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Winter will be upon us soon and if you are living in the north, you know that fall weather is unpredictable.  You may be enjoying 80 degree weather today and tomorrow the temperature may be in the 50's.  All your tender plants should be inside. There are some that can go for a little longer but why wait.  Place all your babies in their winter home so that when the dark days come they will have less trouble adjusting.

While we are talking about the wintering of your beloved houseplants, let's include a little about that beautiful annual you bought in the spring.  You found a wonderful geranium or impatient this year.  It matches your house perfectly and your garden was everything you wanted it to be.  Growers are always coming up with new varities to temp us so a problem may arise with trying to match it next year.  Unless you bought from the grower and have chosen one of his regulars you will have trouble.  So let's talk about keeping what you have. 

Many fleshy plants (as opposed to woody - bushes) are easily propogated. If you have room for it, you can take cuttings from your favorite plants and root them just like you do for your houseplants.  For those of you who have never started cuttings, we will go over it.

First, placing them in water is not the best way of propigation.  It will lead to weak roots that sometimes will not transfer well to the soil that you want to plant the cutting in later.  That is if they grows roots at all and do not just rot in the jar you placed them in.

It is best to start cuttings in pearlite which will give the roots something to push against and encourage stronger and thicker roots.  Here are the directions to create a  simple cutting container that I and may of my master gardener friends have found very useful.

Cutting Propogation Container

What you will need:

• 1 wide shallow waterproof bowl - I find that those cheap popcorn bowls work well.
• 1 small clay pot - This should be as tall as the above bowl is deep
• Silicone caulking
• Pearlite
• Rooting Hormone (for the cuttings) - This can be found in most garden centers and a little goes a long way.

Directions:

1. Caulk the clay pot to the bottom of the inside of the bowl. (Most clay pots will have holes in the bottom and this will keep the water from escaping into the bowl until it is needed.)
2. Fill the area between the bowl and the clay pot with pearlite. (This will be dusty; I recommend that you either use a mask or cover your mouth and nose with a scarf)
3. Water until the pearlite is moist.
4. Fill the clay pot with water. (The clay pot is porous and the water will seep out as the pearlite drys)

Preparing the cuttings:

1. Cut a part of the stem off the plant you are saving just below a set of leaves. Cuttings need to have at least two sets of leaves coming from piece of stem you are using. It is easier to also have the grow point, which is where the new growth emerges.
2. Take your cutting and remove all but the top two leaves.
3. Dampen the stem and dip it into the rooting hormone covering the lowest area that leaves were removed. You can go higher to cover more but roots will only emerge from the area that leaves once were.
4. Place the cutting in the pearlite deep enough to cover the area that we expect roots to emerge.  Be sure to make more cuttings than you will need so that you can uncover some to watch the progression of the roots.
5. Add light. The amount of light should be as close to the same as the original plant was placed in. IE: sunny, shady, etc.
6. Now the plant will take over and all you have to do is be sure that the center pot is filled with water.  Once you begin to see roots you can start adding small amounts of fertilizer to the water.
7. Many plants will begin to show roots in as little as two weeks and will be ready for potting before you know it.  Do not pot in soil until you have a good set of roots.

So that's it.  The simple instructions for starting new plants with cuttings will hopefully open a whole new adventure for you both outside and inside as you and your friends begin exchanging pieces of favorite plants. 

Please write me and tell me about your success and (God Forbid) failures.  Any questions can be added to this blog anytime.  I will be happy to respond.