From a distance

the world looks blue and green, but my yard is taking on the fiery colors of fall.







It's 61 degrees and drizzling. More rain in the forecast for this evening with a better chance tomorrow.

11:19am - It's 64 and mostly cloudy to partly sunny. I potted the brugs that were in water. The little nubs had formed. I've not had a lot of success rooting only in water, so I usually leave them just a week, changing the water several times. Once the nubs form, I pot them in a mix of Timberline top soil and potting mix. The top soil allows for quick drainage, which they need. The potting mix holds moisture without packing down, which they love. It should take 3-4 weeks from this point before they're rooted well enough for me to ship out to those who have been promised cuttings. I've got 23 Ecuador White, 20 NoID yellow/orange, and 2 pink. The pinks will not be given away. I'll wait until next year to send those out.



Whenever I pot a rooted cutting, I water it well with this product. It stimulates root growth and fertilizes. About 3 teaspoons to a gallon is what I use. That makes it nearly half the recommended strength. I've killed cuttings mixing it too strong.



What with the weather being so nice today, I've set up the short plant rack outside the garage door again. With rain and high humidity in the forecast, things shouldn't dry out too quickly. The rooted cuttings I took inside earlier in the week were also brought back out. They include 9 gardenias (the old fashioned, big blossomed plants), 5 pinks from Jim still left to plant, 6 pineapple sage, a couple hens & chicks, a jade plant growing from a single leaf laid on damp potting soil, the pineapple sage seedlings, and a potted purple alternanthera. I have a green and red in another pot that will come in for the winter. They were rooted in the spring and haven't gotten too large this summer. I'll be able to trim those back easily.

Propagation - softwood, hardwood, and seeds

Hardwood cuttings are taken in the winter from deciduous plants. This past February, I stuck cuttings of figs, mock orange, forsythia, and a few others. The mock orange was decimated by tent caterpillars after it rooted and has died. The forsythia and figs need to be potted soon. I might do that today before I go to work.

The method is simple. Take cuttings from dormant plants, dust the bottom end with rooting hormone, stick in a well draining soil (1/2 sand, 1/2 Lowe's cheap topsoil), and wait.





Softwood cuttings can be done in April and June here in NC. These were stuck 3 weeks ago. All of the hydrangea cuttings rooted. Only a few of the others have rooted, including a beefsteak sucker. They were potted this morning. I'll keep them in the basement under my lights for another couple of weeks. It's too hot and dry to put them outside just yet. I need more roots.

I used the cloner for these, although you can use the baggie method or container method I've used to root gardenias and roses.







The easiest way to propagate many plants is through seed collection. Wintersowing the seeds is simple. There's a link on the sidebar.

Melampodium seed. I didn't collect these, just tossed them back into the garden where I want more. This works best in areas with no mulch.





Forget Me Nots. Again, tossed back into the garden. In another week or so, I'll pull the plants out and shake them along the edges of the beds.





Salvia subrotunda. I will be collecting these seeds. This salvia is over 5' tall and has shown no problems with wilt, unlike the salvia splendens (Yvonne's salvia, which I will also collect later).





Coreopsis "Mahogany Midget". Seeds collected last week are laying in a coffee filter to dry. This time of year, I have seeds all over the house.





Other seeds I'm waiting for are being noted below.

Rudbeckia. Seeds were collected from Autumn Colors and wintersown this January.


Monarda didyma.



Blue agastache.



Monarda didyma.



Yvonne's salvia. Over 4' tall and still growing.



Zinnias



Esther's sunflower.



Monarda citriodora 'Lambada'



Coreopsis "Full Moon"



It goes without saying there are others I'm waiting for, like datura inoxia.

12:01pm - the figs and forsythia are potted. The figs had only a few roots, but hopefully enough to make it on their own. The soil was bone dry and yet they were still alive. The forsythia had lots of roots. I expect them to make it. I'll plant the forsythia in the new shrub border this fall. The figs may or may not be planted. If they aren't, they'll be traded for other rooted cuttings this winter.