Plant Breeding Guide for Beginners
When you start planting, buying enough plants to cover the ground can seem very costly . Instead, do what the pros do: cut and plant stems and leaves, divide roots, and use soil layering to grow more plants you already have.
Aside from the money and trips to the greenhouse that you will save, propagating already successful plants in your garden or windowsill makes sense. You know these plants grow in your special mixture of sun, shade and soil, so why not give them a few more places to do the same?
All three methods are simple and effective when used on the right plant. Before you start pruning stems and digging up roots, google the propagation methods of the plant you are working with to see which one works best.
Stem or leaf cuttings
One of the simplest ways to propagate plants is to give a stem or leaf to shoot roots. Many common houseplants , including philodendrons, Christmas cacti, and African violets , are easily propagated by stem cuttings. Simply remove all leaves from the bottom of the stem, submerge them in water, and wait until roots appear. With succulents it’s even easier – you only need one fallen leaf. Let it dry, place it on some potting soil and spray it with water from time to time. A brand new plant will grow straight out of an old leaf.
The same methods work with outdoor plants and even trees, but they need a little more attention. In its detailed guide to growing plants from cuttings, This Old House recommends using a rooting medium such as perlite to speed up the process. They also highlight the importance of timing, especially for flowering shrubs like geranium and forsythia. Make sure you harvest the cuttings at the right time during the growing season. If you’re not sure where this is the case, you can help the program expand capacity at the local university .
Root division
If you have a plant that is out of control, root splitting is best. With this method, you simply split the existing root network into smaller bunches and then replant each bunch as a separate plant. This is especially good for plants that take a long time to grow from seed because you are not starting from scratch.
You can find a detailed explanation of root division in the same spreading guide for this old house , but the basic idea is pretty simple. You need to dig out as much of the plant’s root system as possible while keeping it intact. Then you will gently divide the root bunch into smaller pieces. This method works with everything from indoor snake plants to rooted peony bushes , but the subtleties will vary from plant to plant – be sure to check your plant-specific guide before getting started.
Soil layering
This method may be the simplest of the three, but it is more difficult to explain in words. Let Christine Stecker, North Carolina’s Alamance County Outreach Horticultural Lead Program Coordinator,show you how to do this :
Usually you take a low-lying branch, scoop up a spot on the base with a knife, bend it to the ground, bury it in moist soil and wait. Over time, the stain you tousled will take root of its own, increasing the size of your bush without any effort on your part. This article was originally published in 2010 and was updated on May 5, 2021 to include updated links and more complete information, and to align with the current Lifehacker style.