Sexual Propagation
Propagation includes a commitment from both male and female plants to make another plant. It is a characteristic procedure wherein a parent animal categories make a posterity with various hereditary qualities to them. The process begins with flowering, followed by pollination, fertilization, and finally seed formation.
The made seeds when planted structure new plants. This is the simplest, easiest, and most economical type of propagation and has a few advantages.
For some plant, tree, vegetable, or natural product species sexual proliferation is the best way to replicate, accordingly, it is basic. This leads to the ability to create new, better crop species that are stronger, disease-resistant, and have a longer life span, whilst also preventing viral transmission from parent plants.
It is the only process that allows for large numbers of crops to be planted all with genetic variation, which is responsible for continuous evolution that keeps producing better offspring. Once the seeds have been created they are easy to be transported and stored.
Asexual Propagation
This can likewise be referred to as vegetable engendering as it includes delivering new plants through vegetative pieces of the plant, for example, roots, leaves, stems, bulbs, and tubers. As the new plant is shaped from a solitary parent there is no hereditary trade included, bringing about the made plants being indistinguishable from the parent plant; these are also known as clones.
The most common methods for this process of propagation are cuttings (see our guide on taking cuttings), division, layering, and grafting/budding. There are a couple of preferences to utilizing this procedure as it permits plants that don’t deliver seeds to be developed with just a solitary parent, subsequently, it will not require pollination or cross-pollination.
Generally, the process of asexual propagation is faster than sexual propagation helping in the rapid generation of crops that can retain beneficial traits from the parent plant. Certain techniques can also be used to recover or repair damaged plants.
As stated there is more than one method for asexual propagation, here are a few to get you started…
How To Propagate Plants
- Cuttings
A cutting is a vegetative plant part which is severed from the parent plant and rooted to regrow and form a whole new plant. The most common types are stem, tip, and leaf cuttings. When planting cuttings a rooting medium is used such as coarse sand, vermiculite, soil, water, or a mixture of peat and perlite. These materials are used to create a sterile environment, which is low in fertility and drains well to provide enough oxygen whilst retaining enough moisture.
2. Stem Cuttings
These are utilized for plants with a woody or semi-woody stems, for example, ivy, azaleas, and roses. A length of the stem is cut off and placed in the rooting medium until new roots have formed. It can then be transferred to a plant pot to continue growing.
3. Tip Cutting
These are commonly used for most multi-stemmed plants. A tip around 10-15cm long is cut from the primary stem or a side branch just under a hub (where the leaf and stem meet). The lower leaves and flowers are removed and the cut end is dipped in rooting hormone powder and planted in a rooting medium, making sure the leaves are well above the soil. An alternative method without hormone powder is to place the cut tip in water until roots form, after which it can be removed and potted. When pruned keep the base of the pot warm and in a spot with a lot of circuitous daylight.
4. Leaf Cutting
This is a comparable procedure to stem cuttings, except for a leaf tail rather than the primary stem, which is utilized. There are a few methods for leaf cuttings and the method required will be determined by the type of plant you are propagating.
For some plants, the leaf and stalk can be removed from the parent plant and placed directly upright into the rooting medium, whereas others require some of the small veins on the leaf to be slit, with the leaf lain horizontally over the rooting medium.
5. Division
Many plants grow with several stems that have roots attached to each one. Therefore each of these rooted stems can be separated from the parent plant to create a new plant. If the stems are not joined together they can be gently pulled apart, otherwise, they will need to be divided using a sharp knife. Once the rooted stems have been divided they can be individually potted in the rooting medium to grow.
6. Layering
This strategy permits a stem to frame its foundations while as yet being joined to the parent plant. There are several forms of layering including tip, simple, compound, mound, and air layering, however, each one follows the same general process.
This is where a stem or multiple parts of a stem from the parent plant are manipulated into coming into contact with or being emerged in a rooting medium. A slit is made in the underside of the piece of stem that is in contact with the rooting medium to allow new roots to form, after which it can be isolated from the parent plant and pruned.
7. Grafting And Budding
This is a form of propagation where plant parts are joined together to grow as one plant as they do not root well as cuttings or their root systems are inadequate. This technique permits a stem to shape its underlying foundations while as yet being connected to the parent plant. whereas in budding, a bud is taken from one plant and grown on another. This is seen as the most difficult of propagation methods therefore it is mostly practiced by experienced nurseries.
These are just a few of the amazing ways in which plants can be propagated. So if you’re looking for a new hobby, a different gardening adventure, or the ability to multiply your produce to its maximum potential, propagation could be the ideal opportunity to start something new.
