Propagation – The process of growing new plants from seeds, cuttings, roots, or other plant parts. For Texas native plants, learning the right propagation methods is key to successful home gardening, restoration projects, and habitat preservation. The native plant database contains propagation information for many plants, including multiple propagation methods for some species. Below are explanations of terms used in the propagation section of the Plant Database.
Material – The part of the plant to be use for propagation.
- Budd – A single bud can be grafter onto another plant to create a clone of the original.
- Bulb – Underground bulbs can be separated and replanted. Many Texas natives like onions and lilies grow this way.
- Clump – Dig up mature plants and separate them into clumps, making sure each piece has roots when replanted.
- Corm – Dig up swollen underground stems of plants, replanting them just below the soil surface.
- Hardwood – Take woody stem cuttings during dormancy in late fall or winter and place them in soil to root over time.
- Offshoots – Any new growth that develops from a plant’s stem or roots. They can be separated from the base of the parent plant or the roots and replanted in the soil.
- Rhizome – An underground stem which can be cut in a section and planted horizontally just beneath the soil to sprout.
- Root – Use root pieces from an existing plant to start new growth.
- Rosette – Remove and replant a rosette of leaves with its base and rootlets intact.
- Seed – Sow seeds directly into the soil or start them in trays for transplanting later.
- Seedling – Transplant young plants after they’ve germinated and developed a few true leaves.
- Semi-hardwood – Take cuttings of semi-hardwood stems and root them in a moist medium.
- Softwood – Take cuttings of tender, new stems and place in soil to root immediately under high humidity.
- Spores – Collect and sow spores from ferns and mosses on moist substrates.
- Stem – Take a cutting from the stem to grow a new plant by placing it in the ground or a pot filled with soil to form roots.
- Suckers – Similar to offshoot but, typically refers to a shoot that grows from the roots, often some distance from the main plant. These can be separated from the parent plant and replanted in the soil to form new plants.
- Stolon – An above ground runner that can be clipped and replanted to form roots. They often already have small roots forming at their nodes.
- Tuber – Thickened underground stems or roots like potatoes or dayflower tubers that can be separated and replanted.
Treatment- How to process the plant material used for propagation.
- No Treatment – Some materials (like fresh cuttings, divisions or seeds) may not need any special preparation.
- Cutting – Snipping a piece of stem, root, or leaf and placing it in the ground or potting soil to take root.
- Division – Separating a plant into several several clumps, keeping healthy roots intact, and transplanting back to the soil.
- Layering – Bending a low stem to the ground to bury part of it in the soil while it’s still attached to the parent plant until roots form and it can then be separated.
- Scarification – Breaking through hard-coated seeds by using sandpaper, a knife, or soaking them in hot water to speed up germination.
- Stratification – Placing seeds in a moist, cold environment (like your fridge) for a period of time to mimic winter conditions and trigger germination.
- Transplant – Moving seedlings or divisions to their final growing location once they are established.
