How To Get Free Plants
by Beverley BoorerAlmost any plant will grow by cutting if it is taken at the correct time of year.
Hydrangeas start to shoot in the early spring and are one of the easiest plants to propagate. Simply stick your prunings into damp ground or pots and they’ll soon be as big as the parent plant. The hibiscus also grows easily from cuttings. Place cuttings into a pot filled with soil or potting mix, encase in a plastic bag and they mostly grow roots with no trouble. Some people like to dip the end in a rooting hormone first, but they can often be grown without this added expense. Fuchsia cuttings can also be taken in spring, but will do even better in the autumn.
Sometimes the best time to take a cutting is at bud swell. This is usually early spring when you can see the buds starting to swell on the branch, but before any greenery or flowers show. Deciduous hibiscuses respond very well to this type of cutting. Some fruit trees can be propagated in this way also. The main thing to remember when growing cuttings is to keep them damp and in semi-shade for the first few weeks.
Softwood tip cuttings can be taken while the plant is growing well and the easiest way of making a mini-greenhouse to help roots develop is to simply cut a soft-drink bottle in half. Poke a hole in the bottom with your garden fork, fill it with potting mix and push in two or three cuttings, then pop the top half back over the bottom half.
If you find it hard to slip on, make a vertical cut of about 2in (4cm) in the bottom half. The edges will overlap when pressure is applied and give a little bit of extra space for the top half to fit over. A clear plastic bag can be used for the top instead, if you prop it up with some twigs. A rubber band will prevent the wind from blowing it off.
Many daisy varieties will grow roots along the stalk of a branch that rests on the ground. Carefully pull a branch down to ground level and anchor it there with a brick for a few weeks. When the roots have formed, cut the branch off the main bush. Leave it in place for a while longer to allow the roots to gain strength, then lift it out gently and relocate in its new home.
Plants like violas, pansies and cosmos seed freely and can come up year after year. In these days of hybrids, the seed plant does not always remain true to the parent, but that does not matter. Even though it reverts to the original plant, it is still very attractive and in some cases, hardier than the hybrid was. Some hybrid pansies and violas have such huge and heavy flowers that the sheer weight bows them to the ground so that only the backs of the flowers are visible. This spoils the look of them completely.
Heartsease, or Johnny-jump-ups from which they originated, flower earlier and lift their smiling faces upwards no matter whether the day brings wind or rain.
Collecting seed from vegetables and flowers can be an interesting hobby. Pieces of old pantyhose or stockings can be tied carefully over the seedpods as they ripen. Then the seed will simply fall into these collection bags and be safe. If you prefer to collect and save seed, be sure it is completely ripe and dry before storing, otherwise it will simply go mouldy and become useless. Label and date each packet of seed before you put it away in a cool, dark place.
So, if you want some extra plants for the garden at no extra cost, let your flowers go to seed and have a go at growing cuttings. It’s really easy.
Bev Boorer is a freelance writer, editor and proofreader whose articles appear regularly in ezines and on websites. She has written ebooks on gardening and child safety, and had children's books and stories published. If you need articles or books edited or proofed, contact Bev from her website at
www.beststuffhere.com
Provided by ArticleFeeder.com
©2005 Beverley Boorer. All rights reserved.
Other articles you may find interesting:
by Donna Monday
If you’re in the market for a new cell phone, nowadays you don’t have to plop down your hard earned money for the latest new cell phone styles unless you are looking for a phone with all the bells and whistles.
If you want a nice up-to-date phone that’s also very practical, then you should first take a look and compare cell phone rate plans that include a free cell phone as part of their offer. Cell phone companies like: Motorola, Verizon, Nokia, Lg, Sprint and Cingular are more than willing to give away a free cell phone in exchange
Read this article in full
by Phil Haley
'TANSTAAFL', the acronym for 'There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch', may be familiar to those of you who have taken a college economics class or two. Whenever you hear the word 'Free' in association with a product or service it's a good idea to keep it in mind because, in truth, nothing is free. Someone, somewhere, somehow, is bearing an economic cost; and so it is with free Wi-Fi hotspots. For the most part any of the free Wi-Fi hotspots you'll come across will have some sort of quid pro quo associated with them.
If you go to
Read this article in full
by Jonathan White
Have you ever wondered how many free things you can get from the Internet? If you take a step back and look at the situation you will realise that you can get thousands of free items from the Internet. These freebies can be things like free pens, free scripts, free web hosting, free memberships and subscriptions to some online sites and even free cash.
So now you know that there is lots of free stuff that you can obtain from the Internet, the only thing that you are probably thinking now is “where’s the best place to find all of
Read this article in full
by Graeme J. Sprigge
You may have heard rumours that you can get a free car. Well, this is not exactly true.
As the old adage goes, you can't get something for nothing and this holds true in this case.
You can however ALMOST get a free car.
Why do I say almost?
Because you are going to put your car in a job!
That's right!
Advertising companies are willing to employ your car to display logos, signs and almost any sort of fluffy toy that suits their marketing campaign.
You see, advertising space has become very crowded and advertisers in their wisdom have worked out that people actually pay
Read this article in full
by Elijah Klay
We've all seen the flashing banners, annoying pop-up ads and junk emails with the too-good-to-be-true free gift offers, like “Free iPod!” or “Free Laptop” or “Free Digital Camera.” Many of us simply think to ourselves, nothing is free; this is just a scam, right?
Not necessarily. The plain and simple fact is, many incentive programs actually do work, according to their Terms & Conditions. But who really wants to read all of that legal mumbo jumbo?
Well I'm here to tell you that I have read the fine print for many of these free gift incentive programs, and even completed a few.
Read this article in full
You need to know what's in your credit report
.
Thanks for visiting Save-Me-Money.co.uk Please call again!
Copyright ©2010 TWSD Services
All rights reserved
Web site design by:
TheWebsiteDesign.Co.UK
