plant propagation powerpoint by gil lopez for @queenslibrary

GREENING QUEENS LIBRARYGIL LOPEZ, COMPOST ASSISTANT

Plant Propagation Workshop

Propagation Methods

Sexual propagation Seeds Spore

Asexual Propagation Division Cutting Grafting Layering Special Techniques

Micro propagation Tissue Culture

Sexual Propagation

Seeds Seed Structure Seed Sowing Depth Seed Starting Equipment

Spores grow ferns

Seed Structure

Seed Sowing Depths

Seeds should not be buried deeper than their diameter

Some seeds need light to germinate and should not be covered at all including: Ageratum, Astilbe, Balloon flower, Cleome, Coleus,

Coreopsis, Dill, Impatiens, Lettuce, Mexican sunflower (aka tithonia), Ornamental peppers, Petunias, Savory, Shasta daisy, Snapdragon, Strawflower, Stock, Sweet alyssum, Yarrow

Seed Staring Equipment

Containers Flats, Trays, Pots and Cell Packs Milk cartons, yogurt cups, egg cartons (need holes in bottom) Peat, Paper or Cow Pots Soil Blockers and Blocks

Seed Starting or Potting Soil Mixes Peat moss, compost, perlite, and/or sphagnum moss

Lights Seeds need 14 hours of strong light a day for healthy compact growth

Heating Mats and Cables Most seeds germinate faster in warm soil (70-75 degrees)

Capillary Mats Wicks water up to soil and maintains even and steady soil moisture

Fertilizer Half-strength solution of fish or seaweed fertilizer or compost tea

Get The Timing Down

To calculate when to sow your seeds, go to our seed-starting chart, print it out and then fill in the blanks. Then you will have a planting plan you can follow through the season.

http://www.organicgardening.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Seedsaverchart_2.pdf



Seed Starting Tips

Place Sure Bets Some plants lend themselves to home germination better than others. Surefire vegetables include basil,

broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chives, leeks, lettuce, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Some reliable annual flowers are alyssum, cosmos, marigolds, and zinnias. Perennials include Shasta daisies, columbines, and hollyhocks.

Gather containers Reuse last year's nursery flats if you have some around. Otherwise, any container 2 or 3 inches deep will

do. Punch holes for drainage into the bottom of containers and set them into trays. Protect against plant disease by thoroughly cleaning all used containers: Wash them in hot, soapy water, and rinse with a dilute solution of household bleach or distilled white vinegar.

Pick the right growing medium You can buy bags of seed-starter mix or you can make your own seed-starting mix by blending equal parts of

perlite, vermiculite, and peat. Add 1/4 teaspoon of lime to each gallon of mix to neutralize the acidity of the peat. You'll eventually want to repot most of your seedlings into larger containers before setting them into the garden. But lettuce, melons, and cucumbers are finicky about being transplanted and should go directly from the original containers into the garden. When starting these fussier plants, always add two parts well-aged, screened compost to your mix to give them a healthy beginning.

Sow carefully Moisten your medium in the containers before sowing the seeds. Next, drop seeds onto the surface of the

mix, spacing them as evenly as possible. Cover the seeds to a depth about three times the thickness of the seeds. Some seeds, such as ageratum, alyssum, impatiens, petunias, and snapdragons, should not be covered at all because they need light in order to germinate.

Cool down Seedlings don't have to stay as warm as germinating seeds. Move them away from radiators and air vents,

or off the heating mat, as soon they have germinated.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/14-tips-starting-your-own-seeds

Seed Starting Tips

Top it off Lightly sprinkle milled sphagnum moss, a natural fungicide, over everything to

protect against damping-off, a fungal disease that rots seeds and seedlings. In the case of seeds that need light to germinate, sprinkle the moss first and then drop the seeds onto the moss.

Keep seeds cozy Cover the flats with plastic wrap or glass to keep the environment humid and place

them near a heat vent or on a heat mat made especially for seed starting. Most seeds germinate well at about 70 degrees F.

Keep them damp Mist with a spray bottle or set the trays into water to wick up the moisture from

below. Lighten up

At the first signs of sprouting, uncover and move the containers to a bright spot—a sunny window, a greenhouse, or beneath a couple of ordinary fluorescent shop lights (4-footers with two 40-watt bulbs). The lights are worthwhile, especially if you live in the North. They provide a steady source of high-intensity light. Short days restrict window light, and your seedlings need 12 to 16 hours of light a day. Suspend the lights just 2 inches above the plants and gradually raise them as the seedlings mature. If plants have to stretch or lean toward the light, they can become weak and spindly. To turn the lights on and off at the same time each day, hook them up to an electric timer.http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/14-tips-starting-your-own-seeds

Seed Starting Tips

Feed them If you are using a soilless mix without compost, begin to fertilize your seedlings as

soon as they get their first true leaves. Water with a half-strength solution of liquid fish/seaweed fertilizer every week or two.

Give them room If the seedlings outgrow their containers or crowd one another, repot them into

larger containers filled with a mix that includes compost. Extract the seedlings with a narrow fork or flat stick, and handle by their leaves and roots to avoid damaging the fragile stems.

Pet them Lightly ruffling seedlings once or twice a day with your hand or a piece of cardboard

helps them to grow stocky and strong. Or, set up a small fan to gently, continuously blow on your seedlings.

Toughen them up AKA Hardening Off. About 1 week before the plants are to go outside, start

acclimating them to living outside. On a warm spring day move the containers to a shaded, protected place, such as a porch, for a few hours. Each day—unless the weather is horrible—gradually increase the plants exposure to sun and breeze. At the end of the week leave them out overnight; then transplant them into the garden.

