Amateur gardeners are always interested in propagating plants from cuttings or seeds. This is not always possible in the average home because insufficient light is generally available. When fluorescent lights came into use as a new method for growing plants, amateur gardeners without facilities found that they could grow plants from cuttings or seeds in … Read more
Pyracantha (firethorn) has been popular in the Midwest for a long time, but the fact that this beautiful shrub resents root disturbance has restricted its wide use here as a winter ornamental. Methods of Propagation Nurseries now have found the source of this trouble, and are using better methods of propagation. The result is that … Read more
One sometimes finds a wild plant or the representative of a wild species that is as beautiful as a garden hybrid. Depending upon the kind of plant under consideration, the purpose for which it is being used, and the taste of the person who is talking about it, one may find sharp differences of opinion … Read more
Hybridizing or crossing plants to improve them is a fascinating experience that any home gardener may enjoy. The minimum requirements for hybridizing are a love of plants, a little space, and enthusiasm. Hybridizing is easy—producing a plant of outstanding merit is difficult. This is the reason for the requirement for enthusiasm. However, the possibility that … Read more
Increasing shrubs and trees, especially the choice kinds, has long been considered beyond the reach of most home gardeners. The need for such special equipment as electric heating cables, thermostats, humidistats, and automatic ventilation as well as a greenhouse was considered essential for success. However, in this “do-it-yourself” age, increasing plants in the house or … Read more
One thing a hybridizer must be is flexible. About thirty years ago, when starting my delphinium breeding, my idea was to follow the English method of selecting individual seedlings, which would then be propagated by cuttings and sold as named varieties. However, I had to revise my thinking as this method seemed to apply only … Read more
Late spring and early summer are when to start biennials from seed if you want to enjoy their flowers next year. For biennials need a whole growing season before they become mature enough to form flowers. Then after flowering, they usually die or will only struggle along and should therefore be discarded. As most biennials … Read more
How often have you looked at a photograph of a beautiful border of perennials and biennials and wished that you might have one like it? But when you looked in the catalogs for the prices of the plants you would need, you found yourself saying, “No, ‘fraid not this year.” Well. It doesn’t have to … Read more
Air layering, or inducing roots to form on a branch while it is still attached to the plant, is one of the oldest propagation methods and is also one of the simplest. It can best be done on trees and shrubs in late spring and early summer. Readers of this column may recall describing the … Read more
Air layering plants is an ancient method of plant propagation. Also called air grafting, many believe it originated with Asian gardeners. The technique allows gardeners to increase hard-to-get plants or those with sentimental value. The How To Of Air Layering Propagation Step by Step: 1. Select a branch from 1/4″ to 1 1/2″ inches in … Read more