagation Workshop. We will hold this hands-on workshop on March 10th from 10:00 a.m. until noon. The location of the workshop is the Solano Community College Horticulture building (1000). The street address is 4000 Suisun Valley Road in Fairfield. It is a FREE workshop!
At the workshop, participants will be shown techniques on how to propagate plants. We will cover these areas:
- why we propagate plants at home
- seeds (sexual propagation)
- division (things like iris, ornamental grasses, orchids)
- stem and leaf cuttings (African violets, butterfly bush)
- air layering and layering (strawberries, airplane plants)
The best part of the workshop will be that you can take home the plants you propagate! The Master Gardeners hope you can join us at this fun, hands-on event.
Please be sure to RSVP with me, Jennifer Baumbach, at 707-784-1321 or jmbaumbach@ucdavis.edu