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/14-tips-starting-your-own-seeds

http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/bryan/anr/documents/AsexualPropagation_000.pdf

Types Reasons Why

DivisionCuttingLayeringGrafting

Clone desirable specimens

Propagate difficult germination plants

Create larger plantsSave desirable plants

from diseaseMaintain genetic traits

Asexual Propagation

Propagation by Division

When to Divide? Reduced plant size or reduced flowering Dead areas or sparse bottom foliage Depends on the species

Divide Spring blooming plants in the fall. Divide Fall blooming plants in the spring.

Preparation Before Dividing Water plants thoroughly Prune stems and foliage

Lifting Use sharp shovel or spading fork Cut in on all sides of plant 4-6 inches from crown Pry under plant

Separation Remove loose soil Remove dead leaves and stems Note root system of plant: Spreading, Clumping, Rhizome, Tuber


Spreading Plants Clumping Plants


Many slender roots from center of plant

Plants can be invasiveCut with shears or

pull apart by handAsters, bee balm,

lamb’s ear, purple coneflower, and many common perennials

Many fleshy roots from crown of plant

Can crowd own centers

Keep one bud/eye with each division

Astilbes, hostas, daylilies, ornamental grasses

Dividing Spreading and Clumping Plants

Rhizome Plants Tuber Plants


‘Horizontal stems’, primarily bearded Iris

Divide after flowering through fall

Inspect for disease and insect damage

Cut back leaves to ‘fans’

Replant with top of rhizome above soil

Enlarged roots for storage

Divide with sharp knifeEach root must contain

stem tissue and budCan be replanted or

storedDahlias

Dividing Rhizome and Tuber Plants

Propagation by Cutting

Types of Cuttings Hardwood, Semi-hardwood, Softwood, Herbaceous

Types of herbaceous cuttings Leaf, Leaf-bud, Cane, Stem, Root

The goal is to reduce transpiration while maintaining photosynthesis

This is often done with mist systems or humidity tents


Herbaceous Cuttings

Can make numerous cuttings from parent plantCuttings 2-6 inches longRemove bottom leaves, leaving 2-4 leaves at the topRoots will grow from the node where leaves were

removedBenefits from high humidityBottom heat helps speed rootingPlace cutting in growing medium in a flatWaterCover with glass or plasticWhen new shoots sprout, move plants to nursery row


Rooting Hormones

Not required but can speed the processDiscovered in the 1930s by Dutch scientistsThe chemical is called indole-3-butyric acid, or I3BWillow Trees

Soak yellow tipped shoots in warm water for a few hours Make a tea with the bark

Salicylic Acid Found in the bark of willow trees Originally used to make aspirin – crush 1 aspirin in 1 gallon of water

Honey Soak cutting in diluted honey for 2-3 hours Soak in water for 15 minutes Plant into soil

Propagation by Layering

Layering is the process of forming roots on a daughter plant while it is still attached to the parent

More complicated than cutting but useful when for propagating large pieces or for plants that form roots slowly.

Types of Layering Ground Layering Air Layering


Procedure Maintenance


Bend the tip to the ground

Wound branch at rooting spot

Use rooting hormoneStake in place Cover with 4 inches

of soil

Wait a few months for roots to form

Check for rootsCut branch below new

rootsPot the new plantKeep in moist soil and

in shade until root system has fully develops

Ground Layering

Procedure Maintenance


Choose a branchCut and strip barkApply rooting

hormonePrepare and apply

moss or coconut huskCover with plasticWrap with aluminum

foil

Wait a few months for roots to form

Check for rootsCut branch below new

rootsPot the new plantKeep in moist soil and

in shade until root system has fully develops

Air Layering

Propagation by Grafting

A horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together.

Rootstock is a plant selected for its roots. A scion is a plant is selected for its stem, leaves,

flower, or fruitsAdvantages of grafting

Precocity, Dwarfing, Ease of propagation, Hybrid breeding, Hardiness, Sturdiness, Pollen source, Repair, Changing cultivars, Maintain consistency, Curiosities

Types of grafting Approach, Budding, Cleft, Whip, Stub, Four flap (or banana),

Awl, Veneer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafting

Bud Grafting

Grafting with a single eye or bud is most commonly used for citrus trees, deciduous fruit and shade trees are well suited to budding.

Normally performed at the height of the growing season by inserting a dormant bud into a shallow slice under the rind of the tree.

The bud is sealed from drying and bound in place.There are many styles of budding, shield budding

is most common but also included inverted T, patch budding, double shield, flute budding and chip budding.


Removing Buds from the BudstickThe bud to be inserted is often just a shield of bark with a bud attached or a very thin layer of wood with both the bark shield and bud attached.

Begin the first scion cut about 1/2 inch below the bud and draw the knife upward just under the bark to a point at least 1/4 inch above the bud. Grasp the petiole from the detached leaf between the thumb and forefinger of the free hand. Make the second cut by rotating the knife blade straight across the horizontal axis of the budstick and about 1/4 inch above the desired bud.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/budding.html

Inserting the Bud

Insert the bud shield into the T flaps of the stock and slide it down to ensure that it makes intimate contact with the rootstock.


Securing the Bud

Pull the cuttogether by winding a 4- or 5-inchlong budding rubber around the stem to hold the flaps tightly over the bud shield and prevent drying.

Secure the budding rubber by overlapping all windings and tucking the end under the last turn.

Do Not cover the bud.


Thank You!

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Signing up for the newsletter will also enter you into the drawing as we give away some of the plants we have propagated today!


plant propagation powerpoint by gil lopez for @queenslibrary

Education

germinating seeds

case of seeds

seed structure

blocks seed

bags of seed

sowing depths seeds

seeds cozy cover

hours of light