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TO many people, experimenting with propagation of plants is the most interesting part of gardening. Monsoon is the ideal time for vegetative propagation in our country. Multiplication of plants through vegetative growth like division, layering or cuttings gives the quickest results without any chances of cross-pollination or throw back of varieties. Propagation by division: Almost any plant that has more than one stem rising from the soil can be divided into two or more plants. Each one of the parts should retain a part of the original root system and top growth. All you have to do is to knock the plant out of the pot, shake the soil off the roots and pull the sections apart with your hands. Plant the division immediately. Water each new plant thoroughly, protecting it from direct sunlight, till the leaves appear firm and healthy again. Layering: Any tree or shrub with branches close to the ground can be layered by choosing a ripe and pliable branch. Cut it halfway through just below a leaf bud slitting the branch upwards towards the tip of the branch, thereby forming a tongue with the leaf-bud. Keep it open by inserting a matchstick or a piece of gravel and "peg" it into the soil or a clay pot with the wound open. It may take between six months to two years for the new plant to be fit enough to be removed from the parent plant. This method is good for some fruit trees or magnolias and camellias. In the case of carnations, strawberries, saxifrage, syngoniums and chlorophytums, it doesn’t take long and is most advisable. Air layering: Select a ripe, healthy branch — about the thickness of a pencil. Remove a quarter-inch wide ring of the bark just below the node and apply the required rooting hormone powder like Rootex at the cut portion. Now wrap this area with a handful of damp sphagnum moss and cover it with a polythene sheet tying its ends tightly with a string. After about four weeks or more, when sufficient roots have developed, cut the stem off the mother plant and plant the new shoot in the required soil mixture. This method is used for fruits like lemon, litchi, and guava and also plants like allamanda grandiflora, cassia, crotons, gardenias, ixora, rubber plant and magnolias. Cuttings: Some of the common houseplants that can be easily propagated by cuttings are bougainvillea, dracaena, dieffenbachia, gardenia, hibiscus, pilea, plumeria and poinsettias. Cuttings are best made from young wood and should be taken from shoots growing high up the tree or shrub. Generally, it is safest to use somewhat matured growth of the past year and while cuttings from trees or shrubs should be cut at a slant below a leaf-bud or node, they should also be planted deep at a slanting angle. Short cuttings from small plants, like geraniums and coleus, are better placed upright with about an inch of their length beneath the ground. Most of the leaves, barring a couple of them at the top should be stripped and soil pressed down firmly round each one of them. Rooting hormones like "Rootex" (available in various concentration for soft, semi-hard and hard wood) promote good and fast root system for healthy growth of the new plants. Two parts sterilised sand, one part sieved leaf mould and one part ground charcoal make a good soil mixture. |
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