My biz partner Patricia equates plant propagation with visiting a nursery… “buying plants, that’s propagation right?” Well truth be told that’s pretty much how I do it too. After all it’s a plant lust mission to support our contributing nurseries, a JOB requirement!
My most successful (nonshoping) propagating experience thus far can be attributed to Mother Nature. Those plants that are supposed to be wicked reseeders? I rarely experience that side of their personality, perhaps due to my propensity for tidiness (I really do try to let them linger and go to seed). The exception is Euphorbia rigida, seedlings actually appeared! I’ve moved many of them around the garden, but love how these five plants placed themselves just so along the sidewalk and pathway in front of our house.
If you have a really good eye you might notice a sixth plant just getting started to the left of the steps.
That small success has me dreaming about making more plants, especially because I’ve been growing a hard-to-find vine which exceeded my wildest expectations in a single growing season. It also isn’t hardy in our region and is doomed to death this winter. May I present Passiflora ‘Sunburst’ which I bought last spring and now can’t imagine being without…
I’ve received all sorts of advice on taking cuttings and I even consulted my (previously unopened) copy of the Propagation Handbook.
And bought rooting hormone.
Several short cuttings went in this old take out container…
In a mix of 50/50 fresh potting soil and perlite (those buds have since been pinched, I didn’t see them until looking at this photo).
Three taller cuttings are in a small container with straight perlite. It’s in a ziploc to maintain moisture.
They’re all living on top of our refrigerator, which gets surprising warm (supplying the required bottom heat) and stays plenty bright throughout the day.
Will I be successful? Only time will tell, I have high hopes, but then reality hits. Like when I went to pinch those buds I spotted in the above photo and discovered several leaves had fallen off some of the cuttings, leaving just a bit of stem. I really have no idea what I’m doing. I’d love to hear your suggestions – after all I still have plenty of material to work with…
And I must admit my mind starts to run wild, looking around the garden and dreaming about what other plants I could experiment with. These three beautiful, but not hardy, plants seem like promising candidates, you know, if I knew what I was doing…
Oh to have a garden covered in orange passion flowers next summer!
