A popular method of producing new plants from existing ones is by taking cuttings. Depending on the time of year and the plant, tree or vine being propagated, we can take hardwood cuttings from older wood, or softwood cuttings from newer, more pliable growth. Rather […]
The choko or chayote (Sechium edule) is a vigorous, herbaceous perennial vine from the Cucurbitaceae (gourd or cucumber) family, that is native to Central America, but is now cultivated in many parts of the world. Choko fruit are light green in colour and are variable […]
There’s a gardening myth that Aspirin tablets can be used to stimulate rooting in plant cuttings, but is it true? There’s a saying that “a little science is a dangerous thing“, and as we’ll see when we dissect this myth, it’s based on some partial […]
Citruses are flowering trees and shrubs from the rue (Rutaceae) family and are native to subtropical and tropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and northeastern Australia. Plants in the genus Citrus provide a wide assortment of fruit types, including important crops […]
Tomatoes can be grown quite easily from seed, and you can use seeds collected from tomatoes you’ve grown yourself, or from ones you’ve purchase from the greengrocer! There are a few tricks to saving tomato seeds, as they are wet seeded crops, which have seeds […]
Plant propagation is the process of producing more plants from a single plant, is a very popular practice amongst many gardeners. Many plants self-propagate by seed, and some through runners or clumping, but there are also artificial propagation methods such as growing from cuttings, where […]
Can nasturtiums be grown from cuttings? Nasturtiums are usually grown from seeds but can also be propagated from cuttings during the warm growing seasons, the best period being spring or late summer when weather is milder. How to make a nasturtium cutting: Cut a piece […]
The practice of saving seeds is as old as agriculture itself, and dates back to over 10,000 years ago. Early human civilizations harvested seeds and selectively bred crop plants to create domesticated varieties which displayed specific desirable traits. Saving seeds has many benefits in the […]
Plant propagation is the practice of creating new plants from old using a variety of techniques such as seed sowing, grafting, taking cuttings, division, marcotting, ground layering, and even tissue cell culture. Some gardeners may wonder why there’s such a wide range of propagating techniques. […]
Indeterminate (vining) tomatoes are very vigorous growers, and if they’re neglected they can easily become overgrown, with multiple tangled branches sprawling across the ground. If this happens to your tomato plants, all is not lost. In fact, you can take advantage of the situation to […]
Some plants can be propagated very easily by placing stem cuttings in water until they develop roots. It is one of the simplest forms of vegetative propagation and requires little more than a healthy cutting, a clean container, water and a suitable place to keep […]
Hardwood cuttings are sections of mature woody stem used to grow new plants. They are taken after the season’s growth has hardened, usually while the plant is dormant in late autumn or winter. This is one of the simplest forms of vegetative propagation because mature […]
About Willows Willows are fast-growing, deciduous trees mainly found in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in cold Arctic and northern temperate zones and in regions with moist soils. The Weeping Willow appears to be native to extra-tropical Asia, from Japan and China to Armenia and the […]
A growing garden needs plenty of plants, and buying enough to fill even a modest garden can become expensive. One of the easiest ways to produce more plants is to propagate them from cuttings taken from plants already growing in the garden. Many plants can […]
In a cold climate, such as in Melbourne, Australia, the summer is never quite long enough to grow all your summer annuals vegetables, such as tomatoes, chillies, capsicums and so on. The best way to get a long productive season is to start the seedlings […]
Would you like to grow an eggplant tree — a large, established plant or small tree capable of producing a huge crop of dozens of eggplants that can continue growing from one season into the next, rather than starting again from a seedling every spring? […]
