The Plant Propagator's Bible

A Step by Step Guide to Propagating Every Plant in Your Garden

Miranda Smith

• Publisher: Cool Springs Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780760369807
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Horticulture
• Index: Biological Sciences

With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, veteran horticulture teacher Miranda Smith provides a complete reference showing every step for cultivating new plants—whether from seed or cuttings or with techniques such as layering, grafting, and budding. Propagating new plants from existing ones is not only sustainable but also rewarding for gardeners of all skill levels. The Plant Propagator's Bible offers a solid and complete, go-to reference for expert gardeners but is also a perfect primer for the novice plant lover and horticulturalist. Smith teaches readers, with the support of hundreds of 4-color photos and detailed illustrations, the natural process and conditions in which plants grow and reproduce, and shows gardeners how to use these systems to propagate any plant that grows in their garden or greenhouse—or even on their windowsill. The book features:

• An A to Z directory of more than 1, 000 individual plant species—with appropriate propagation techniques for aquatics, ornamental plants, houseplants, shrubs, trees, vegetables, and wildflowers
• "What Can Go Wrong" advice for each type of plant, explaining potential problems and how to prevent or fix them
• Detailed, step-by-step illustrations and annotated photographs

Including information on essential tools and equipment, this is an indispensable addition to every gardener's bookshelf.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

In nature, plants propagate themselves without using special tools or sophisticated techniques. If branches from adjacent trees of the same genus rub against each other, for example, they may form a graft; the stem tips of leggy shrubs often take root; and seeds of plants as diverse as marigolds and giant sequoias germinate and grow without any fuss. But if you want to propagate the plants you want when you want them, you’ll need a few basic tools and commonsense techniques to ease your work.

THE PROPAGATOR’S TOOL KIT

Good tools make an enormous difference to the ease with which you’ll be able to propagate your plants. They can also make the difference between failure and success. So your first task as a plant propagator is to collect the tools you’ll need for the jobs you’ll be doing.

When you see all the tools together, it may appear as though your tool kit will cost a great deal to assemble. However, that isn’t so. For one thing, unless you practice every type of propagation technique in these pages, you won’t need every tool. Instead, you’ll need to assemble certain tools for particular tasks. And as for cost, most of the tools are inexpensive, especially compared with the price of new plants. So regard these pages as a reference to come back to as you add to your repertoire of propagation techniques.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Gardening is good for you. Not only is it good exercise, it can provide real relaxation and enjoyment, both of which are essential to sound mental health. However, it can also pose dangers, not only to you, but also to your children and pets.

You’ll use a variety of sharp knives and pruning tools when you propagate. As always, the first rule of working with cutting instruments is to keep them sharp. If you have to strain or push to cut with a dull blade, it’s more likely to slip. You run the risk of cutting yourself and also injuring the plant. Sharpen the blades every time you use a gardening tool and you’ll never have to worry about this.

Even if you use absolutely no synthetic chemicals in the garden, your success as a propagator sometimes depends on rooting hormones; strong disinfectants; and fungicides such as copper, sulfur, and Bordeaux mix. You may even buy one sort of fungus to protect from other fungi that cause diseases. Store these materials wher...