How to Reproduce a Flowering Plant
While all flowering plants do produce seeds, seeds are not always the best way to reproduce them. Some flowering plants propagate best when you plant bulbs. Others reproduce best with root cuttings or rhizomes. Perennials can be reproduced by dividing a clump and then replanting the individual plants. Finally, some flowering plants reproduce best with stem cuttings. The best way to learn which method works best for the kind of flowering plant you want to reproduce is to read the catalogs or consult an experienced gardener. Most gardeners are thrilled to share not just growing tips but even starts for the plants themselves. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Garden gloves Hand trowel Seeds Bulbs Root cuttings Rooting compound Sand Flower pots
Instructions
-
-
1
Reproduce flowering annuals like marigolds, zinnias, and cosmos by planting seeds directly into the garden after any danger of frost has passed. These flowers can also be started indoors if you want them to bloom earlier. Wait to transplant them to the garden until the soil has warmed in the spring. Even the seeds of biennials like columbine and bluebells can be sown directly into the garden in the spring or fall. Many of these flowers will continue to bloom over a whole season as long as you dead-head the spent blossoms so that they are prevented for setting new seeds. Since the directions for planting seeds vary with the type of flower and with the climate zone, make sure to follow the directions on the seed packet.
-
2
Reproduce other flowering plants by planting bulbs. Most of the early spring flowers grow from bulbs. These include daffodils, crocus, hyacinth, and tulips. Plant these bulbs in the fall at a depth that is twice the height of the bulb. The flowers put up just one blossom each year and will continue to bloom year after year. Every three to five years, however, when the flowers are thick and seem to be producing fewer flowers, dig up the bulbs. Separate them and replant them. There are also some summer flowers that start from bulbs such as dahlias and gladiolas. These need to be planted in the spring after the ground warms and must also be dug up in the fall in areas of the country where there is severe winter weather.
-
-
3
Reproduce flowering plants like iris and peonies from root cuttings and rhizomes. Use a sharp knife to separate the root or rhizome into sections that contain a bud or an eye. Then place the sections eye or bud up near the surface of the soil. Cover the root section with a couple of inches of soil. Iris can be divided and replanted in the late spring after they finish blooming. Peonies flower in the spring but the best time to divide them is in the fall.
-
4
Divide established perennials like daisies, monarda, hosta and echinacea in the early spring or late fall. Insert a shovel into the center of a clump. Then pull the plants apart before replanting them in soil that has been prepared and loosened.
-
5
Reproduce other perennial flowering plants such as chrysanthemums and geraniums using stem cuttings. Strip the lower several inches of a stem of its leaves before dipping it into a powdered rooting compound which you can buy from a local nursery or garden supply store. Then plant the stems into a container filled with sand. After two or three weeks when new roots have developed, the new plants can be placed into the garden where they can grow and flower.
-
1
