Rooting Ageratum...

Somewhere I read about a woman who would over-winter ageratum and make cuttings to root for bedding plants the next spring. That sounded like a very cool idea, so I thought I would try it. Last fall, before things froze, I dug up some of my ageratum plants and plopped them into, because I was in a hurry, a large metal mixing bowl. It was very charming to have the blue flowers and bright green leaves in this bowl. One day I actually needed the bowl, so I transferred the six plants into two plastic jugs cut down with a drainage hole added. They have been living in these make-shift homes for several months now.




Today I felt the need to start the cuttings. And I did something I have never done before. I used a razor blade to make the cuttings, like I was supposed to. I have always before used scissors or my pruners, which aren’t overly sharp, to make cuttings. The idea behind using a new razor blade is that it slices without crushing cells. If the cells are crushed, it can lead to the plant rotting from the damage rather than having an opportunity to grow roots.




Some of the stems had started making tiny flower buds, so I had to trim them off, along with the extra leaves, so the cuttings would put their energy into producing roots rather than blooms.




As I cut them, I put the little guys into perlite and water. There are 50 in this tray, so if I have a fairly high success rate, I should be able to satisfy my desire, maybe, for plenty of ageratum bedding plants without having to buy them at the nursery, leaving funds for other new and different plants. Good plan, huh? I stuck straws cut in half in about every other cell and covered the whole thing with a couple of sheets of plastic wrap to make its own little greenhouse. Ageratum roots fairly easily, but I thought I would help it out all I could. And now, to wait for spring and all those delightful blue flowers.


Have a beautiful day!

Plectranthus...

So, I was at a friend’s house this morning and a plant with variegated leaves caught my eye. I mentioned to Lori that I liked it and asked her if she knew what it was. She said that it had been part of a 4-H project (which she told me about – sounded very cool) but that she had no idea what it was. I then asked her if I could have a cutting of it. She found the scissors for me.




I told her I thought maybe it was related to Creeping Charlie. I had a Creeping Charlie (Plectranthus verticillatus) in California with smooth, plain green leaves that lived outside in a shady corner that I really enjoyed (the plant and the corner), but it looked very little like this aromatic, furry plant. When I got home, I looked it up in my Southern Living Garden Book, and, sure enough, I was right. It was indeed a Plectranthus. I believe it is Plectranthus amboinicus ‘Variegatus,’ also called Cuban Oregano or Spanish Thyme or Indian Mint. It has a rather pungent smell, kind of like oregano and thyme.




One the way home, I stopped to buy, among many other things, some potting soil and perlite. The cashier asked me what “pretty things” I was going to plant. I told her that I kept potting soil on hand, you know, like you keep salt on hand, but that the perlite was for rooting a cutting. (I think I actually still have some in the shed, come to think of it.) She told me, with a laugh, that she gets cuttings and sets them on her dryer without doing anything with them and they never make it. I have put my cutting in a jar filled with perlite and water and put the whole thing in its own little greenhouse made of a Ziplock bag. I know I should have trimmed off a couple more leaves, but I just couldn’t bear to. Oh, and it is sitting on my dyer.


Have a beautiful day!

Dischidia geri...

The other day I obtained a cutting of Dischidia geri. It looked like an interesting plant and I have never grown it before so I thought I would give it a try.



I took it home and put it in water. It sat in water for a day until I put it in damp sand. Then I got to thinking, maybe it wouldn’t like damp sand to root in. So I started searching.

{Dischidia geri}

Well, it wasn’t as easy to find an answer as I thought, but what I came up with is that it likes humidity and damp, well-drained medium to grow in. Hhhmmm. That doesn’t sound like sand to me.



So, once again, the poor little cutting got moved. I kind of cheated. I just used a fairly porous potting soil instead of the recommended peat moss and perlite. I did put it in a container with a lid to make a little humid terrarium for it, though. I hope it works.



Maybe it will live outside in the shade in the summer. On the table in my seating area under the oak? You know, the one I don’t have yet. I read that it can vine 6’ to 8’ so I am curious to see what it does. If it survives my feeble attempt to root it.

Have a beautiful day!
P.S. How many photos can you take of one little cutting!?!