Basic gardening tips - propagate and share with friends

Gary and I have just come back from our evening walk with Oscar and on the way we called into a friend's house to see their new garden.  Bev was delighted and excited showing us around the garden pointing out dozens of plants I had propagated and given to her a month ago.  All the plants were thriving and by giving plants to your friends it cuts down on the expense of establishing a new garden,  plus it is nice to share.

It is very easy to propagate even my husband did it for the first time while I was away in Sydney.  He came home earlier than me, so I showed him how to take cuttings from hibiscus plants at his daughters, place them in damp paper and a plastic bag for the journey home.

Propagate from either new soft stems or old ones making sure they have sufficient nodules for root growth.  Remove all the leaves from around the nodules, leaving a few at the top, but cut those in half.

Gary dipped the ends in a hormone powder before putting them in a propagating mix, this stimulates growth.  The new hibiscus are small but growing, so should have nice strong healthy plants to pop in towards the end of summer.  Remember little plants should go in small pots as they will establish better and when raising from seed we use old egg cartons, just a little seed raising mix in each cup and in no time up come the new little seedlings.

I have 2 propagating areas.  One in full sun for hardy plants and the other in shade for the more delicate.  For the plants that I'm not sure where to put, they are placed in a crate and moved around the garden until I find a suitable spot that respond well too.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a plant you have grown and it is so easy, most plants will grow from cuttings or seed, so the only way to learn is by trial and error.  It costs very little, some potting mix, slow release fertiliser and recycled pots, so get propagating.





Happy gardening



Bronwyn