May atmore 2020

Southern Gardening
Ed
Brown
Master
Gardener
May is here! Time is flying. While our nation is under
a stay-in-place or keep-your-distance order, we can use
this time to improve and enjoy our gardens. We can
enlarge our beds, add to our landscape and do the
things that we have not had the time to do.
Yes, I know the cost of plants has really increased in
price, but have you thought about growing your own
plants? You know seeds are costly also but still cheaper
than bedding plants. Rooting cuttings are nearly free so
let’s try it.
I remember as a child watching my mother take
cuttings or she would mark plants in the woods to
return at the correct time to take cuttings or to dig up
the plant and take it home to plant. I remember late
winter or early spring while riding on the back roads
going to see our kinfolks, we would look for Grancy
Greybeards, redbud trees, and Honeysuckle Azaleas.
We would dig them up. I still look for them but really
just to see them bloom in the woods. Just to see their
beauty.
What I am saying is, years ago people did not buy
their plants. They grew their own. They exchanged
cuttings with friends and neighbors. And over the years
we lost that thought or ability. It has been too easy to
buy the small plants and we lost the joy of preparing
and watching plants we rooted grow.
I know I stopped, but why not start again? Joyce and
I started this winter. Yes, winter, we took some cuttings
of plants at her sister's house during the first freeze of
November 2019. I really did not think they would do anything,
but what the heck, what was it going to hurt?! We
put them in a glass of water inside on a window sill in the
house and guess what? They formed roots! Late March
I put them in pots of potting soil on the back porch and
they are growing and doing well!
I said this to show how easy rooting in water is. Most
of us older people can think back as a child how our
mothers would have plants rooting in glasses of water
nearly year around. Remember?
This month we will look at rooting with water and also
in potting soil. There are several methods of rooting
cuttings but the easiest is the glass of water. The cutting
should have at least one or two nodes with the leaves
removed. This node is where the roots will form. Place
the nodes below the water line and leave two or three
leaves on the plant above the water line. Place in a
bright indirect lit area. A window with morning sun is OK
but not necessary.
If the water starts looking dirty, replace it but make
sure you keep the glass filled. Do not let it dry up.
Roots should start forming in 2-4 weeks. When a
good rooting system forms, put it in a pot of potting soil
and let it grow in the shade for a few days. Gradually
move it into the sunshine, allowing it to harden off before
planting in the garden.
Cuttings rooted in soil are just as easy but you have
to remember to keep it moist and damp. Do not let it dry
out.
Best time is the spring to midsummer when the plant
is actively growing. The cutting doesn't really have to be
a certain size. The most important thing is leaf nodes
(roots form here). Cut a 2-6 inch piece just below a leaf
and remove all but 2 or 3 leaves at the top. If desired,
dip in a rooting hormone, then insert the cutting into a
container of either water or potting soil and watch it grow.
There is no way to cover all plant rooting in one article.
Just too many different methods. You can do stem
cuttings, leaf cuttings, root cuttings and even a lazy
man's way called layering. Next month we may look at
the methods and best times for different cuttings:
softwood, semi-ripe, and hardwood. There have been
books after books written on propagating plants but the
easiest is just a glass of water.
Plant a tree!
6